Trivia

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.

She died before a role, where she wore a more than risque pair of shorts, on Perry Mason's "The Case of the Fan Dancer's Horse" was first televised on December, 28, 1957.

Singer Patti Page was Judy's matron of honor at her March, 1957 wedding to actor Gregory LaFayette. Brooklyn Dodgers scout Irving Rudd was "best man".

Judy Tyler was not interred or buried. Her body was cremated and her ashes are in an urn in the Ferncliff Mausoleum in Hartsdale, New York.

She moved in 1950 and worked as a singer/chorine at the Copacabana night club. There she met Colin Romoff, the pianist at the Copa, who became her vocal coach. They married two months later.

Harry Conover gave young Judith Mae Hess the choice of Tyler or Taylor as a last name.

Was nominated for Broadway's 1956 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actress (Musical) for "Pipe Dream."

Born in New York City but raised in Teaneck, New Jersey.

Appeared on the cover of Life magazine while performing on Broadway in the 1955 musical "Pipe Dream." She earned a Tony nomination in 1956 for her performance but lost out to Lotte Lenya in "The Threepenny Opera."

Tyler was on her way home to New York City where she was scheduled for an appearance on "Pantomime Quiz" when she died.

Won the national beauty title of "Miss Stardust" in 1948.

Actor/husband Greg Lafayette was originally from Hopewell Junction, New York. He had recently completed the war drama Under Fire (1957) at the time of his death.

In January 1950, 17-year-old Judy Tyler of Teaneck, NJ was featured in a nationwide syndicated Sunday column offering tips on teen beauty and fashion.

In the 1955 Tony-nominated musical "Pipe Dreams," Tyler, Bill Johnson and Jerry LaZarre introduced the Rodgers & Hammerstein song "All at Once You Love Her". Co-star Johnson died of a heart ailment at age 40 on March 6, 1957, just a few months before Judy's tragic death.

Studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Father Julian S. Hess was a trumpeter who played for various bands.

Former Conover model in New York.

Was a member of First Church of Christ Scientist in New York.

She was commemorated on a Mongolian postage stamp as Princess Summerfall Winterspring.

First husband was Colin Romoff, musical conductor for Andy Williams' TV show in the early 1960s. They divorced in 1956.