Tired of sharing a stage with elephants, pigeons, and horses, she began taking acting classes with actor/teacher Jeff Corey.

Her big break came when Jerry Lewis cast her in It's Only Money, in which she played a tantalizing sexpot, a role which brought her much publicity.

This led to Lewis hiring her for five more of his films, including The Nutty Professor, The Patsy, The Disorderly Orderly, The Family Jewels, and Cracking Up, in which she portrayed a 15th-century marquise.

[5] York portrayed Amanda Agnew on It Takes a Thief,[6] Wendy Wendkoski on Slattery's People,[7]: 980  and Kate Landis on The Courtship of Eddie's Father.

York played Lillie Langtry (with Peter Whitney as Judge Roy Bean) in the 1965 episode "A Picture of a Lady" of the syndicated television anthology series, Death Valley Days.

She appeared as Noble Niolani, a military leader from a matriarchal society where males were subjugated, in Lost in Space Season 2, Episode 25 "The Colonists" (1966).

[3][5] She continued to act in films and on television, with TV appearances including Hot in Cleveland (as British matriarch Lady Natalie), and The Mindy Project.