Lola Jean Albright (July , â€" March , ) was an American singer and
actress, best known for playing the sultry singer Edie Hart, the
girlfriend of private eye Peter Gunn, on all three seasons of the TV
series Peter Gunn.Albright was born in Akron, Ohio, to Marion A. (née
Harvey) and John Paul Albright, both of whom were gospel music
singers. Lola's mother also was born in Ohio but her father was a
native of North Dakota, who in supported the family by working as an
inspector in a local insulating business.Albright attended King
Grammar School and graduated from West High School in Akron in . She
sang in public at a young age and studied piano for years. Beginning
when she was years old, she worked after school as a receptionist at
radio station WAKR in Akron. She left WAKR at the age of and moved to
Cleveland, taking a job as a stenographer at WTAM radio. Her first
radio performance came on WJW in Cleveland. Moving to Chicago, she
worked as a photographer's model and was discovered by a talent scout,
which led to her moving to Hollywood at the age of .Albright made her
motion picture debut with a small singing role in the musical comedy
The Unfinished Dance and then appeared the following year in two Judy
Garland movies: The Pirate and Easter Parade. She first gained studio
and public notice in the film noir production Champion with her
portrayal of the wife of a manipulative boxing manager; she falls for
a prizefighter played by Kirk Douglas. For the next several years, she
appeared in secondary roles in over films, including several B
westerns. Among them was a co-starring role in the slapstick comedy
The Good Humor Man in with future husband Jack Carson.
actress, best known for playing the sultry singer Edie Hart, the
girlfriend of private eye Peter Gunn, on all three seasons of the TV
series Peter Gunn.Albright was born in Akron, Ohio, to Marion A. (née
Harvey) and John Paul Albright, both of whom were gospel music
singers. Lola's mother also was born in Ohio but her father was a
native of North Dakota, who in supported the family by working as an
inspector in a local insulating business.Albright attended King
Grammar School and graduated from West High School in Akron in . She
sang in public at a young age and studied piano for years. Beginning
when she was years old, she worked after school as a receptionist at
radio station WAKR in Akron. She left WAKR at the age of and moved to
Cleveland, taking a job as a stenographer at WTAM radio. Her first
radio performance came on WJW in Cleveland. Moving to Chicago, she
worked as a photographer's model and was discovered by a talent scout,
which led to her moving to Hollywood at the age of .Albright made her
motion picture debut with a small singing role in the musical comedy
The Unfinished Dance and then appeared the following year in two Judy
Garland movies: The Pirate and Easter Parade. She first gained studio
and public notice in the film noir production Champion with her
portrayal of the wife of a manipulative boxing manager; she falls for
a prizefighter played by Kirk Douglas. For the next several years, she
appeared in secondary roles in over films, including several B
westerns. Among them was a co-starring role in the slapstick comedy
The Good Humor Man in with future husband Jack Carson.
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