Yvonne De Carlo gave up acting after a tragic incident

There were a lot of talented and attractive actresses back in the day and the stunning Yvonne De Carlo was definitely one of them.

She catapulted to fame through starring in the CBS sitcom The Munsters, only for a tragic accident to suddenly halt her career.

The legendary Yvonne De Carlo was a sultry and versatile actress with a movie career spanning over six decades. Born in 1922, she’s definitely one of the most prominent celebrities to come out of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

As a young girl, De Carlo was abandoned by her father. She was raised by her mother in poor circumstances – but she always knew that she wanted to be an actress, and De Carlo wrote her own plays as a 13-year-old. During her time in Hollywood, the blue-eyed brunette proved that she was the real deal – she could do it all. It wasn’t just the fact that her beauty was overwhelming, De Carlo seemed to be a very down-to-earth lady as well.

Her career in movies and television is a testimony to her strength of character and determination. Among many other things, she played Moses’ wife in the epic film The Ten Commandments – though she’s best known for her role on the tv series The Munsters.

Flickr / John Irving

No one could have played Lily Munster better than De Carlo – she really nailed the role of a vampire in the monster sitcom. To this day, many of us can still remember the famous line when Lily, the matriarch of the monster family, says, “I’ve never heard of anything so outrageous in all my LIVES!”

The show propelled Yvonne De Carlo towards TV stardom – the role defined her career, and she gained a whole new generation of fans. It could even be said that The Munsters actually renewed De Carlos’s career. She had a good run in Tinseltown even before the show – she was often called the most beautiful girl in the world, and the audience loved her.

But the truth is that De Carlo’s star quality had begun to fade around the time she was cast in the monster sitcom. The Canadian-American actress had turned 42 when she was offered the role of Lily. And no one could have guessed that The Munsters would be hailed as one of the best television series of all time.

“It meant security,” De Carlo later said. “It gave me a new, young audience I wouldn’t have had otherwise. It made me ‘hot’ again, which I wasn’t for a while.”

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“But I never estimated it would become this cult thing. It took two hours of makeup to make me seem like that. It ran for two huge seasons, then CBS quarreled with the creators about reruns as we got canceled. A movie in color in 1966 [‘Munster, Go Home!’] showed off everything in reds and greens on my face. Boy, was I ugly.”

After The Munsters, De Carlo continued to appear both in TV series and on stage. As one of the most respected actresses in the business, she had fans in every generation and no problem finding new and exciting projects.

Unfortunately, De Carlo had a pretty tough time of things during the last years of her life. It all goes back to when the actress met stuntman Robert ”Bob” Morgan on set in 1955.

The couple obviously had some chemistry, but Morgan was married at the time and Yvonne didn’t want to take things further. According to herself, she had ”no intention of causing that marriage to break up.”

Her husband lost his leg

When Morgan’s wife died, he and De Carlo met again on the set of The Ten Commandments in Egypt. They fell in love, got married, and had two sons together, Bruce Ross and Michael.

But living with a stuntman and daredevil came with a price. Morgan and De Carlo struggled to make their marriage work, but everything changed when the former was hit by a moving log train while shooting the 1962 movie How the West Was Won.

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The accident cost Morgan his leg. He almost died performing the stunt, and the traumatic experience would affect the whole family. After the incident, medical bills piled up and De Carlo worked extremely hard to support her family. Yvonne, who had basically retired from acting by that point, had to go back to work to pay the bills.

“Before the accident, we were on the verge of breaking up, but when they took me to the hospital I just choked up and only one thought filled my mind: I don’t want my husband to die,” she said.

The Hollywood couple stayed together until 1973.

Losing her son

Sadly, De Carlo would once again have to face unimaginable tragedy. In 1997, her son Michael died at age 39. According to his brother, Michael died of brain damage from a stroke.

Her son’s death was a heavy blow for De Carlo. She made her last film in 1995, and after her son’s death never returned to the entertainment industry. She herself suffered a minor stroke in 1998.

According to her other son, Bob Ross, the stroke resulted from the stress and grief De Carlo felt over Michael’s passing.

“It just preyed on her mind to the point that she had a stroke the following year,” James Bawden, a former TV columnist for the Toronto Star, said.

“All she would talk about was her son.”

Yvonne De Carlo cause of death

Yvonne De Carlo passed away in January 2007 at age 84. During the last years of her life, she lived in a semi-retirement home near Solvang, north of Santa Barbara.

Her cause of death was heart failure.

“I think she will best remembered as the definitive Lily Munster. She was the vampire mom to millions of baby boomers. In that sense, she’s iconic,” her longtime friend and television producer Kevin Burns said at the time.

“But it would be a shame if that’s the only way she is remembered. She was also one of the biggest beauty queens of the ’40s and ’50s, one of the most beautiful women in the world. This was one of the great glamour queens of Hollywood, one of the last ones.”

Yvonne De Carlo during American Cinema Awards Foundation’s 84th Birthday Celebration for Buddy Ebsen at Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, United States. (Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)

Yvonne De Carlo is just pure legendary! She is what acting is all about and managed to reinvent herself all the time.

No matter her role, she was always on top of her game and portrayed her character in the most elegant and believable fashion. Rest in Peace!

Turia Pitt and Michael Hoskin: A Love Story of Resilience and Inspiration

Turia Pitt and Michael Hoskin’s story is a powerful testament to the boundless strength of love and resilience. Six years ago, Turia, a former model, endured a life-changing event when she was caught in a devastating fire while competing in an ultramarathon in Australia. She suffered severe burns that affected 64% of her body, leaving her with only a slim chance of survival, according to doctors.

Amid this unimaginable tragedy, Michael, Turia’s boyfriend at the time, made an extraordinary decision. He left his job as a police officer to become her caregiver and unwavering pillar of support. Over the course of her recovery, Turia underwent 200 operations, lost seven fingers, and faced the daunting challenge of rebuilding her life during a two-year rehabilitation. In 2020, she courageously shared her story, recounting the harrowing moments when a 100km race in remote Western Australia turned into a fight for survival against flames.

During this arduous journey, Michael’s love and commitment never wavered. At a pivotal moment in Turia’s recovery, he gifted her a diamond ring he had purchased years earlier. In the idyllic setting of the Maldives, he proposed, symbolizing their enduring love and hope for the future.

Turia’s recovery required her to wear a mask for two years, a difficult yet necessary step in her healing process. Through it all, Michael provided constant reassurance, reminding her daily of her beauty and strength. In 2016, after seven years of challenges and triumphs that included countless hours in hospitals, the couple exchanged vows in a deeply emotional ceremony, solidifying their bond and gratitude for one another.

Reflecting on their love, Turia shared, “I never wanted to sleep next to my partner. Now I think how lucky I am to be able to sleep next to this beauty. He’s a nice guy, and I’m very happy to meet him. Every day I wake up next to Michael is a wonderful day.”

As they navigated the complexities of rebuilding their lives, Turia and Michael felt a shared longing to expand their family. 

In 2017, Turia announced her pregnancy on Instagram, a moment of joy that captured the hearts of many. Despite being unable to run marathons during her pregnancy, she remained active and resilient. On December 7, 2017, the couple welcomed their first child, a baby boy named Hakawai, marking the start of a new chapter.

Their love story continued to grow with the birth of their second son, Rahiti Hoskin, on February 9, 2020. 

Today, Turia and Michael are happily married, raising their children and cherishing the love that has guided them through life’s trials and triumphs.

Their journey is a remarkable reminder of the strength of the human spirit and the transformative power of love. By sharing their story, we celebrate hope, resilience, and the belief that no obstacle is insurmountable when love is at the heart of it all.

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