Actress and Singer Was 96
Variety • • entertainment
Key Points:
- Peggy King, a prominent 1950s television and recording star, died at age 96 after battling Alzheimer’s disease at an assisted living facility in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.
- King gained fame as a regular on the “George Gobel Show” from 1954-57, earning the nickname “Pretty Perky Peggy King” and receiving an Emmy nomination for best female singer in 1955.
- Her career included appearances on numerous popular TV shows, performances at the Academy Awards and Emmys, and roles in films such as “The Bad and the Beautiful” and “Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy.”
- King recorded hit albums with Columbia Records, though she was notably prevented from recording the song “Cry Me a River,” written specifically for her, and continued performing into the 2010s.
- She was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame in 2010, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and is survived by her daughter and son-in-law.
