Jump to content

Joan Carroll

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joan Carroll
Carroll in Laddie (1940) with Tim Holt.
Born
Joan Marie Felt

(1931-01-18)January 18, 1931
DiedNovember 16, 2016(2016-11-16) (aged 85)
Years active1936-1969
Spouse
James Joseph Krack
(m. 1951; div. 1969)
[1]
Children4

Joan Carroll (born Joan Marie Felt, January 18, 1931 – November 16, 2016) was an American child actress who appeared in films until retiring in 1950.

Childhood career

[edit]
Lobby card for Laddie (1940). L-R: Sammy McKim, Martha O'Driscoll, Joan Leslie,
Spring Byington, Joan Carroll and Tim Holt.

Carroll was born Joan Marie Felt to Wright and Freida Felt on January 18, 1931.[2]

Carroll developed into an excellent singer and tap dancer at the Fanchon and Marco Dancing School in Hollywood,[3] and became an accomplished child actress. Her stage name was changed to Carol and then Carroll.[4]

Between 1937 and 1940 she appeared in supporting roles in several movies. Her big break came the 1940 film, Primrose Path, as Ginger Rogers's younger sister, for which she won a Critics Award. The same year she became the first child star to be summoned from Hollywood in order to appear in the leading role in a Broadway musical, Panama Hattie, which ran from October 30, 1940, to January 3, 1942.[5]

Carroll became RKO Radio Pictures' resident juvenile personality in both "A" and "B" pictures. RKO starred Carroll in the leading role with Ruth Warrick in two zany comedy vehicles, Obliging Young Lady (1941) and Petticoat Larceny (1943). She continued to work in films as an adolescent, but less frequently. Two of her best-remembered pictures came from this period: Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) as Judy Garland and Margaret O'Brien's sister, and The Bells of St. Mary's (1945), in which she played "the sensitive child of separated parents."[6]

Later life

[edit]

After 1950, Carroll retired. In 1951, she married James Joseph Krack.[7]

She and her brother donated a historic family lamp to the Nevada State Museum on July 7, 2011.[8]

Carroll died on November 16, 2016, near her home in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, aged 85. She was survived by her four children and extended family.[2]

Filmography

[edit]
Year Title Role Notes
1936 The First Baby
1937 One Mile from Heaven Sunny
1938 Walking Down Broadway Sunny Martin
1938 Gateway Child (uncredited)
1938 Two Sisters Sally, as a child
1939 Mr. Moto's Last Warning Mary Delacour (as Joan Carol)
1939 Tower of London Lady Mowbray (uncredited)
1939 A Child Is Born Little Girl (uncredited)
1939 Barricade Winifred Ward
1940 Laddie Sister Stanton
1940 Primrose Path Honeybell
1940 Anne of Windy Poplars Betty Grayson
1942 Obliging Young Lady Bridget Potter (starring role)
1943 Petticoat Larceny Joan "Small Change" Mitchell (starring role)
1944 Meet Me in St. Louis Agnes Smith
1944 Tomorrow the World Pat Frame
1945 The Clock Girl in Penn Station (uncredited)
1945 The Bells of St. Mary's Patsy Gallagher
1950 Second Chance Nurse Eva

Bibliography

[edit]
  • Best, Marc. Those Endearing Young Charms: Child Performers of the Screen. South Brunswick and New York: Barnes & Co., 1971, pp. 20–24; ISBN 0498077292 / ISBN 9780498077296

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Mooring, William H. "Hollywood in Focus." The Tidings (Los Angeles), 11 January 1952, 12.
  2. ^ a b Barnes, Mike (2012-12-11). "Joan Carroll, Child Actress in 'Meet Me in St. Louis' and 'The Bells of St. Mary's,' Dies at 85". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2019-12-03.
  3. ^ Best, Marc. Those Endearing Young Charms, p. 20.
  4. ^ Harrison, Paul (1941-08-02). "Joan Carroll No Longer Looks and Acts Like Shirley Temple—Result is Stardom". The Pittsburgh Press. Retrieved 2019-12-04.
  5. ^ Joan Carroll at the Internet Broadway Database
  6. ^ "Virginia Wright: Drama Editor." Los Angeles Daily News, 12 January 1946.
  7. ^ "The Former Joan Felt Became Bride of James J. Krack" (photo caption). Los Angeles Mirror, 3 January 1952, 38.
  8. ^ "Nevada State Museum to Receive Donation of a 1937 Lamp | Carson City Nevada News". Carson Now. Retrieved 2016-12-25.
[edit]