Jean Carroll, around 1955.
Posted on 01/07/2010 10:18:39 PM PST by nickcarraway
Jean Carroll, a comedian of the 1940s and ’50s whose ready wit, impeccable timing and unorthodox blend of glamour and humor made her one of the first female stars of mainstream stand-up comedy, died at a hospital in White Plains on Jan. 1. She was 98 and lived in Hartsdale, N.Y.
The death was confirmed by her daughter, Helen Tunick.
Though no longer a household name, Ms. Carroll was at midcentury a regular headliner in the country’s best-known theaters and nightclubs. She appeared often on “The Ed Sullivan Show” and had her own short-lived sitcom, “The Jean Carroll Show,” also called “Take It From Me,” broadcast on ABC in the 1953-54 season.
A monologist who wrote nearly all her own material, Ms. Carroll found her humor in the stuff of everyday experience: clothing, shopping, social life and family.
“The thing that attracted me to my husband was his pride,” one of her best-known bits went. “I’ll never forget the first time I saw him, standing up on a hill, his hair blowing in the breeze — and he too proud to run and get it.”
SNIP
Ms. Carroll’s comic gifts were perhaps nowhere more evident than they were one night in May 1948 at the old Madison Square Garden, when she performed at a benefit for the United Jewish Appeal. Israel had been declared a state that month, and after hearing impassioned speeches and the playing of “Hatikvah,” most of the audience was in tears. Then came Ms. Carroll’s turn.
It was a delicate spot for a comic to be in, as Mr. Howe recounted in interviews afterward. Unfazed, Ms. Carroll leaned into the microphone. “I’ve always been proud of the Jews, but never so proud as tonight,” she said. “Because tonight I wish I had my old nose back.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Jean Carroll, around 1955.
RIP.
RIP...98...more proof that funny people live longer.
...one night in May 1948... Ms. Carroll leaned into the microphone. "I've always been proud of the Jews, but never so proud as tonight," she said. "Because tonight I wish I had my old nose back."Heh heh...
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