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Jack Carson
John Elmer Carson (October 27, 1910 – January 2, 1963), known as Jack Carson, was a Canadian-born American film actor. Carson often played the role of comedic friend in films of the 1940s and 1950s, including The Strawberry Blonde (1941) with James Cagney and Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) with Cary Grant. He appeared in such dramas as Mildred Pierce (1945), A Star Is Born (1954), and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958). He worked for RKO and MGM (where he was cast opposite Myrna Loy and William Powell in Love Crazy, 1941), but most of his notable work was for Warner Bros.
Carson was born on October 27, 1910, in Carman, Manitoba, to Elmer and Elsa Carson (née Brunke). He was the younger brother of actor Robert Carson (1909–1979). His father was an executive with an insurance company. In 1914, the family moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which he reportedly regarded as his hometown. He attended high school at Hartford School (Milwaukee) and St. John's Military Academy (Delafield, Wisconsin). At Carleton College (Northfield, Minnesota) he acquired a taste for acting. Carson became a U.S. citizen on June 6, 1949.
Because of his size—6 ft 2 in (1.9 m) and 220 lb (100 kg)—Carson's first stage appearance (in a collegiate production) was as Hercules. During a performance, he tripped and took half the set with him. Dave Willock, a college friend, thought it was so funny he persuaded Carson to team with him in a vaudeville act—Willock and Carson—and a new career was born with "a very successful comedy team that played large and small vaudeville theatres everywhere in North America".
After the act with Willock broke up, Carson teamed with dancer Betty Alice Lindy for appearances in theaters on the Orpheum Circuit.
Radio was another source of employment for the team, starting with a 1938 appearance on the Kraft Music Hall when Bing Crosby hosted the show. In 1942–1943, he was host of The Camel Comedy Caravan, and in the next season he starred in The New Jack Carson Show, which debuted on June 2, 1943. Charles Foster wrote about the show in Once Upon a Time in Paradise: Canadians in the Golden Age of Hollywood: "It broke audience records regularly during the four years it was on the air. Hollywood's biggest stars ... lined up to do guest spots on the show."
In 1947–1948, he starred in The Sealtest Village Store.
In 1949, as part of the show, Jack Carson's radio program toured, with Jack Carson, Marion Hutton, and Robert Alda. notably, in Chicago, and supporting John Loves Mary in New York City.
His success in radio led to the start of a lucrative film career. During the 1930s, as vaudeville declined from increased competition from radio and the movies, Willock and Carson sought work in Hollywood. Carson initially landed bit roles at RKO Radio Pictures in films such as Bringing Up Baby (1938), starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn.
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Jack Carson
John Elmer Carson (October 27, 1910 – January 2, 1963), known as Jack Carson, was a Canadian-born American film actor. Carson often played the role of comedic friend in films of the 1940s and 1950s, including The Strawberry Blonde (1941) with James Cagney and Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) with Cary Grant. He appeared in such dramas as Mildred Pierce (1945), A Star Is Born (1954), and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958). He worked for RKO and MGM (where he was cast opposite Myrna Loy and William Powell in Love Crazy, 1941), but most of his notable work was for Warner Bros.
Carson was born on October 27, 1910, in Carman, Manitoba, to Elmer and Elsa Carson (née Brunke). He was the younger brother of actor Robert Carson (1909–1979). His father was an executive with an insurance company. In 1914, the family moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which he reportedly regarded as his hometown. He attended high school at Hartford School (Milwaukee) and St. John's Military Academy (Delafield, Wisconsin). At Carleton College (Northfield, Minnesota) he acquired a taste for acting. Carson became a U.S. citizen on June 6, 1949.
Because of his size—6 ft 2 in (1.9 m) and 220 lb (100 kg)—Carson's first stage appearance (in a collegiate production) was as Hercules. During a performance, he tripped and took half the set with him. Dave Willock, a college friend, thought it was so funny he persuaded Carson to team with him in a vaudeville act—Willock and Carson—and a new career was born with "a very successful comedy team that played large and small vaudeville theatres everywhere in North America".
After the act with Willock broke up, Carson teamed with dancer Betty Alice Lindy for appearances in theaters on the Orpheum Circuit.
Radio was another source of employment for the team, starting with a 1938 appearance on the Kraft Music Hall when Bing Crosby hosted the show. In 1942–1943, he was host of The Camel Comedy Caravan, and in the next season he starred in The New Jack Carson Show, which debuted on June 2, 1943. Charles Foster wrote about the show in Once Upon a Time in Paradise: Canadians in the Golden Age of Hollywood: "It broke audience records regularly during the four years it was on the air. Hollywood's biggest stars ... lined up to do guest spots on the show."
In 1947–1948, he starred in The Sealtest Village Store.
In 1949, as part of the show, Jack Carson's radio program toured, with Jack Carson, Marion Hutton, and Robert Alda. notably, in Chicago, and supporting John Loves Mary in New York City.
His success in radio led to the start of a lucrative film career. During the 1930s, as vaudeville declined from increased competition from radio and the movies, Willock and Carson sought work in Hollywood. Carson initially landed bit roles at RKO Radio Pictures in films such as Bringing Up Baby (1938), starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn.