Carole Wells (born August 31, 1942) is an American actress, opera singer, producer and author.

Early years

The daughter of a doctor, Wells was born Carole Maureen Wells in Shreveport, Louisiana, the fourth of six children in her family. Her siblings were two brothers and three sisters. She graduated from

Hollywood High School Hollywood High School is a four-year public secondary school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, located at the intersection of North Highland Avenue and West Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California. Histo ...

, where she was a sorority sister of future actress

Linda Evans Linda Evans (born Linda Evenstad; November 18, 1942) is an American actress known primarily for her roles on television. In the 1960s she played Audra Barkley, the daughter of Victoria Barkley (played by Barbara Stanwyck) in the Western tel ...

Stage

Wells began acting with a role in a play at a little theater in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, w ...

, when she was 12 years old. Described as a light soprano, Wells took opera lessons in the 1960s and expanded her repertoire to

musical theater Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

, performing in "musical productions of ''The Sound of Music'', ''Call Me Madam'' with Ethel Merman ... ''Wildcat'' with Martha Raye, and ''State Fair'' with Roger Smith."

Television and film work

Wells was selective with regard to working in television. She said: "There are certain things I don't want to do. I won't do a television series unless it's a real good one. You put too much into it for what you get out. It's hard to find a series that's good for a girl." Wells played Edwina Brown in the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

drama ''

National Velvet ''National Velvet'' is a novel by Enid Bagnold (1889–1981), first published in 1935. It was illustrated by Laurian Jones, Bagnold's daughter, who was born in 1921. Plot summary ''National Velvet'' is the story of a 14-year-old girl named ...

'' (1960-1962)Terrace, Vincent (2011). ''Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Pp. 745-746. and Lucy Hanks in the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

comedy ''

Pistols 'n' Petticoats ''Pistols 'n' Petticoats'' is an American Western sitcom starring Ann Sheridan that ran on CBS during the 1966-1967 television season. It was produced by Kayro/Universal Television for CBS Productions and ran from September 17, 1966 to March 11 ...

'' (1966-1967). She also was seen on ''The Brian Keith Show'', ''Showcase 5 -- Something Special'', ''

Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings. It ...

'', '' Police Woman'', She appeared in the television series ''

Medic A medic is a person involved in medicine such as a medical doctor, medical student, paramedic or an emergency medical responder. Among physicians in the UK, the term "medic" indicates someone who has followed a "medical" career path in postgradu ...

'', ''

Father Knows Best ''Father Knows Best'' is an American sitcom starring Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray and Lauren Chapin. The series, which began on radio in 1949, aired as a television show for six seasons and 203 episodes. Created by E ...

'', '' Bachelor Father'', ''

Maverick Maverick, Maveric or Maverik may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Burea ...

'' in " The Lass with the Poisonous Air," '' Fury'', ''

The Donna Reed Show ''The Donna Reed Show'' is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the middle-class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz co-stars as her pediatrician husband Dr. Alex Stone, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children, Mary an ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', '' Wide Country'', '' Laramie'', ''

'', ''

'', '' Leave It to Beaver'', ''

Ben Casey ''Ben Casey'' is an American medical drama series that aired on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols " ♂, ♀, ✳, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member Sam Jaff ...

'', ''

Arrest and Trial ''Arrest and Trial'' is a 90-minute American Crime film, crime/legal drama series that ran during the 1963-64 United States network television schedule, 1963-1964 season on American Broadcasting Company, ABC, airing Sundays from 8:30-10 pm North ...

'', ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a c ...

'', ''

'', '' The Virginian'', ''

The Sixth Sense ''The Sixth Sense'' is a 1999 American psychological thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It stars Bruce Willis as a child psychologist whose patient (Haley Joel Osment) claims he can see and talk to the dead. Released by ...

'', ''

The Brian Keith Show ''The Brian Keith Show'' (titled ''The Little People'' during its first season) is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 1972 to March 1974. The series stars Brian Keith and Shelley Fabares. Synopsis Keith plays Dr. Sean Jamison, ...

'', ''

Switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of ...

'', '' McCloud'', '' Police Woman'' and '' 1st & Ten'', among others. She appeared in the films ''

A Thunder of Drums ''A Thunder of Drums'' is a 1961 American CinemaScope Western film directed by Joseph Newman and starring Richard Boone, George Hamilton, Luana Patten and Arthur O'Connell. The screenwriter James Warner Bellah adapted it from his 1946 short ...

'', ''

Come Blow Your Horn ''Come Blow Your Horn'' is Neil Simon's first play, which premiered on Broadway in 1961 and had a London production in 1962 at the Prince of Wales Theatre. Simon rewrote the script more than two dozen times over several years, resulting in a hit ...

'', ''

The Lively Set ''The Lively Set'' is a 1964 American color action drama sport film directed by Jack Arnold and starring James Darren, Pamela Tiffin, Doug McClure and Joanie Sommers. Plot Casey Owens, a young mechanic, has developed a design for a turbine car e ...

'', ''

Zorro in the Court of England ''Zorro in the Court of England'' ( it, Zorro alla corte d'Inghilterra) is a 1969 Italian adventure film directed by Franco Montemurro. Cast * Spiros Focás: Pedro Suarez / Zorro * Dada Gallotti: Rosanna Gonzales * Franco Ressel: Lord Percy ...

'', '' The House of Seven Corpses'', ''

Funny Lady ''Funny Lady'' is a 1975 American biographical musical comedy-drama film and the sequel to the 1968 film '' Funny Girl''. The film stars Barbra Streisand, James Caan, Omar Sharif, Roddy McDowall and Ben Vereen. Herbert Ross, who helmed the musi ...

'' and ''

The Cheap Detective ''The Cheap Detective'' is a 1978 American mystery comedy film written by Neil Simon and directed by Robert Moore. It stars Peter Falk as Lou Peckinpaugh, a parody of Humphrey Bogart. The film is a parody of Bogart films such as '' Casablan ...

''.

Books

* ''Amberella: An Action Hero Adventure'' * ''Hijacked: An Eyewitness Account of Evil'' ( MotherBird Productions, 14 September 2018,

ISBN The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier that is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency. An ISBN is assigned to each separate edition and ...

978-1732490901

Other work

Wells is partnered with Bemer Group, a manufacturer of devices that boost blood circulation.

Personal life

Wells married Edward Laurence Doheny IV in June 1963. Doheny was an "oil scion," the great grandson of Edward Laurence Doheny, the first man to successfully drill an oil well in the

Los Angeles City Oil Field The Los Angeles City Oil Field is a large oil field north of Downtown Los Angeles. Long and narrow, it extends from immediately south of Dodger Stadium west to Vermont Avenue, encompassing an area of about four miles (6 km) long by a quarter- ...

. They had two sons. Later she married Walter J. Karabian, a member of the California House of Representatives. They had a son and a daughter. In 1977, while she and Karabian were on an "around the world honeymoon", a

Japan Airlines , also known as JAL (''Jaru'') or , is an international airline and Japan's flag carrier and largest airline as of 2021 and 2022, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Haneda Airport, as w ...

flight on which they were traveling ( Japan Airlines Flight 472) was hijacked by Japanese terrorists who asked for a ransom of $6 million and release of nine terrorists from jail. After being released, Wells described the hijacking as "a terrible experience." She was pregnant at the time and later suffered a miscarriage, which her husband attributed to the trauma of the hijacking.

References

External links

*
Blogspot: The Carole Wells Show

Hollywood High School Alumni Association: Carole Wells's Page

On Purpose Magazine: Actress Carole Wells On Her Career and New Children's Book Amberella

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Carole 1942 births Living people 20th-century American actresses American film actresses Actors from Shreveport, Louisiana Writers from Shreveport, Louisiana 21st-century American women