Peggy King, a 1950s television and recording star, died Sunday following a battle with Alzheimer’s disease at the Saunders House assisted living center in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. She was 96 years old.
King’s publicist, Alan Eicher, confirmed his death.
King was a regular on the “George Gobel Show” from 1954 to 1957. Gobel nicknamed her “Pretty Perky Peggy King,” a nickname that stuck for the rest of her career. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Female Vocalist in 1955. She performed “Count Your Blessings” at the 1955 Academy Awards and co-hosted the 1958 Emmys.
King has appeared on such shows as Bob Hope’s “Chevrolet 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 drama credits include roles in “Maverick” and “Dragnet.”
In 1952, she signed a contract with MGM, which led to an appearance in Vincente Minnelli’s “The Bad and the Beautiful”, in which she sang on the album’s soundtrack. She also appeared in “Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy.”
Mitch Miller signed her to a long-term contract with Columbia Records, where she made two successful albums. She had a string of hit singles and composer Arthur Hamilton wrote “Cry Me a River” for her, but Miller wouldn’t let her record the song.
King starred with Tab Hunter in the television musical “Hans Brinker or the Silver Skates.” She also starred in a television musical version of “Jack and the Beanstalk” with Joel Grey, Celeste Holm and Cyril Ritchard. She played a flight attendant in the thriller “Zero Hour!” from 1957. with Dana Andrews and Linda Danell.
She was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame in 2010 and was among the first celebrities to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. King’s last recording was the album “Songs a la King”, released in 2016. She performed regularly in the Philadelphia area, New York and Los Angeles until 2014.
King was born on February 16, 1930, to Floyd Henry King and Margaret Finan in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Ravenna High School and sang on the radio in Cleveland. She was a regular on “The Mel Torme Show” for CBS and had a hit commercial jingle for Hunt’s Tomato Sauce.
King is survived by his daughter, Suzy Rudofker, and son-in-law, Dwain Goforth.
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