Julia Meade was an actress best known for serving as a pitchwoman in live commercials during the early days of television. She also appeared in the films Pillow Talk, starring Rock Hudson, Doris Day and Tony Randall; Tammy Tell Me True, starring Sandra Dee; Zotz!; and Presumed Innocent, starring Harrison Ford.

Additionally, Meade appeared on television, including roles in the live productions Lux Video Theatre, Goodyear Playhouse, Armstrong Circle Theatre, Playhouse 90 and CBS Daytime 90. She also appeared in an episode of the long-running soap opera Ryan’s Hope.

Meade’s career began in New York in 1948, on a DuMont network station. Beginning in 1953, she rose to fame as a pitchwoman, primarily as the public face of Lincoln automobiles, in addition to gas-powered appliances, Hudnut hair products, Life magazine and Kodak cameras. In 1955, she became the go-to salesgirl for The Ed Sullivan Show, and by the late 1950’s, she was TV’s leading pitchwoman.

Meade graduated from the Yale School of Drama and landed her first professional role in 1947, in a production of The Lost Colony in North Carolina. In 1948, she moved to New York and worked as a model. She went on to appear on Broadway, including productions of The Tender Trap, Roman Candle, The Front Page and Mary, Mary.

Meade died May 16, 2016, in New York City. She was 90.