She acted in the musical, "Hello, Dolly!," at the Ogunquit Playhouse in Ogunquit, Maine. The musical is based on the play, "The Matchmaker," by Thornton Wilder. Jerry Herman was composer and lyricist. Michael Stewart wrote the book.
She died in a fiery crash of a four-seat Beechcraft Bonanza shortly after takeoff in Burbank, California on July 31, 1955 at approximately 5 p.m. The plane was flown by a newly-licensed pilot, actor Robert Francis.