Biography

Judy Tyler

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Her father was a trumpeter with bands such as Paul Whiteman and Benny Goodman, and her mother was a former Ziegfeld Follies dancer. Judy studied ballet, music, and acting, won a "Miss Stardust" beauty contest in 1949, danced with the Copacabana chorus line. and was making bit appearances on television while still in high school. At age 17, she landed the part of Princess Summerfall Winterspring on the The Howdy Doody Show (1947) children's TV show, where she stayed for two years before resigning. She returned to stage work and was "rediscovered" in a play in 1956, "Pipe Dream", which landed her on the cover of "Life" magazine. She made two films, the last as Elvis Presley's co-star, Jailhouse Rock (1957). Three days after shooting completed, she and her second husband were driving home from Los Angeles to New York when he swerved to avoid hitting a truck and collided with another vehicle; she was dead at the scene, and he died the following morning of the injuries he sustained. Buried in Hartsdale, New York. No children by either marriage.
- IMDb mini biography by: Rich Wannen <RichWannen@worldnet.att.net>

Ms. Tyler (Mrs. LaFayette) was killed instantly on Highway 30 near Wilcox, Wyoming when her husband of only four months, actor Gregory LaFayette, swerved into oncoming traffic in order to avoid hitting a car towing a trailer that pulled in front of them onto the highway. The Lafayette car was hit broadside by another car driven by Paul L. Reed, 32. Tyler's husband died the next day at the hospital and Donald J. Jones, 23, a passenger in the Reed automobile, also died. The Lafayette's traveling pets, a dog and a cat, also perished in the crash.
It is said Elvis Presley became infatuated with Judy Tyler while filming Jailhouse Rock (1957), and that he was so upset by her death that he could not bear to watch the film.
The brown-eyed, raven-haired actress's untimely death at age 24 prompted singer-actor Kenny Baker to record a tribute song in her memory titled "Goodbye Little Star".
Tyler had just finished filming Jailhouse Rock (1957) opposite Elvis Presley on June 30, 1957, in Los Angeles and was motoring east cross-country with her newlywed husband, Gregory LaFayette, back to their home at 158 West 44th Street in New York City when the fatal car crash on Highway 30 in Wyoming occurred.
Due to her premature death, she never had the opportunity to see her performances in either of her two feature films.

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