Carol Bruce (born Shirley Levy; November 15, 1919 – October 9, 2007) was an American band singer, Broadway star, and film and television actress. She had the recurring part of Mama Lillian Carlson on TV's WKRP in Cincinnati.
Carol Bruce | |
|---|---|
 Bruce in Keep 'Em Flying (1941) | |
| Born | Shirley Levy November 15, 1919 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | October 9, 2007 (aged 87) |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, singer |
| Years active | 1937–2000 |
| Spouse |
Milton Nathanson
(m. 1945; div. 1963) |
| Children | 1 |
Early years
editBruce was born Shirley Levy in a Jewish family, in Manhattan, to Beatrice and Harry Levy. She had a sister, Marilyn.[1]
Because of her family's moving, she attended Jamaica High School, Girls' High School, and New Utrecht High School before graduating from Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, New York. Although she studied violin for eight years, she never took singing lessons.[1]
Singing
editBruce began her career as a singer in the late 1930s with Larry Clinton and his band. She sang with Ben Bernie's orchestra in 1940–1941.[2]
Stage
editBruce made her Broadway debut in Louisiana Purchase, with songs by Irving Berlin, who discovered her at a nightclub in Newark, New Jersey. She was the first actress to play the role of Julie in a Broadway production of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's Show Boat since the 1932 Broadway revival. Bruce played the role onstage in 1946 and garnered favorable comparisons to Helen Morgan,[2] who had originated the role onstage in 1927 and repeated it in both the 1932 revival and the 1936 film.
Her other Broadway credits include New Priorities of 1943, Along Fifth Avenue (1949), Do I Hear a Waltz?, Henry, Sweet Henry, and A Family Affair.[3]
Radio
editBruce's radio debut came on The Horn and Hardart Children's Hour.[2] She sang on Carton of Pleasure and The Henny Youngman Show.[4]
Personal life
editBruce's only marriage to Milton Nathanson, which ended in divorce, produced a daughter, Julie, an actress, singer and playwright who married jazz guitarist Larry Coryell. Bruce's grandchildren, Murali and Julian Coryell, are both musicians.[5] Bruce was Jewish.[6]
Bruce was a Democrat who supported Adlai Stevenson's campaign in the 1952 presidential election.[7]
Death
editBruce died from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, aged 87. She was survived by her sister and two grandsons.[8] Upon her death, she was cremated and her ashes given to her cousin.[9]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | This Woman Is Mine | Julie Morgan | [10] |
| Keep 'Em Flying | Linda Joyce | [2] | |
| 1942 | Behind the Eight Ball | Joan Barry | |
| 1969 | The Girl Who Returned | A voice role | |
| 1980 | American Gigolo | Mrs. Solan | |
| 1987 | Planes, Trains & Automobiles | Joy | |
| 1996 | The Land Before Time IV: Journey Through the Mists | Old One (Voice) |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Jazz Concert | Self | Episode: #1.3 |
| The Lamb's Gambol | Episode: #1.5 | ||
| The Fifty-Fourth Street Revue | Episode: #1.1 & #1.2 | ||
| Cavalcade of Stars | Episode: Carol Bruce, Josh White, Alice Pearce | ||
| 1949–1951 | The Ed Sullivan Show | Episode: Tony Martin, Carol Bruce, #4.5 & The Oscar Hammerstein Story featuring Lena Horne, Wally Cox, Mimi Benzell, Robert Merrill, Charles Winninger | |
| 1950 | The Silver Theatre | Episode: Happy Marriage | |
| 1950–1951 | Showtime, U.S.A. | Self | Episode: #1.5 & #1.38 |
| 1951 | Musical Comedy Time | Maisie Doll | Episode: Miss Liberty |
| Studio One | Episode: The King in Yellow | ||
| The Sam Levenson Show | Self | Episode: Carol Bruce and daughter | |
| This Is Show Business | Episode: Binnie Barnes, Carol Bruce, Jackie Miles, Teddy Hale | ||
| Wonderful Town, U.S.A. | Episode: Brooklyn | ||
| 1952 | The Milton Berle Show | Episode: #4.35 | |
| The Eyes Have It | Episode: Carol Bruce, Rudy Vallee | ||
| Curtain Call | Episode: The Promise | ||
| 1953 | Chance of a Lifetime | Self | Episode: Carol Bruce |
| 1954–1957 | Armstrong Circle Theatre | Hurricane Diane | Episode: Hit a Blue Note, Lost $2 Billion: The Story of Hurricane Diane & Thief of Diamonds |
| 1959 | One Night Stand | Self | Episode: Lou Holtz |
| 1960 | Sounds of Home | Vidalia | TV Special |
| 1961 | The Witness | Mildred Hall | Episode: Dillinger |
| 1963 | General Hospital | Jennifer Talbot | TV series |
| Girl Talk | Self | Episode: Carol Bruce, Marilyn Cantor Baker, Helene Hanff | |
| 1965 | The Merv Griffin Show | Episode: Buddy Hackett, Carol Bruce, Jay Kennedy, Dr. Cleo Dawson | |
| 1970 | Love of Life | Amanda Randolph | Episode: Episode dated 13 August 1970 |
| 1979–1982 | WKRP in Cincinnati | Lillian Carlson | 10 episodes[11] |
| 1980 | Charlie's Angels | Mrs. Pattison | Episode: Three for the Money |
| 1981 | Knots Landing | Annette Cunningham | Episode: Squeezeplay, Moving In & The Surprise |
| 1984 | Diff'rent Strokes | Miss Gilbert | Episode: The Wedding |
| Too Close for Comfort | Sally Ruth | Episode: Home Is Where the Bart Is | |
| 1985 | The Twilight Zone | Mrs. Whitford | Episode: Dead Woman's Shoes/Wong's Lost and Found Emporium |
| 1986 | Our House | Mrs. Findley | Episode: Home Again |
| 1987 | Rags to Riches | Episode: Pilot | |
| 1987–1988 | Perfect Strangers | Mrs. 'Muffy' Endicott& Margaret | Episode: Tux for Two & High Society |
| 1988 | Marblehead Manor | Margaret Stonehill | Episode: Pilot |
| 1989 | Hooperman | Episode: In the Still of My Pants | |
| 1990 | Doogie Howser, M.D. | Mrs. Beatrice Portmeyer | Episode: Academia Nuts |
| 1991 | The Golden Girls | Lucille | Episode: Older and Wiser |
| Jake and the Fatman | Mrs. Clark | Episode: It Never Entered My Mind | |
| Equal Justice | Mrs. Thomason | Episode: What Color Are My Eyes? | |
| 1991–1992 | The New WKRP in Cincinnati | Lillian 'Mama' Carlson | 5 episodes |
| 1992 | Archive footage, episode: Donovan, Don't Leave Us | ||
| 1995 | Live Shot | Shirley | Episode: What Price Episode? |
| Party of Five | Sarah's Grandmother | Episode: Grand Delusions | |
| 1997 | Diagnosis Murder | Constance Lockwood | Episode: The Murder of Mark Sloan |
| Pacific Palisades | Mrs. Fitzpatrick | Episode: Desperate Measure | |
| Profiler | Petra Strauss | Episode: Three Carat Crisis |
Short film
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 | Koo Koo Korrespondance Skool | Singer | |
| 1938 | Larry Clinton and His Orchestra | Self | |
| 1942 | Swing's the Thing | ||
| 1946 | Headline Bands | Archive footage |
References
edit- ^ a b "Carol Bruce a Tasty Dish Never Studied Singing". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. January 27, 1946. p. 23. Retrieved February 23, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-7864-2834-2.
- ^ "Carol Bruce". Playbill. Retrieved February 24, 2016.
- ^ Sies, Luther F. (2014). Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-7864-5149-4.
- ^ Sisario, Ben (May 28, 2009). "Julie Coryell, Jazz-Rock Historian, Dies at 61". The New York Times. p. A23.
- ^ King, Alan (November 1, 2001). Matzo Balls for Breakfast and Other Memories of Growing Up Jewish. Simon and Schuster. pp. 29–30. ISBN 978-1416585466.
- ^ Motion Picture and Television Magazine, November 1952, page 33, Ideal Publishers
- ^ Peterson, Alison J. (October 16, 2007). "Carol Bruce, Actress on Film, Stage and TV, Dies at 87". The New York Times. p. C13.
- ^ Wilson, Scott (September 16, 2016). Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons (3rd ed.). McFarland. p. 96. ISBN 978-1476625997.
- ^ "Carol Bruce Signed for First Serious Role in New Film". The Salt Lake Tribune. July 10, 1941. p. 9. Retrieved February 23, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Carol Bruce, 87; singer, actress had role in 'WKRP in Cincinnati'". Los Angeles Times. October 14, 2007.
External links
edit
- Carol Bruce at IMDb
- Carol Bruce at the Internet Broadway Database
- ‹The template AllMovie name is being considered for deletion.› Carol Bruce at AllMovie