Carol Bruce (born Shirley Levy; November 15, 1919 – October 9, 2007) was an American band singer, Broadway star, and film and television actress.

Early years

Bruce was born Shirley Levy in a Jewish family, in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, to Beatrice and Harry Levy.> She had a sister, Marilyn. Because of her family's moving, she attended

Jamaica High School Jamaica High School was a four-year public high school in Jamaica, Queens, New York. It was operated by the New York City Department of Education. Jamaica High School was founded as the Union Free School in 1854, and located within a three-stor ...

Girls' High School Girls High School is a historically and architecturally notable public secondary school building located at 475 Nostrand Avenue in the Bedford–Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. It was built in 1886.''Brooklyn: a soup-to-nuts ...

, and

New Utrecht High School New Utrecht High School is a public high school located in Bensonhurst, a neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. The school is operated by the New York City Department of Education under District 20, and serves students of grades 9 to 12. It is one of ...

before graduating from

Erasmus Hall High School Erasmus Hall High School was a four-year public high school located at 899–925 Flatbush Avenue between Church and Snyder Avenues in the Flatbush neighborhood of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It was founded in 1786 as Erasmus Hall Ac ...

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. Although she studied violin for eight years, she never took singing lessons.

Singing

Bruce began her career as a singer in the late 1930s with

Larry Clinton Larry Clinton (August 17, 1909 – May 2, 1985) was an American musician, best known as a trumpeter who became a prominent American bandleader and arranger. Biography Clinton was born in Brooklyn, New York, United States. He became a ver ...

and his band. She sang with Ben Bernie's orchestra in 1940-1941.

Stage

Bruce made her Broadway debut in ''

Louisiana Purchase The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...

'', with songs by Irving Berlin, who discovered her at a nightclub in Newark, New Jersey. She was the first actress to play the role of Julie in a Broadway production of

Jerome Kern Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in ove ...

and Oscar Hammerstein II's ''

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the performers, stagehands and dock worke ...

'' since the 1932 Broadway revival. Bruce played the role onstage in 1946 and garnered favorable comparisons to Helen Morgan, who had originated the role onstage in 1927 and repeated it in both the 1932 revival and the 1936 film. Her other

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 ...

credits include ''New Priorities of 1943'', ''Along Fifth Avenue'', ''Do I Hear a Waltz?'', ''Henry, Sweet Henry'', and ''A Family Affair''.

Film

Bruce appeared with Abbott and Costello in ''

Keep 'Em Flying ''Keep 'Em Flying'' is a 1941 film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. The film was their third service comedy based on the peacetime draft of 1940. The comedy team had appeared in two previous service comedies in 1941, before the ...

'' (1941). Her first serious film role was in '' This Woman Is Mine'' (1941). She had supporting roles many years later in the films '' American Gigolo'' (1980) and ''

Planes, Trains and Automobiles ''Planes, Trains and Automobiles'' is a 1987 American comedy film written, produced and directed by John Hughes and starring Steve Martin and John Candy with supporting roles by Laila Robins and Michael McKean. It tells the story of a high-stru ...

'' (1987).

Radio

Bruce's radio debut came on ''

The Horn and Hardart Children's Hour ''The Horn and Hardart Children's Hour'' (later known as ''The Children's Hour'') was a variety show with a cast of children, including some who later became well-known adult performers. It had a long run for more than three decades. The program w ...

''. She sang on ''Carton of Pleasure'' and ''The Henny Youngman Show''.

Television

After a long career as a singer and in films, Bruce is probably best-remembered for her recurring role as the domineering and meddlesome Lillian "Mama" Carlson (mother of the station manager played by

Gordon Jump Alexander Gordon Jump (April 1, 1932 – September 22, 2003) was an American actor best known as the clueless, yet occasionally wise, radio station manager Arthur "Big Guy" Carlson in the TV series ''WKRP in Cincinnati'' and the incompetent Ch ...

) on

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 ...

' '' WKRP in Cincinnati''. In real life, Bruce was only 12 years older than Jump. Sylvia Sidney played Mr. Carlson's mother in the pilot episode.

Personal life

Bruce's only marriage to Milton Nathanson, which ended in divorce, produced a daughter, Julie, an actress, singer and playwright who married jazz guitarist Larry Coryell. Bruce's grandchildren, Murali and Julian Coryell, are both musicians. Bruce was

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. Bruce was a Democrat who supported Adlai Stevenson's campaign in the 1952 presidential election.

Death

Bruce died from

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of progressive lung disease characterized by long-term respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. The main symptoms include shortness of breath and a cough, which may or may not produce ...

at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in

Woodland Hills, California Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Geography Woodland Hills is in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, which is located east of Ca ...

, aged 87. She was survived by her sister and two great-grandsons. Upon her death, she was cremated and her ashes given to her cousin.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bruce, Carol American film actresses American musical theatre actresses American television actresses Donaldson Award winners Erasmus Hall High School alumni Musicians from Brooklyn Actresses from New York City 1919 births 2007 deaths Jewish American actresses Jewish American musicians 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses California Democrats New York (state) Democrats 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers New Utrecht High School alumni Jamaica High School (New York City) alumni Girls' High School alumni 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews