Garnet Hannell Carroll, (4 December 190223 August 1964) was an Australian actor, theatre owner and theatrical director and producer. He helped coloratura soprano

Gertrude Johnson Gertrude Emily Johnson (13 September 1894 – 28 March 1973) was an Australian coloratura soprano and founder of the National Theatre Movement in Melbourne. Early life Johnson was born in 1894 at Prahran, Melbourne. She was the seco ...

establish the Melbourne National Theatre.

Early life

Carroll was born on 4 December 1902 in

Singleton, New South Wales Singleton is a town on the banks of the Hunter River in New South Wales, Australia. Singleton is 197 km (89 mi) north-north-west of Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city ...

. His parents were dentist Roger Bebe Carroll and his wife Mildred Lorne (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Smith). Carroll attended Singleton Grammar School. He left home at age 14, only reuniting with his family in 1921 in East Maitland.

Career

Having originally worked as a repairman, Carroll became a performer. He first came to professional prominence in touring with the company of Lionel Walsh in a production of musical comedy ''

No, No, Nanette ''No, No, Nanette'' is a musical comedy with lyrics by Irving Caesar and Otto Harbach, music by Vincent Youmans, and a book by Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel, based on Mandel's 1919 Broadway play ''My Lady Friends''. The farcical story involves th ...

'' and upon the opening of the Empire Theatre in Sydney, he featured in the chorus line of the musical '' Sunny'' in 1927. The following year he played in another musical '' Rio Rita'', in which he also served as stage manager. In New Zealand he took up post as a theatre manager for Ben Fuller, and married Australian actress Catherine "Kitty" Stewart Elliott in on 11 April 1930. From 1934 to 1935, he was the stage manager of a few operas directed by English director Charles Moore. In 1939, Carroll became the managing director of Fullers' Theatres which was rechristened Carroll Fuller Theatre Company in 1946. Carroll had many other holdings in theatre, including the Capital Theatre in Perth, the Stockton Theatre in Newcastle, and part of the Princess Theatre in Melbourne. He was instrumental in the establishment of the Elizabethan Theatre in Sydney which opened in July 1955; Carroll personally invited Sir

Ralph Richardson Sir Ralph David Richardson (19 December 1902 – 10 October 1983) was an English actor who, with John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, was one of the trinity of male actors who dominated the British stage for much of the 20th century. He wo ...

and Dame

Sybil Thorndike Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike, Lady Casson (24 October 18829 June 1976) was an English actress whose stage career lasted from 1904 to 1969. Trained in her youth as a concert pianist, Thorndike turned to the stage when a medical problem with her ...

to its opening. After World War II, Carroll introduced several acts to Australia, such as the

Ballet Rambert Rambert (known as Rambert Dance Company before 2014) is a leading British dance company. Formed at the start of the 20th century as a classical ballet company, it exerted a great deal of influence on the development of dance in the United Kingd ...

(1947–48), the

Shakespeare Memorial Theatre The Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RST) (originally called the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre) is a grade II* listed 1,040+ seat thrust stage theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the English playwright and poet William Shakespea ...

(1949), the

Vienna Boys' Choir The Vienna Boys' Choir (german: Wiener Sängerknaben) is a choir of boy sopranos and altos based in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the best known boys' choirs in the world. The boys are selected mainly from Austria, but also from many other countr ...

(1954), the Chinese Classical Theatre (1956) and the

Sadler's Wells Opera Company English National Opera (ENO) is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with The Royal Opera. ENO's productions are sung in English. ...

(1960, 1962). Carroll also staged many new American musicals like ''

The Most Happy Fella ''The Most Happy Fella'' is a 1956 musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Frank Loesser. The story, about a romance between an older man and younger woman, is based on the 1924 play '' They Knew What They Wanted'' by Sidney Howard. The show i ...

'', ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. Se ...

'', ''

The King and I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the childre ...

'', and ''

Carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (List of sovereign states, international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in South Australia, SA) is a type of amusement ...

'', as well as '' Kismet'', which he produced himself in 1954. Some of Carroll's stage productions, including ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid-1 ...

'' and ''

The Diary of Anne Frank ''The Diary of a Young Girl'', also known as ''The Diary of Anne Frank'', is a book of the writings from the Dutch-language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherl ...

'', were commercial failures. Carroll was awarded the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(OBE) in 1949.

Personal life and death

Carroll was an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

. He was a member of the Victorian and the Green Room clubs, and spent his free time swimming and yachting. He also suffered from

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

for over a decade and died of

cardiovascular disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, h ...

on 23 August 1964 in

South Yarra South Yarra is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 4 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Melbourne and Stonnington local government areas. South Yarra recorded a popul ...

, Melbourne, survived by his wife and their son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carroll, Garnet Hannell Australian theatre owners Australian theatre managers and producers 1902 births 1964 deaths People from Singleton, New South Wales