Earl Carroll (September 16, 1893 – June 17, 1948) was an American theatrical producer, director, writer, songwriter and composer.

Early life

Carroll was born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, Pennsylvania in 1893. He lived as an infant in the Nunnery Hill ( Fineview) section of the North Side. Carroll later said he left the area "because there were too many tin cans and goats up there then."

Career

Carroll produced and directed numerous

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musicals, including eleven editions of ''

Earl Carroll's Vanities ''The Earl Carroll Vanities'' was a Broadway revue that Earl Carroll presented in the 1920s and early 1930s. Carroll and his show were sometimes controversial. Distinguishing qualities In 1923, the ''Vanities'' joined the ranks of New York� ...

'', ''Earl Carroll's Sketch Book'' and ''

Murder at the Vanities ''Murder at the Vanities'' is a 1934 American Pre-Code musical film based on the 1933 Broadway show with music by Victor Young. It was released by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Mitchell Leisen, stars Victor McLaglen, Carl Brisson, Jac ...

,'' which was also made into a film starring

Carl Brisson Carl Brisson (24 December 1893 – 25 September 1958), born Carl Frederik Ejnar Pedersen, was a Danish film actor and singer. He appeared in 13 films between 1918 and 1935, including two silent films directed by Alfred Hitchcock. In the 1934 ...

Victor McLaglen Victor Andrew de Bier Everleigh McLaglen (10 December 1886 – 7 November 1959) was a British boxer-turned-Hollywood actor.Obituary ''Variety'', 11 November 1959, page 79. He was known as a character actor, particularly in Westerns, and made se ...

and

Jack Oakie Jack Oakie (born Lewis Delaney Offield; November 12, 1903 – January 23, 1978) was an American actor, starring mostly in films, but also working on Theatre, stage, radio and television. He portrayed Napaloni in Charlie Chaplin, Chaplin's ''T ...

. Known as "the troubadour of the nude", Carroll was famous for his productions featuring the most lightly clad

showgirl A showgirl is a female dancer or performer in a stage entertainment show intended to showcase the performer's physical attributes, typically by way of revealing clothing, toplessness, or nudity. History Showgirls date back to the late 180 ...

s on Broadway.

Damon Runyon Alfred Damon Runyon (October 4, 1880 – December 10, 1946) was an American newspaperman and short-story writer. He was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway in New York City that grew out of the Prohibition era. To N ...

, in his short story “The Brain Goes Home” has the narrator remark, “Well, Mr. Earl Carroll feels sorry for Cynthia, so he puts her in the 'Vanities' and lets her walk around raw, and The Brain sees her, and the next thing anybody knows she is riding in a big foreign automobile the size of a rum chaser, and is chucking a terrible swell.” In 1922, he built the first

Earl Carroll Theatre The Earl Carroll Theatre was a Broadway theatre at 753 Seventh Avenue near 50th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Built by impresario Earl Carroll and designed by architect George Keister, it opened on Feb ...

in New York, which was demolished and rebuilt on a grander scale in 1931. He built a second theatre on

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in t ...

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

, in 1938. In 1926, Carroll became involved in a scandal following a party he threw in honor of

Harry Kendall Thaw Harry Kendall Thaw (February 12, 1871 – February 22, 1947) was the son of American coal and railroad baron William Thaw Sr.. Heir to a multimillion-dollar fortune, the younger Thaw is most notable for murdering the renowned architect Sta ...

, who 20 years earlier had murdered

Stanford White Stanford White (November 9, 1853 – June 25, 1906) was an American architect. He was also a partner in the architectural firm McKim, Mead & White, one of the most significant Beaux-Arts firms. He designed many houses for the rich, in additio ...

. During the private party, a bathtub was brought out in which reposed a nude young woman, Joyce Hawley, bathing in illegal liquor, described in a news story of Carroll's death as champagne. One of the guests was

Philip Payne Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

, editor of the ''New York Mirror''. Although Carroll expected his guests would be circumspect about what happened at the party, Payne published a report. Federal authorities, apparently determined to learn the source of the illegal alcohol, subpoenaed Carroll to appear (with others) before a grand jury. Carroll denied the incident happened, but others at the party confirmed it. The federal government prosecuted Carroll for perjury, and he was convicted and sent to the

Atlanta Penitentiary The United States Penitentiary, Atlanta (USP Atlanta) is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates in Atlanta, Georgia. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice ...

for six months. Carroll wrote the scores for Broadway shows, including ''So Long Letty'', ''Canary Cottage'', and ''The Love Mill'', for which he also wrote the

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

. As a writer of popular songs, his credits include ''Isle d'Amour'', ''So Long Letty'', ''Dreams of Long Ago'', ''Give Me All of You'', ''Just The Way You Are'', and ''Dreaming'', for which he supplied lyrics to the waltz by

Archibald Joyce Archibald Joyce (25 May 1873 – 22 March 1963) was an English light music composer of the early 20th century. Often regarded as the "English Waltz King," he is known for short compositions such as Dream of Autumn and Vision of Salome, both of w ...

. A pair of mid-1940s musical comedy films, ''

Earl Carroll Vanities ''Earl Carroll Vanities'' is a 1945 American musical film directed by Joseph Santley and written by Frank Gill Jr. The film stars Dennis O'Keefe, Constance Moore, Eve Arden, Otto Kruger, Alan Mowbray and Stephanie Bachelor. It was released on Ap ...

'' and ''

Earl Carroll Sketchbook ''Earl Carroll Sketchbook'' is a 1946 American musical film directed by Albert S. Rogell and written by Frank Gill Jr. and Parke Levy. The film stars Constance Moore, William Marshall, Bill Goodwin, Johnny Coy, Barbara Jo Allen and Edward Everett ...

'', both starring

Constance Moore Constance Moore (January 18, 1920 or January 18, 1921Additional on April 23, 2017. – September 16, 2005) was an American singer and actress. Her most noted work was in wartime musicals such as ''Show Business'' and ''Atlantic City'' and the ...

, were inspired by Carroll's stage revues.

Death

Carroll died in the crash of

United Airlines Flight 624 United Airlines Flight 624, a Douglas DC-6 airliner, registration NC37506, was a scheduled passenger flight from San Diego, California to New York City. The four-engined, propeller-driven airplane crashed at 1:41 pm Eastern Daylight Time on ...

, which also took the life of his girlfriend,

Beryl Wallace Beryl Wallace (born Beatrice Heischuber, September 29, 1912 – June 17, 1948) was an American singer, dancer and actress. Biography Wallace was born in Brooklyn, New York, the second of nine children of working class Jewish immigrants from ...

, on June 17, 1948, in Aristes, Pennsylvania.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carroll, Earl 1893 births 1948 deaths American theatre directors American theatre managers and producers American perjurers Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1948 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Accidental deaths in Pennsylvania Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)