Carol Christensen (September 14, 1937 – June 4, 2005) was an American actress and former model. Born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, she appeared in several films and television shows between 1960 and 1963.

Early years

Christensen attended

Southfield High School Southfield High School is a public high school located in Southfield, Michigan, United States. The school was founded in 1951. It serves grades 9-12 for the Southfield Public Schools. Notable alumni * Bill Adler (c/o 1969), writer and hip-hop a ...

Southfield, Michigan Southfield is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the city had a population of 76,618. As a northern suburb of Detroit, Southfield shares part of its ...

, planning to be an engineer like her father, William Christensen. While she was in high school, she worked at a school of music and dance. After graduation, she worked as a secretary for

American Motors Corporation American Motors Corporation (AMC; commonly referred to as American Motors) was an American automobile manufacturing company formed by the merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company on May 1, 1954. At the time, it was the ...

. After an advertising photographer used a photograph of her in an ad, she went into modeling for an agency in Manhattan.

Career

Christensen began her career as a model in the late 1950s, and was voted Miss New York Summer Festival in 1958. She was also one of six finalists in the 1960 Miss Rheingold contest. Christensen is familiar to modern viewers as Carol Danforth, daughter of eccentric Professor Danforth (

Emil Sitka Emil Sitka (December 22, 1914January 16, 1998) was a veteran American actor, who appeared in hundreds of movies, short films, and television shows, and is best known for his numerous appearances with The Three Stooges. He is one of only two acto ...

) in

the Three Stooges The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy team active from 1922 until 1970, best remembered for their 190 short subject films by Columbia Pictures. Their hallmark styles were physical farce and slapstick. Six Stooges appeared ...

feature film ''

The Three Stooges in Orbit ''The Three Stooges In Orbit'' is a 1962 American comedy science fiction film directed by Edward Bernds. It is the fourth feature film to star the Three Stooges after their 1959 resurgence in popularity. By this time, the trio consisted of Moe Ho ...

''.threestooges.net
/ref> She also appeared on the television shows ''

Ensign O'Toole ''Ensign O'Toole'' is an American situation comedy that stars Dean Jones in the title role as an officer aboard the United States Navy destroyer USS ''Appleby'' in the early 1960s. It aired from 1962 to 1963. Synopsis Ensign O'Toole is a junio ...

'' and ''

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis ''The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis'' (also known as simply ''Dobie Gillis'' or ''Max Shulman's Dobie Gillis'' in later seasons and in syndication) is an American sitcom starring Dwayne Hickman that aired on CBS from September 29, 1959, to June 5 ...

'' and in the circus film '' The Big Show'', a 1961 drama starring

Esther Williams Esther Jane Williams (August 8, 1921 – June 6, 2013) was an American competitive swimmer and actress. She set regional and national records in her late teens on the Los Angeles Athletic Club swim team. Unable to compete in the 1940 Summer Ol ...

and

Cliff Robertson Clifford Parker Robertson III (September 9, 1923 – September 10, 2011) was an American actor whose career in film and television spanned over six decades. Robertson portrayed a young John F. Kennedy in the 1963 film '' PT 109'', and won the 196 ...

. She starred in a 1960 film drama, ''

Freckles Freckles are clusters of concentrated melaninized cells which are most easily visible on people with a fair complexion. Freckles do not have an increased number of the melanin-producing cells, or melanocytes, but instead have melanocytes that ...

'', and played the girlfriend of

Tommy Noonan Tommy Noonan (born Thomas Noone; April 29, 1921 – April 24, 1968) was a comedy genre film performer, screenwriter and producer. He acted in a number of high-profile films as well as B movies from the 1940s through the 1960s, and he is best ...

in a 1962 musical-comedy film, ''

Swingin' Along ''Swingin' Along'' is a 1961 American comedy film directed by Charles Barton. The film, which was released by 20th Century Fox, marked the final appearance of the comedy team of Tommy Noonan and Peter Marshall. The film focuses on Noonan as a ...

''. Christensen died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

Rancho Mirage, California Rancho Mirage is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 17,218 at the 2010 census, up from 13,249 at the 2000 census, but the seasonal (part-time) population can exceed 20,000. Incorporated in 1973 and located ...

on June 4, 2005.

Personal

Christensen was married to ''The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis'' star

Dwayne Hickman Dwayne Bernard Hickman (May 18, 1934 – January 9, 2022) was an American actor and television executive, producer and director, who worked as an executive at CBS and had also briefly recorded as a vocalist. Hickman portrayed Chuck MacDonald, Bo ...

from 1963 to 1972. They had one child.

References

External links

* 1937 births 2005 deaths American film actresses 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Detroit Deaths from cancer in California 21st-century American women {{US-film-actor-1930s-stub