Lola Albright facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lola Albright
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Albright as Edie Hart in Peter Gunn, 1959
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Lola Jean Albright
July 20, 1924 Akron, Ohio, U.S.
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| Died | March 23, 2017 (aged 92) Toluca Lake, California, U.S.
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| Occupation | Actress, singer, model |
| Years active | 1947–1984 |
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Lola Jean Albright (July 20, 1924 – March 23, 2017) was an American singer and actress. She was best known for playing Edie Hart, a cool singer and the girlfriend of detective Peter Gunn. She played this role in all three seasons of the TV series Peter Gunn.
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Lola Albright's Early Life
Lola Albright was born in Akron, Ohio. Her parents, Marion and John Paul Albright, were both gospel music singers. Lola's mother was from Ohio, and her father was from North Dakota. In 1930, her father worked as an inspector in a business that made insulation.
Lola went to King Grammar School and graduated from West High School in Akron in 1942. She started singing in public when she was very young. She also studied piano for 20 years. When she was 15, she worked after school as a receptionist at radio station WAKR in Akron.
At 18, she moved to Cleveland and worked as a stenographer at WTAM radio. She had her first radio performance on WJW in Cleveland. Later, she moved to Chicago and worked as a model for photographers. A talent scout discovered her there, which led her to move to Hollywood when she was 23.
Lola Albright in Movies
Lola Albright's first movie role was a small singing part in the 1947 musical comedy The Unfinished Dance. The next year, she appeared in two movies with Judy Garland: The Pirate and Easter Parade.
She became more noticed in 1949 in the movie Champion. She played the wife of a boxing manager and fell in love with a boxer played by Kirk Douglas. For several years after that, she acted in more than 20 films. Many of these were B Westerns. She also co-starred in the comedy The Good Humor Man in 1950 with Jack Carson, who later became her husband.
Some other movies Lola appeared in include Tulsa (1949) with Susan Hayward. She was also in The Silver Whip (1953) and The Tender Trap (1955). In The Tender Trap, she was one of several women trying to marry a bachelor played by Frank Sinatra.
In the early 1950s, Lola Albright was also a frequent model for pinup artist Gil Elvgren.
Her Role in A Cold Wind in August
In 1961, Lola Albright starred in A Cold Wind in August. This was a low-budget, black-and-white independent film. Many critics praised her acting in this movie. In 1985, The New York Times also spoke highly of her performance.
Lola Albright herself said about the role in 1961, "Some people tell me, 'Lola, you shouldn't play that kind of part. It isn't you.' I just tell them that I'm an actress. I don't want to play myself."
Later Movie Roles
Her strong performance in A Cold Wind in August helped her movie career. She then got roles in Elvis Presley's musical Kid Galahad (1962). In this film, she played the tough girlfriend of a boxing manager. She also appeared in the French movie Joy House (1964). In Lord Love a Duck (1966), she played a cocktail waitress. The next year, she was in the Western movie The Way West.
Lola Albright stopped making feature films in 1968. Her last movie was The Impossible Years. In this comedy, she played Alice Kingsley, the wife of a psychiatry professor played by David Niven.
Lola Albright on Television
Lola Albright started acting in television early, beginning in 1951. She appeared on the show Lux Video Theatre. Later, she had a repeating role on The Bob Cummings Show in the 1950s. She also made guest appearances on many other TV series.
Some of these shows include:
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents
- Gunsmoke
- Rawhide
- The Dick Van Dyke Show
- My Three Sons
- The Beverly Hillbillies
- Bonanza
- The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
- Kojak
- Columbo
- The Incredible Hulk
In 1958, Lola Albright was cast in Peter Gunn. This was a detective TV series created by Blake Edwards with music by Henry Mancini. She played Edie Hart, a nightclub singer and Peter Gunn's girlfriend. Henry Mancini said in 1992 that she was perfect for the role because she had a natural jazz singing style.
During the 114 episodes of Peter Gunn, Lola Albright sang in 38 of them. She performed jazz songs like "How High the Moon" and "Easy Street".
When actress Dorothy Malone needed surgery, Lola Albright took over her role as Constance MacKenzie on the TV show Peyton Place. Lola called this role "one of the biggest challenges" of her acting career. She continued to act in movies and make guest appearances on TV until she retired in 1984.
Lola Albright's Music Career
Columbia Records signed Lola Albright as a singer. This led to her first album, Lola Wants You, released in 1957. Her role on Peter Gunn and her singing on the show led to her second album, Dreamsville (1959). This album was arranged by Henry Mancini and featured his orchestra. Lola Albright is one of the few singers who were not part of a movie soundtrack for whom Mancini arranged music.
Awards and Recognition
In 1959, Lola Albright was nominated for an Emmy Award. This was for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama 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. She won this for her role in Lord Love a Duck.
Lola Albright's Personal Life
Lola Albright was married and divorced three times. Her first marriage was to radio announcer Warren Dean in 1944. They divorced in 1949. Her second husband was actor Jack Carson, from 1951 to 1958. They had co-starred in The Good Humor Man. Her third marriage was to Bill Chadney, who played the piano player Emmett on Peter Gunn. They married in 1961 and divorced in 1975.
After she retired from acting, Lola Albright lived in Toluca Lake, California. In 2014, she fell and broke her spine. This injury led to her health getting worse over the next three years.
Lola Albright passed away at her home on March 23, 2017, at the age of 92.
Images for kids
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Lola Albright as Edie Hart in Peter Gunn, 1959
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Lola Albright with Craig Stevens in Peter Gunn (1960)
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Lola Albright with Eric Fleming and Allyn Joslyn in Rawhide (1964)
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Lola Albright singing on Kraft Music Hall (1962)
See also
In Spanish: Lola Albright para niños
