To enhance her image, Universal Studios told gossip columnists that Laurie bathed in milk and ate flower petals to protect her luminous skin. Discouraged by the lack of substantial film roles, she moved to New York City to study acting and to seek work on the stage and in television. She appeared in "Twelfth Night", produced by Hallmark Hall of Fame; in "Days of Wine and Roses" with Cliff Robertson, presented by Playhouse 90 on October 2, 1958 (in the film version, their roles were taken over by Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick); and in "Winterset", presented by Playhouse 90 in 1959.