Judy Tyler

Judy Tyler
Tyler alongside Elvis Presley
Born Judith Mae Hess
(1932-10-09)October 9, 1932
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Died July 3, 1957(1957-07-03) (aged 24)
near Rock River, Wyoming, U.S.
Cause of death Car accident
Resting place Ferncliff Cemetery
Occupation Actress
Years active 1947–1957
Spouse(s)
Colin Romoff
(m. 1950; div. 1957)

Gregory Lafayette (m. 1957–1957)

Judy Tyler (born Judith Mae Hess; October 9, 1932 – July 3, 1957) was an American actress.[1]

Early life and career

Judy Tyler (left) in the Broadway production of Pipe Dream (1955)

Born Judith Mae Hess in Milwaukee, she came from a show business family and was encouraged to study dance and acting. Her acting career began as a teenager with regular appearances on Howdy Doody as Princess Summerfall Winterspring from 1950 to 1953.

Like her mother, she became a chorus girl, but then went on to land a starring role in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Pipe Dream. Life did a story on rising Broadway talent with Tyler on the magazine's cover as one of the up-and-coming stars. She lived with her parents in Teaneck, New Jersey while appearing on Howdy Doody and Broadway.[2]

Offered an opportunity in Hollywood, Tyler appeared in the film Bop Girl Goes Calypso (1957), then starred opposite Elvis Presley in Jailhouse Rock (1957). She made a guest appearance on Perry Mason as Irene Kilby in "The Case of the Fan Dancer's Horse", which aired on December 28, 1957, nearly six months after her death.

Death

After completing filming of the Presley movie, she and her second husband, Gregory Lafayette (born Earl Gregory Nisonger Jr. on January 23, 1938 in New York City) left Hollywood to return to their home in New York. While driving through Wyoming on July 3, 1957, they were involved in an automobile accident on U.S. Route 287 near Rock River. She was killed instantly, aged 24, and her husband died the following day, aged 19. A passenger in the other car was killed as well. Police said Lafayette swerved to avoid hitting a car that was towing a trailer, and collided with the other vehicle involved in the crash.[2]

Tyler's cremated remains are in the private family room of her husband in the mausoleum in Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York.

References

  1. ↑ Obituary Variety, July 10, 1957, page 127.
  2. 1 2 "JUDY TYLER DIES AS CARS COLLIDE; Actress and Husband Killed by Crash in Wyoming-- Was on 'Howdy Doody'", The New York Times, July 4, 1957. Accessed October 17, 2014.
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