July 29, 2009

Veteran film and television actress Betty May Adams grew up in Little Rock (Pulaski County) and attended Little Rock Junior College, now the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. In 1946, she moved to California to pursue an acting career, landing her first movie role in 1949. By 1954, movie producers had changed her name to Julia, and she was cast in her best-known role, in the 3-D horror classic Creature from the Black Lagoon. By 1955, she was known by the more familiar Julie Adams. She appeared in more than 100 productions. In 2013, she was honored with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Distinguished Alumni Award. She died in 2019.