"The Legend of Lylah Clare" is a 1963 American television play that originally aired as an episode of the anthology series The DuPont Show of the Week on May 19, 1963, with Tuesday Weld in the title role and Alfred Drake co starring.
[3] A young woman, Elsie, resembles a star, Lylah Clare, who died 30 years ago when she was 25.
[4] Tuesday Weld was recommended to play the lead by writer Robert Thom.
Schaffner was initially reluctant, feeling they needed a better known actor, especially as co star Alfred Drake was only known on Broadway.
Robert Aldrich who bought the film rights to the play and turned it into a film said Tuesday Weld "did marvellously" although the play "was much more strikingly fashioned to fit the [Marilyn] Monroe mould and we tried hard not to do that" in his movie.