Peggy King, Singer and ‘George Gobel Show’ Star, Dies at 96

Peggy King, the singer and actress who became a familiar face during television’s golden age through The George Gobel Show, has died at 96. Her career also encompassed Columbia Records albums, Hollywood films and appearances on some of the era’s best-known entertainment programs.

Her publicist, Alan Eicher, confirmed her death, Variety reported. According to that report, King died Sunday after living with Alzheimer’s disease at the Saunders House assisted living facility in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania.

King was a regular on The George Gobel Show from 1954 to 1957, becoming known by the nickname “Pretty Perky Peggy King.” The association gave her a national platform and remained a defining part of her public identity across the decades that followed.

Born February 16, 1930, in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, King graduated from Ravenna High School in Ohio. According to the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia’s biography, her early professional experience included singing on Cleveland radio and performing with a local hotel band before touring with orchestras led by Charlie Spivak, Ray Anthony and Ralph Flanagan.

Her move into television included an appearance on Mel Torme’s CBS show. A commercial jingle for Hunt’s tomato sauce helped attract the attention of Mitch Miller, leading to a recording contract with Columbia Records. That path placed advertising, broadcasting and recorded music at the center of her early success.

King’s screen career developed alongside her singing work. An MGM contract in 1952 led to a singing cameo in Vincente Minnelli’s The Bad and the Beautiful, and she subsequently appeared in Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy. She also played a stewardess in the 1957 thriller Zero Hour!, which later provided the inspiration for Airplane!

Her television appearances extended well beyond Gobel’s program, including The Jack Benny Program, American Bandstand, The Steve Allen Show and The Perry Como Show. Dramatic credits included Maverick and Dragnet. Together, those appearances reflected a career that crossed musical performance, comedy and acting rather than remaining confined to one format.

King received an Emmy nomination for best female singer in 1955 and performed “Count Your Blessings” at that year’s Academy Awards. She later co-hosted the 1958 Emmy Awards. Those assignments underscored her visibility during the same period in which television variety programs were establishing her as a national personality.

Her performing life continued beyond her initial television prominence. The Los Angeles Times documented her return to performing in the 1980s with the Philadelphia Pops Orchestra and her recordings of standards. The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia inducted her into its Hall of Fame in 2010, adding to recognition that included a Hollywood Walk of Fame star.

Variety identified Songs a la King, released in 2016, as her last released recording. She is survived by her daughter, Suzy Rudofker, and son-in-law, Dwain Goforth. The death reports cited here did not provide details of a memorial service.