1950s television and recording star Peggy King died Sunday at the Saunders House Assisted Living facility in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, following a battle with Alzheimer’s. He was 96 years old.
King’s publicist Alan Eicher confirmed his death.
King was a regular on “The George Gobel Show” from 1954-57. Gobel called her “Beautiful Spoiled Peggy King”, a nickname that stuck for the rest of her career. In 1955, she was nominated for an Emmy Award for best female singer. She sang “Count Your Blessings” at the 1955 Academy Awards and hosted the Emmys in 1958.
King has appeared on such shows as Bob Hope’s “Chevy Show,” “American Bandstand,” “The Steve Allen Show,” “The Kraft Music Hall with Milton Berle,” “What’s My Line?”, “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” “The Perry Como Show,” “The Garry Moore Show” and “The Jack Benny Program.” His dramatic credits include roles in “Maverick” and “Dragnet.”
In 1952, she signed an MGM contract, resulting in a small role in Vincente Minnelli’s film “The Bad and the Beautiful,” for which she sang on the soundtrack album. He also appeared in the movie “Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy.”
Mitch Miller signed her to a long-term contract with Columbia Records, where she produced two best-selling albums. She had a string of hit singles, and composer Arthur Hamilton wrote “Cry Me a River” for her, but Miller did not allow her to record the song.
King starred opposite Tab Hunter in the television musical “Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates.” He also starred in the TV musical version of “Jack and the Beanstalk,” opposite Joel Gray, Celeste Holm and Cyril Ritchard. She played a stewardess in the 1957 thriller “Zero Hour!” With Dana Andrews and Linda Danell.
He was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame in 2010 and was among the first celebrities to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. King’s last recorded album was “Songs a la King”, released in 2016. By late 2014, he was performing regularly in the Philadelphia area, New York, and Los Angeles.
King was born on February 16, 1930, in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, to Floyd Henry King and Margaret Finan. He graduated from Ravenna High School and sang on the radio in Cleveland. He was a regular on “The Mel Torme Show” for CBS and produced a successful commercial jingle for Hunt’s Tomato Soce.
King is survived by his daughter Suzy Rudofker and son-in-law Dwain Goforth.