Peggy King, ‘George Gobel Show’ Actress and Singer of the ’50s, Dies at 96

Peggy King, a 1950s television and recording star, died Sunday following a battle with Alzheimer’s at the Saunders House Assisted Living facility in Wynnewood, Pa. She was 96.

King’s publicist, Alan Eicher, confirmed her death.

King was a regular on the “George Gobel Show” from 1954-57. Gobel dubbed 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 singer in 1955. She performed “Count Your Blessings” at the 1955 Academy Awards and co-hosted the Emmys in 1958.

King appeared on shows including 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.” Her dramatic credits include roles on “Maverick” and “Dragnet.”

In 1952, she signed to an MGM contract, which led to a cameo in Vincente Minnelli’s “The Bad and the Beautiful,” in which she sang on the soundtrack album. 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 best-selling albums. She had a string of hit singles, and composer Arthur Hamilton wrote “Cry Me a River” for her but Miller would not 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 TV musical version of “Jack and the Beanstalk” with Joel Grey, Celeste Holm and Cyril Ritchard. She played a stewardess in the 1957 thriller “Zero Hour!” with Dana Andrews and Linda Danell.

She was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame in 2010 and was among the first celebrities honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. King’s last released recording was the album “Songs a la King,” released in 2016. She performed regularly in the Philadelphia area, New York and Los Angeles as late as 2014.

King was born Feb. 16, 1930, to Floyd Henry King and Margaret Finan in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. She graduated from Ravenna High School and sang on radio in Cleveland. She was a regular on “The Mel Torme Show” for CBS and had a successful commercial jingle for Hunt’s Tomato Sauce.

King is survived by her daughter, Suzy Rudofker, and son-in-law, Dwain Goforth.