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IMDbPro

Jack Carson(1910-1963)

  • Actor
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
Jack Carson, c. 1950.
All about the citizens of Putnam's Landing and their reactions to an Army missile base in their backyard.
Play trailer3:29
Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! (1958)
28 Videos
99+ Photos
When Jack Carson arrived in Hollywood in 1937, he found work at RKO as an extra. His first major acting role came alongside Humphrey Bogart in the romantic comedy Stand-In (1937). After a few years, he developed into a popular character actor who would be seen in a large number of comedies, musicals and a few westerns. Not happy with the direction his career was heading, he went to Warner Brothers in 1941, where the quality of his supporting roles improved. It also did not hurt to be in films that starred James Cagney, such as The Strawberry Blonde (1941) and The Bride Came C.O.D. (1941).

After three years, he starred with Jane Wyman in Make Your Own Bed (1944) and, again, in The Doughgirls (1944). Carson would play the nice guy with the heart of gold who was still a nice guy even when he was angry. He would take the double take and the quizzical look to a higher level, but he could also act in dramas. He provided a good portrayal of "Albert" in The Hard Way (1943) and was acclaimed for his performance in Mildred Pierce (1945). However, it was comedies that provided most of his work. He teamed up with his old friend, Dennis Morgan, for several films in the tradition of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. It was in the 1940s that Carson would become popular as a wisecracking comedian on radio. This would lead him to television work in the 1950s, where he was one of 4 rotating hosts on All Star Revue (1950), until 1951, when he had left the show and the title was changed to "All Star Revue".

He hosted and performed on The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950) from 1952-55. He would also help host The U.S. Royal Showcase (1952). He would appear on a number of shows during the 1950s, one of his most remembered being an episode of The Twilight Zone (1959), where he played a somewhat shady used-car salesman who came into possession of an old Model-A Ford that was "haunted" in that whoever owned it had to tell the truth, whether he wanted to or not. Although his movie career slowed in the 1950s, he still appeared in a number of prestige pictures, such as A Star Is Born (1954) with Judy Garland, The Tarnished Angels (1957) with Rock Hudson and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) with Paul Newman.

Collapsed in August 1962 while in rehearsal for the play "Critic's Choice." An early diagnosis deemed it a stomach "disorder," but two months later, cancer was discovered while he was undergoing an unrelated operation.
BornOctober 27, 1910
DiedJanuary 2, 1963(52)
BornOctober 27, 1910
DiedJanuary 2, 1963(52)
IMDbProStarmeter
See rank
  • Awards

Photos166

Jack Carson in Mildred Pierce (1945)
Joan Crawford and Jack Carson in Mildred Pierce (1945)
Joan Crawford and Jack Carson in Mildred Pierce (1945)
Joan Crawford and Jack Carson in Mildred Pierce (1945)
James Mason and Jack Carson in A Star Is Born (1954)
Jack Carson and Hazel Shermet in A Star Is Born (1954)
Judy Garland and Jack Carson in A Star Is Born (1954)
Judy Garland and Jack Carson in A Star Is Born (1954)
Charles Bickford and Jack Carson in A Star Is Born (1954)
Jack Carson in The Tarnished Angels (1957)
Jack Carson and Alan Reed in The Tarnished Angels (1957)
Jack Carson in The Tarnished Angels (1957)

Known for

Elizabeth Taylor in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
7.9
  • Gooper Pollitt
  • 1958
Eve Arden, Joan Crawford, Ann Blyth, Bruce Bennett, and Zachary Scott in Mildred Pierce (1945)
Mildred Pierce
7.9
  • Wally Fay
  • 1945
Cary Grant and Priscilla Lane in Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)
Arsenic and Old Lace
7.9
  • O'Hara
  • 1944
Judy Garland and James Mason in A Star Is Born (1954)
A Star Is Born
7.5
  • Matt Libby
  • 1954

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • The Magical World of Disney (1954)
    The Magical World of Disney
  • Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955)
    Alfred Hitchcock Presents
  • Kraft Theatre (1947)
    The United States Steel Hour
    • ...
  • Buddy Ebsen and Tuesday Weld in Bus Stop (1961)
    Bus Stop
  • The Dick Powell Theatre (1961)
    The Dick Powell Theatre
  • Mickey Rooney, Diana Dors, Jack Carson, William Demarest, Dianne Foster, David Janssen, Dan O'Herlihy, Joseph Schildkraut, Mickey Shaughnessy, and Keenan Wynn in King of the Roaring 20's: The Story of Arnold Rothstein (1961)
    King of the Roaring 20's: The Story of Arnold Rothstein
  • The Dinah Shore Chevy Show (1956)
    The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
  • The Chevy Show (1960)
    The Chevy Show
  • The Twilight Zone (1959)
    The Twilight Zone
  • Thriller (1960)
    Thriller
  • New Comedy Showcase
  • Dick Powell in Zane Grey Theatre (1956)
    Zane Grey Theatre
  • The Bramble Bush (1960)
    The Bramble Bush
  • Alcoa Theatre (1957)
    Alcoa Theatre
  • Startime (1959)
    Startime

Soundtrack

  • Jack Carson, Denise Darcel, Charlotte Greenwood, Fernando Lamas, and Esther Williams in Dangerous When Wet (1953)
    Dangerous When Wet
    • (uncredited)
  • It's a Great Feeling (1949)
    It's a Great Feeling
    • (uncredited)
  • Doris Day, Eve Arden, Jack Carson, Lee Bowman, Adolphe Menjou, and S.Z. Sakall in My Dream Is Yours (1949)
    My Dream Is Yours
  • Two Guys from Texas (1948)
    Two Guys from Texas
    • (uncredited)
  • Let's Sing a Song from the Movies (1948)
    Let's Sing a Song from the Movies
  • Doris Day, Jack Carson, Don DeFore, and Janis Paige in Romance on the High Seas (1948)
    Romance on the High Seas
    • (uncredited)
  • Jack Carson, Robert Hutton, Janis Paige, and Martha Vickers in Love and Learn (1947)
    Love and Learn
  • Jack Carson, Carmen Cavallaro, Dennis Morgan, Janis Paige, S.Z. Sakall, and Martha Vickers in The Time, the Place and the Girl (1946)
    The Time, the Place and the Girl
  • Jack Carson, Joan Leslie, Dennis Morgan, and Janis Paige in Two Guys from Milwaukee (1946)
    Two Guys from Milwaukee
    • (uncredited)
  • Eve Arden, Joan Crawford, Ann Blyth, Bruce Bennett, and Zachary Scott in Mildred Pierce (1945)
    Mildred Pierce
    • (uncredited)
  • Jack Carson and Rosalind Russell in Roughly Speaking (1945)
    Roughly Speaking
    • (uncredited)
  • Hollywood Canteen (1944)
    Hollywood Canteen
  • Ann Sheridan in Shine on Harvest Moon (1944)
    Shine on Harvest Moon
    • ("Time Waits for No One" (1944), uncredited)
  • Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Errol Flynn, John Garfield, Jack Carson, Eddie Cantor, Joan Leslie, Ida Lupino, Dennis Morgan, Ann Sheridan, Dinah Shore, and Alexis Smith in Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943)
    Thank Your Lucky Stars
    • (uncredited)
  • Joan Leslie, Ida Lupino, and Dennis Morgan in The Hard Way (1943)
    The Hard Way
    • (uncredited)

Videos28

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Personal details

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    • October 27, 1910
    • Carman, Manitoba, Canada
    • January 2, 1963
    • Encino, California, USA(stomach and liver cancer)
    • January 26, 1961 - January 2, 1963 (his death)
  • Other works
    Stage: Appeared (as "John P. Wintergreen"; only Broadway role) in "Of Thee I Sing" on Broadway. Musical comedy (revival). Book by George S. Kaufman (also director) and Morrie Ryskind. Music by George Gershwin. Lyrics by Ira Gershwin. Musical Director: Maurice Levine. Music orchestrated by Don Walker. Dance arrangements by David Baker. Assistant Musical Dir.: John Morris. Assistant Orchestrator: Seymour Ginzler. Scenic Design by Albert Johnson. Costume Design by Irene Sharaff. Lighting Design by Peggy Clark. Assistant to Irene Sharaff: Florence Klotz. Musical Numbers and Ensembles Staged by 'Jack Donohue (I)'. Ziegfeld Theatre: 5 May 1952- 5 Jul 1952 (72 performances). Cast: Paul Hartman (as "Alexander Throttlebottom"), Florenz Ames (as "The French Ambassador"), Arlene Anderson (as "Showgirl"), Ken Ayers (as "Flunkie" / "Singer"), Vicki Barrett (as "Dancer"), Jean Bartel (as "Beauty Contestant" / "Showgirl"), Betty Buday (as "Dancer"), Claudia Campbell (as "Singer"), Louise Carlyle (as "Chambermaid" / "Singer"), Norman Clayton (as "Singer"), Georgine Darcy (as "Dancer"), Crandall Diehl (as "Dancer"), Gregg Evans (as "Showgirl"), Charlotte Foley (as "Showgirl"), Donald Foster (as "Sen. Robert E. Lyons"), Howard Freeman (as "Sen. Carver Jones"), Warren Galjour (as "Singer"), J. Corkey Geil (as "Dancer"), Skeet Guenther (as "Dancer"), Jay Harwick (as "Singer"), Keith Kaldenberg (as "Singer"), Joe Kerrigan (as "Singer"), Michael King (as "Flunkie" / "Singer"), William Krach (as "Flunkie" / "Singer"), Lenore Lonergan (as "Diana Devereaux"), Jonathan Lucas (as "Sam Jenkins"), Joan Mann (as "Emily Benson"), Mort Marshall (as "Announcer" / "Chief Senate Clerk"), James McCracken (as "Singer"), Al McGranary (as "Chief Flunky"), Peggy Merber (as "Dancer"), Betty Oakes (as "Mary Turner"), J. Pat O'Malley (as "Francis X. Gilhooley"), Bob Oran (as "Yusef Yussevitch"), Helen Rice (as "Singer"), Dorothy Richards (as "Showgirl"), Jeanne Schlegel (as "Singer"), Frank Seabolt (as "Dancer"), Robert F. Simon (as "Louis Lippman"), Siri (as "Showgirl"), Loring Smith (as "Matthew Arnold Fulton"), Joanne Spiller (as "Singer"), Pat Stanley (as "Dancer"), Abe Stein (as "Vladimir Vidovitch"), Bob Tucker (as "Dancer"), Jeanne Tyler (as "Showgirl"), Gloria Van Dorpe (as "Singer"), Charlotte Van Lein (as "Showgirl"), Larry Weber (as "Singer"), Tom Wells (as "Attaché"), Jack Whiting (as "The Chief Justice" / "Guide" / "Senator from Massachusettes"), Parker Wilson (as "A Sightseer" / "Dancer"). Understudies: Vicki Barrett (as "Emily Benson"), Jean Bartel (as "Diana Devereaux"), J. Corkey Geil (as "Sam Jenkins"), Mort Marshall (as "Alexander Throttlebottom"), Al McGranary (as "Matthew Arnold Fulton"), Helen Rice (as "Mary Turner"), Tom Wells (as "Announcer" / "Chief Senate Clerk" / "Francis X. Gilhooley"), Jack Whiting (as "John P. Wintergreen"). Produced by Chandler Cowles and Ben Segal.
  • Publicity listings
    • 7 Articles
    • 2 Pictorials

Did you know

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  • Trivia
    During the 1940s, he would often disappear from Hollywood for weeks at a time. Only his wife knew where he went, and she (Kay St. Germain Wells) would tell no one. Years later Carson revealed the secret: he had joined the Clyde Beatty circus as a clown and was traveling with their show. Audiences never knew it was him; "They loved me and my routines," he said,.
  • Quotes
    Fans are people who let an actor know he's not alone in the way he feels about himself.
    • Well known throughout industry for his famous "double take"

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