Tyra Vaughn (March 13, 1923 – August 9, 2015) was an American actress, model, and showgirl, who appeared in motion pictures and television throughout the 1940s and late 1950s, and who later found a second career as a professional dance instructor.

Early life

She was born on March 13, 1923, in

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming V ...

. Her father was a police sergeant. She attended

West Scranton High School West Scranton High School, is a community-based school in the "West Side" neighborhood of Scranton, Pennsylvania, United States. It is one of the oldest schools in the area, having opened to the public in 1935, first as a junior high facility and ...

from which was she was active in the drama club and graduated in June 1941. With the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, she moved to Los Angeles and joined the

USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

as a professional dancer. In 1943, she joined other variety showgirls in protesting a waiters' strike at

Earl Carroll Earl Carroll (September 16, 1893 – June 17, 1948) was an American theatrical producer, director, writer, songwriter and composer. Early life Carroll was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1893. He lived as an infant in the Nunnery Hill ( Fine ...

's Theater-Restaurant in Hollywood. She was a swimsuit model, named "Miss Springtime of 1944" by the Blue Book modeling agency, run by Emmeline Snively. Later in 1944 she appeared as an artist's model in a segment for NBC's ''

People are Funny ''People Are Funny'' is an American radio and television game show, created by John Guedel that ran from 1942 to 1960 in which contestants were asked to carry out stunts in order to prove that "People Are Funny." Many stunts lasted weeks, month ...

'' program.

Career after World War II

After the war, Vaughn was a dance instructor for the

Hollywood Athletic Club The Hollywood Athletic Club is an office building and event space in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles. Since it was built in 1924, it has had a varied history as a health club, bar, music venue, and billiard room. It is located on Sunset ...

, before producer

Samuel Goldwyn Samuel Goldwyn (born Szmuel Gelbfisz; yi, שמואל געלבפֿיש; August 27, 1882 (claimed) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer. He was best known for being the founding contributor an ...

selected her for his 1940s

Goldwyn Girls The Goldwyn Girls were a musical stock company of female dancers employed by Samuel Goldwyn. Famous actresses, dancers, and models whose career included a stint in the Goldwyn Girls include Lucille Ball, Virginia Bruce, Claire Dodd, Paulette Go ...

ensemble. She later appeared (without credits) in such movies as ''

The Harvey Girls ''The Harvey Girls'' is a 1946 Technicolor American musical film produced by Arthur Freed for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It is based on the 1942 novel of the same name by Samuel Hopkins Adams, about Fred Harvey's Harvey House waitresses. Directed ...

'' (1946), ''

The Kid from Brooklyn ''The Kid from Brooklyn'' is a 1946 American musical comedy film directed by Norman Z. McLeod and starring Danny Kaye, Virginia Mayo, Vera-Ellen, Steve Cochran, Walter Abel, Eve Arden, and Fay Bainter. Virginia Mayo's and Vera-Ellen's singing v ...

'' (1946), '' Down to Earth'' (1947), '' Letter from an Unknown Woman'' (1948), ''

Duchess of Idaho Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

'' (1950), and '' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'' (1953). As a friend of actress and swimmer Esther Williams, she landed a recurring role on the

Lux Video Theatre ''Lux Video Theatre'' is an American television anthology series that was produced from 1950 until 1957. The series presented both comedy and drama in original teleplays, as well as abridged adaptations of films and plays. Overview The ''Lux Vid ...

with Williams' help, appearing in several episodes between 1950 and 1957. When the series ended, Vaughn left acting and lived in Southern California, teaching dance until her 1988 retirement.

Personal life

Vaughn died aged 92 on August 9, 2015, in

Northridge, California Northridge is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the Los Angeles, California, City of Los Angeles. The community is home to California State University, Northridge, and the Northridge Fashion Center. Originally named List_of_mino ...

, from natural causes. Her remains were donated to medical science at the UCLA Medical Center. Vaughn never married. In 1947, she adopted and raised a son. She was survived by her son, a daughter-in-law, one younger sister, and several nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vaughn, Tyra 1923 births 2015 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actors from Scranton, Pennsylvania Actresses from Pennsylvania American ballroom dancers American female dancers American film actresses American memoirists American tap dancers American television actresses American women memoirists Dance teachers Dancers from Pennsylvania People from Greater Los Angeles Western (genre) film actresses