Lola Albright

• Name — Lola Albright • Birth Name — Lois Jean Albright • Born — 20 July 1924 • Birthplace — Akron, Ohio, U.S. • Died — 23 March 2017 • Place of death — Los Angeles, California, U.S. • Years Active — 1947–1984 • Occupation — Actress, singer, model

Albright was born on July 20, 1924, in Akron, Ohio. Her mother was Marion A. (née Harvey) and her father was John Paul Albright, both of whom were gospel music singers. Lola's mother also was born in Ohio but her father was a native of North Dakota, who in 1930 supported the family by working as an inspector in a local insulating business. Albright attended King Grammar School and was graduated from West High School in Akron in 1942. She sang in public at a young age and studied piano for 20 years. Beginning when she was 15 years old, she worked after school as a receptionist at radio station WAKR in Akron. She left WAKR at the age of 18 and moved to Cleveland, taking a job as a stenographer at WTAM radio. Her first radio performance came on WJW in Cleveland. Moving to Chicago, she worked as a photographer's model and was discovered by a talent scout, which led to her moving to Hollywood at the age of 23.

In 1961, she starred in Alexander Singer's A Cold Wind in Augusta low-budget, black-and-white, independent filmas a divorced burlesque show stripper in her 30s who becomes involved in a torrid romance with a 17-year-old boy. Critic Pauline Kael offered high praise for Albright's performance. In 1985, The New York Times also lauded Albright's acting in the film. With respect to her personal assessment of her role in A Cold Wind in August, Albright said in 1961, "Some people come up to me and say, 'Lola, you shouldn't play that kind of part. It isn't you.' Well, I count to 10, bite my tongue, and then tell them that I'm an actress: I don't want to play myself."

• Illustration — With Craig Stevens in Peter Gunn (1960) • Illustration — Eric Fleming and Allyn Joslyn in Rawhide (1964) Unlike other film actors who were slow to begin acting in television, Albright was actively working in the medium from 1951. She appeared on the anthology series Lux Video Theatre in the episode "Inside Story". Later she had a recurring role on The Bob Cummings Show in the 1950s, and made guest appearances on television series such as Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Tales of Tomorrow (episode - All the Time in the World), The Thin Man, Gunsmoke, Rawhide, Laredo, Burke's Law, The Dick Van Dyke Show, My Three Sons, The Beverly Hillbillies, Bonanza (two episodes, including S6 E21 "The Search" 1965), The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Medical Center, Kojak, Columbo, McMillan & Wife, Quincy, M.E., Starsky & Hutch, The Incredible Hulk, and Branded. In 1958, Albright was cast in Peter Gunn, the television detective series produced by Blake Edwards and scored by Henry Mancini. She played sultry Edie Hart, a nightclub singer and the romantic interest of Peter Gunn (Craig Stevens). "She was perfect casting for that role because she had an off-the-cuff kind of jazz delivery that was very hard to find," Mancini said in 1992. "Just enough to believe that she'd be singing in that club and that she shouldn't be on Broadway or doing movies." Over the course of 114 episodes produced for Peter Gunn, Albright sang in 38 of them, covering jazz classics such as "How High the Moon", "A Good Man Is Hard to Find", "Easy Street", and "Day In, Day Out". When actress Dorothy Malone had to undergo emergency surgery, Albright filled in for her as the character Constance MacKenzie on the primetime soap opera Peyton Place. At the time, Albright called the role "one of the biggest challenges of my theatrical career." She continued to perform in films and to make guest appearances on television until her retirement in 1984.

• Illustration — Albright singing on Kraft Music Hall (1962) Columbia Records signed Albright as a vocalist, leading to the release of her album Lola Wants You in 1957. Albright's subsequent role on Peter Gunn and her performances singing on that series led directly to her second album, Dreamsville (1959), which was arranged by Henry Mancini and featured his orchestra. Albright is one of the few nonmovie-soundtrack singers for whom Mancini arranged.

In 1959, Albright was nominated for the Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress (Continuing Character) in a Dramatic Series for her work on Peter Gunn. In 1966, she won the Silver Bear for Best Actress award at the 16th Berlin International Film Festival for her role in Lord Love a Duck.

Albright married and divorced three times. Her first marriage, to Cleveland radio announcer Warren K. Deem, occurred in 1944. They divorced in 1949. From 1951 to 1958, her second husband was actor Jack Carson, who had been her co-star in The Good Humor Man (1950). (Another source says that they married August 1, 1952, and divorced November 10, 1958.) Albright was married to musician Bill Chadney, who played her pianist at the bar called Mother's on Peter Gunn, from 1961 to 1971. Following her retirement from acting in the early 1980s, Albright spent her remaining years living in Toluca Lake, Los Angeles. In 2014, she fell and fractured her spine, an injury that contributed to a general decline in her health over the next three years. On March 23, 2017, Albright died at her home at the age of 92.

Film • Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1947 — The Unfinished Dance — Associate — Uncredited • 1948 — The Pirate — Isabella • Easter Parade — Model — Uncredited • Julia Misbehaves — Mannequin — Uncredited • 1949 — Champion — Palmer Harris • Tulsa — Candy Williams • The Girl from Jones Beach — Vickie — Uncredited • Bodyhold — Mary Simmons • 1950 — The Good Humor Man — Margie Bellew • Beauty on Parade — Kay Woodstock • When You're Smiling — Peggy Martin • He's a Cockeyed Wonder — Actress — Uncredited • The Killer That Stalked New York — Francie Bennet • Sierra Passage — Ann Walker • 1952 — Arctic Flight — Martha Raymond • 1953 — The Silver Whip — Waco • 1955 — Treasure of Ruby Hills — May • The Magnificent Matador — Mona Wilton • The Tender Trap — Poppy Masters • 1957 — Pawnee — Meg Alden • The Monolith Monsters — Cathy Barrett • Oregon Passage — Sylvia Dane • 1958 — Seven Guns to Mesa — Julie Westcott • 1961 — A Cold Wind in August — Iris Hartford • 1962 — Kid Galahad — Dolly Fletcher • 1964 — Joy House — Barbara • 1966 — Lord Love a Duck — Marie Greene • 1967 — The Way West — Rebecca "Becky" Evans • The Money Jungle — Peggy Lido • 1968 — Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? — Roberta Lane • The Impossible Years — Alice Kingsley • The Helicopter Spies — Azalea Kharmusi Short subjects: • The Soundman (1950) • Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Cowboy Stars (1955) • Filmmaking on the Riviera (1964) Television • Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1951 — Lux Video Theatre — Jennifer/Miriam — Episode 38: "Inside Story" • Armstrong Circle Theatre — Episode: "Twenty-One Days" • 1952 — All Star Revue — Guest Vocalist — Episode: "2.24" • Tales of Tomorrow — Carol Williams — Episode: "The Miraculous Serum" • 1953 — Racket Squad — Nancy Metcalfe — Episode: "The System" • 1954 — Fireside Theatre — Joyce — Episode: "Invitation to Marriage" • The Pepsi-Cola Playhouse — Jane — Episode: "Borrow My Car" • Duffy's Tavern — Sherry — Episode: "Archie Faces Marriage" • Adventures of the Falcon — Episode: "The Golden Phony" • 1955 — Screen Directors Playhouse — Nancy Wheeler — Episode: "Arroyo" • It's a Great Life — Marilyn — Episode: "Double Date" • Gunsmoke — Lucy Hunt — Episode: "Reed Survives" • 1955–1957 — The Bob Cummings Show — Kay Michaels — 7 episodes • 1956 — Four Star Playhouse — Beverly Hudson — Episode: "No Limit" • The People's Choice — Dancer — Episode: "Sock, the Budget Balancer" • Celebrity Playhouse — Episode: "Girl at Large" • 1956–1957 — The Red Skelton Hour — Herself/Priscilla/Spy — 2 episodes • 1957 — Code 3 — Carol — Episode: "Sunset Strip" • 1958 — The Thin Man — Katherine West — Episode: "The Tennis Champ" • Panic! — Karen Adams — Episode: "Fingerprints" • Target — Episode: "The Jewel Thief" • 1958–1961 — Peter Gunn — Edie Hart — Main role; 84 episodes • 1960 — Michael Shayne — Marie Leonard — Episode: "Framed in Blood" • 1961 — The United States Steel Hour — Episode: "Famous" • King of Diamonds — Margie Howard — Episode: "The Wizard of Ice" • The Detectives — Edna Craven — Episode: "The Queen of Craven Point" • Adventures in Paradise — Nita Graham — Episode: "One Way Ticket" • General Electric Theater — Cathy Armstrong — Episode: "Cat in the Cradle" • 1962 — Saints and Sinners — Emily Fielder — Episode: "Dear George, the Siamese Cat Is Missing" • My Three Sons — Paulette Francis — Episode: "Going Steady" • 1962–1964 — The Alfred Hitchcock Hour — Lisa/Ruth Burke/Eva Martin — 3 episodes • 1963 — The Beverly Hillbillies — Gloria Buckles — Episode: "Granny's Spring Tonic" • The Third Man — Edie — Episode: "The Way of McEagle" • The Eleventh Hour — Lillian Marnell — Episode: "Cold Hands, Warm Heart" • 1963–1965 — Burke's Law — Various — 5 episodes • 1964 — The Dick Van Dyke Show — Paula Marshall — Episode: "How to Spank a Star" • Dr. Kildare — Gertrude Carey — Episode: "A Nickel's Worth of Prayer" • Mr. Broadway — Duff Daniels — Episode: "Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones" • Wagon Train — Leonora Parkman — Episode: "Those Who Stay Behind" • 1964–1965 — Rawhide — Maribelle Ashton-Warner/Lottie Denton — Episode: "Incident of the Banker" • 1965 — Laredo — Lilah Evans — Episode: "Above the Law" • 1965–1966 — Peyton Place — Constance Mackenzie Carson — Main role; 8 episodes • Branded — Ann Williams — 3 episodes • 1965–1967 — Bonanza — Ann/Dolly Bantree — 2 episodes • 1966–1967 — Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre — Edith Woodland/Vickie Tate — 2 episodes • 1967 — How I Spent My Summer Vacation — Mrs. Pine — TV movie • The Man from U.N.C.L.E. — Azalea Kharmusi — 2 episodes • Ready and Willing — Wilma O'Brien — TV movie • Cimarron Strip — Stacey Houston — Episode: "The Beast That Walks Like a Man" • 1968 — Off to See the Wizard — Sea Siren — Voice; 2 episodes • 1972–1974 — Medical Center — Madeline Barris/Grace — 2 episodes • 1973 — The ABC Afternoon Playbreak — Mary Fiske — Episode: "My Secret Mother" • Kojak — Celia Lamb — Episode: "The Corrupter" • 1975 — The Nurse Killer — Hannah — TV movie • Police Story — Minnie — Episode: "The Cutting Edge" • 1976 — McMillan & Wife — Nurse Fisher — Episode: "The Deadly Cure" • Starsky and Hutch — Lola Turkel — Episode: "Bounty Hunter" • Columbo — Clare Daley — Episode: "Fade in to Murder" • 1977 — Delta County, U.S.A. — Dossie Wilson — TV movie • Terraces — Dorothea Cabe — TV movie • 1978 — Switch — Millie Tate — Episode: "Who Killed Lila Craig?" • The Eddie Capra Mysteries — Kathleen Vale — Episode: "Where There's Smoke" • 1981 — The Incredible Hulk — Elizabeth Collins — 2 episodes • 1983 — Quincy M.E. — Liz McKenna — Episode: "Murder on Ice" • 1984 — Airwolf — Beatrice Moretti — Episode: "Sins of the Past"

Albright made her motion-picture debut with a small singing role in the 1947 musical comedy The Unfinished Dance, and then appeared the following year in two Judy Garland movies: The Pirate and Easter Parade. She first gained studio and public notice in the 1949 film noir production Champion with her portrayal of the wife of a manipulative boxing manager; she falls for a prizefighter played by Kirk Douglas. For the next several years, she appeared in secondary roles in over 20 films, including several B Westerns. Among them was a co-starring role in the slapstick comedy The Good Humor Man in 1950 with future husband Jack Carson. Some of the films in which Albright appeared were Tulsa (1949), starring Susan Hayward; The Silver Whip (1953), in which she played Dale Robertson's love interest; and The Tender Trap (1955), in which she was one of several women trying to trap a bachelor, played by Frank Sinatra, into marriage. In the early 1950s, Albright was also a frequent model for pinup painter Gil Elvgren.

Her performance in A Cold Wind in August gave fresh impetus to her film career, leading to roles in Elvis Presley's musical Kid Galahad in 1962, in which she played the hard-boiled, long-time girlfriend of a cynical boxing manager played by Gig Young, and in French director René Clément's Joy House as a wealthy widow with a passion for handing out meals to the poor (albeit with an ulterior motive). In Lord Love a Duck (1966) she portrayed a cocktail waitress who turns suicidal when she thinks she has ruined her daughter Tuesday Weld's life. The next year, she was in the Western epic The Way West. She gave up her feature-film career in 1968 after completing her work in The Impossible Years, a generation-gap farce in which she performed as Alice Kingsley, the despairing wife of a professor of psychiatry played by David Niven and the mother of two teenaged daughters.