Carrie Hamilton
Encyclopedia
Carrie Louise Hamilton (December 5, 1963 in New York City
– January 20, 2002, in Los Angeles
) was an American actress, singer, and playwright
. She was the daughter of comedienne/actress Carol Burnett
and producer Joe Hamilton
.
for the fifth and sixth seasons (1985–1987), and portrayed the role of Maureen Johnson in the first national tour of the stage musical Rent
to considerable acclaim. She also studied music and acting at Pepperdine University
in Malibu, California.
One of her films was Tokyo Pop
(1988), in which she played an American singer who journeys to Japan
. There she found a relationship with both a singer (played by Diamond Yukai
aka Yutaka Tadokoro) and a band that made it into the Tokyo
pop
charts Top Ten. She performed several songs in the movie.
In 1992, she took a minor role in the movie Cool World
, which starred Gabriel Byrne
, Kim Basinger
and Brad Pitt
.
Hamilton occasionally appeared with her mother on film. In 1987 Carol Burnett guest starred in an episode of Fame
entitled "Reggie and Rose". They co-starred in a 1988 TV movie titled Hostage. Nine years later, mother and daughter also starred on an episode of Touched By An Angel
entitled "The Comeback". Hamilton played an aspiring Broadway
star whose mother (Burnett) had also made a run for Broadway fame but failed (thanks to a dirty trick on the part of her conniving best friend, played by Rita Moreno
).
In 1999, she starred in a popular sixth season episode of the X-Files, entitled "Monday". She played the role of Pam, the girlfriend of a would-be bank robber who is forced to relive the same day over and over.
She was the inspiration for the 1983 hit single "Carrie's Gone" (#79, Billboard), written by former boyfriend Fergie Frederiksen and recorded by his band, Le Roux, after the couple broke up. The 12-year age difference (Carrie was 19 and Fergie was 31 at the time) was cited as the main reason for the break-up. She also dated American singer/songwriter Ryan Adams
in the late 90s. He was hit hard by her death and many of his songs are also written about and/or dedicated to Carrie, including much of his albums Demolition
and Love is Hell.
Hamilton worked with her mother to adapt Burnett's memoir
, One More Time
, for the stage play Hollywood Arms
, but never lived to see it produced.
and brain cancer January 20, 2002, in Los Angeles at the age of 38, and is interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
.
Carrie was survived by her mother as well as: two sisters, Jody and Erin; five half-sisters Kathi, Dana, Judi, Jennifer, and Nancy; and one half-brother, John Hamilton. Two other half-brothers, Joe and Jeffrey Hamilton, died in 1994 and 1997, respectively.
was dedicated the Carrie Hamilton Theatre in her memory (Burnett is a board member). The theatre hosts a readings series, "Hothouse at the Playhouse;" the Directors Lab West and the Furious Theatre Company
. On February 19, 2007, the Playhouse announced that architect Frank Gehry
will be redesigning the Carrie Hamilton theater.
joined the establishment of the Anaheim University Carrie Hamilton Entertainment Institute. Carol Burnett signed a citation establishing the institute with Anaheim University Vice-President for Academic Affairs Dr. David Nunan
, prior to answering questions regarding her daughter Carrie Hamilton and the Carrie Hamilton Entertainment Institute during a Q&A session with moderator Darrell Nelson. Carol concluded the Q&A by reading the following quote from her daughter Carrie:
"ABOUT ART. . . The legacy is really the lives we touch, the inspiration we give, altering someone's plan -- if even for a moment, and getting them to think, rage, cry, laugh, argue . . . walk around the block, dazed . . . (I do that a lot after seeing powerful theater!) More than anything, we are remembered for our smiles; the ones we share with our closest and dearest, and the ones we bestow on a total stranger, who needed it then, and God put you there to deliver."
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
– January 20, 2002, in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
) was an American actress, singer, and playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
. She was the daughter of comedienne/actress Carol Burnett
Carol Burnett
Carol Creighton Burnett is an American actress, comedian, singer, dancer and writer. Burnett started her career in New York. After becoming a hit on Broadway, she made her television debut...
and producer Joe Hamilton
Joe Hamilton (producer)
Joseph Henry Hamilton was an American television producer and actor.Beginning his career as a comedian, Hamilton was spotted by actress Carol Burnett. He worked with her on the short-lived CBS variety show The Entertainers and her long-running eponymous series as executive producer and composer of...
.
Life
Hamilton worked in a number of productions for stage, film, video, and television. She took the role of Reggie Higgins in the TV version of the musical FameFame (1982 TV series)
Fame is an American television series originally produced between 1982 and 1987. The show was based on the 1980 motion picture of the same name. Using a mixture of drama and music, it followed the lives of the students and faculty at the New York City High School for the Performing Arts. Although...
for the fifth and sixth seasons (1985–1987), and portrayed the role of Maureen Johnson in the first national tour of the stage musical Rent
Rent (musical)
Rent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème...
to considerable acclaim. She also studied music and acting at Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University is an independent, private, medium-sized university affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The university's campus overlooking the Pacific Ocean in unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, United States, near Malibu, is the location for Seaver College, the School of...
in Malibu, California.
One of her films was Tokyo Pop
Tokyo Pop
is a music-centric movie from 1988 that tells the story of a girl from the USA, a boy from Japan, and a briefly successful pop band. The movie contrasts American customs with Tokyo lifestyles, as it presents an evolving love story between the two main characters....
(1988), in which she played an American singer who journeys to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. There she found a relationship with both a singer (played by Diamond Yukai
Diamond Yukai
is a rock singer and actor. He was born Yutaka Tadokoro in Tanashi, Tokyo, Japan. He is the vocalist for the long term existing Japanese rock band Red Warriors.-Movies:He appeared in the following movies:...
aka Yutaka Tadokoro) and a band that made it into the Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
pop
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
charts Top Ten. She performed several songs in the movie.
In 1992, she took a minor role in the movie Cool World
Cool World
Cool World is a 1992 American live-action/animated film directed by Ralph Bakshi, and starring Kim Basinger, Gabriel Byrne, and Brad Pitt. It tells the story of a cartoonist who finds himself in the animated world he created, and is seduced by one of his characters, a comic strip vamp who wants to...
, which starred Gabriel Byrne
Gabriel Byrne
Gabriel James Byrne is an Irish actor, film director, film producer, writer, cultural ambassador and audiobook narrator. His acting career began in the Focus Theatre before he joined Londo's Royal Court Theatre in 1979. Byrne's screen debut came in the Irish soap opera The Riordans and the...
, Kim Basinger
Kim Basinger
Kimila Ann "Kim" Basinger is an American actress and former fashion model.She is known for her portrayals of Domino Petachi, the Bond girl in Never Say Never Again , and Vicki Vale, the female lead in Batman . Basinger received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture...
and Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt
William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received two Academy Award nominations and four Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one...
.
Hamilton occasionally appeared with her mother on film. In 1987 Carol Burnett guest starred in an episode of Fame
Fame (1982 TV series)
Fame is an American television series originally produced between 1982 and 1987. The show was based on the 1980 motion picture of the same name. Using a mixture of drama and music, it followed the lives of the students and faculty at the New York City High School for the Performing Arts. Although...
entitled "Reggie and Rose". They co-starred in a 1988 TV movie titled Hostage. Nine years later, mother and daughter also starred on an episode of Touched By An Angel
Touched by an Angel
Touched by an Angel is an American drama series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994 and ran for 211 episodes and nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and produced by Martha Williamson, the series stars Roma Downey, as an angel named Monica, and Della...
entitled "The Comeback". Hamilton played an aspiring Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
star whose mother (Burnett) had also made a run for Broadway fame but failed (thanks to a dirty trick on the part of her conniving best friend, played by Rita Moreno
Rita Moreno
Rita Moreno is a Puerto Rican singer, dancer and actress. She is the only Hispanic and one of the few performers who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony, and was the second Puerto Rican to win an Academy Award....
).
In 1999, she starred in a popular sixth season episode of the X-Files, entitled "Monday". She played the role of Pam, the girlfriend of a would-be bank robber who is forced to relive the same day over and over.
She was the inspiration for the 1983 hit single "Carrie's Gone" (#79, Billboard), written by former boyfriend Fergie Frederiksen and recorded by his band, Le Roux, after the couple broke up. The 12-year age difference (Carrie was 19 and Fergie was 31 at the time) was cited as the main reason for the break-up. She also dated American singer/songwriter Ryan Adams
Ryan Adams
David Ryan Adams is an American alt-country/rock singer-songwriter, from Jacksonville, North Carolina. Initially part of the group Whiskeytown, Adams left the band and released his first solo album Heartbreaker in 2000...
in the late 90s. He was hit hard by her death and many of his songs are also written about and/or dedicated to Carrie, including much of his albums Demolition
Demolition (Ryan Adams album)
-Album:-Singles:-Personnel:* Ryan Adams – Vocals, Guitar, Electric guitar, Harmonica, Bass, Piano, Synth, Drum Machine* Mikael Nord Andersson – Dobro* Bucky Baxter – Pedal Steel Guitar, Background vocals, Guitar...
and Love is Hell.
Hamilton worked with her mother to adapt Burnett's memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
, One More Time
One More Time (book)
One More Time is a memoir by comedian Carol Burnett. It was published by Random House in 1986 and became a New York Times non-fiction bestseller....
, for the stage play Hollywood Arms
Hollywood Arms
Hollywood Arms is a play by Carrie Hamilton and Carol Burnett.Adapted from Burnett's memoir One More Time, the dramedy is set in Hollywood, California in 1941 and 1951, and centers on the heartbreak and laughter shared by three generations of women living on welfare in a dingy apartment house...
, but never lived to see it produced.
Death
Carrie Hamilton died from lungLung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
and brain cancer January 20, 2002, in Los Angeles at the age of 38, and is interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
The Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery is a cemetery in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles, California. It is located at 1218 Glendon Avenue in Westwood....
.
Carrie was survived by her mother as well as: two sisters, Jody and Erin; five half-sisters Kathi, Dana, Judi, Jennifer, and Nancy; and one half-brother, John Hamilton. Two other half-brothers, Joe and Jeffrey Hamilton, died in 1994 and 1997, respectively.
Theatre
In July 2006, the former Balcony Theatre of the Pasadena PlayhousePasadena Playhouse
The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year.-History:...
was dedicated the Carrie Hamilton Theatre in her memory (Burnett is a board member). The theatre hosts a readings series, "Hothouse at the Playhouse;" the Directors Lab West and the Furious Theatre Company
Furious Theatre Company
-Company history:The critically acclaimed Furious Theatre Company are artists in residence at the Pasadena Playhouse committed to edgy, innovative and original works....
. On February 19, 2007, the Playhouse announced that architect Frank Gehry
Frank Gehry
Frank Owen Gehry, is a Canadian American Pritzker Prize-winning architect based in Los Angeles, California.His buildings, including his private residence, have become tourist attractions...
will be redesigning the Carrie Hamilton theater.
Anaheim University Carrie Hamilton Entertainment Institute
On March 23, 2010 legendary Emmy-Award winning actress and comedienne Carol BurnettCarol Burnett
Carol Creighton Burnett is an American actress, comedian, singer, dancer and writer. Burnett started her career in New York. After becoming a hit on Broadway, she made her television debut...
joined the establishment of the Anaheim University Carrie Hamilton Entertainment Institute. Carol Burnett signed a citation establishing the institute with Anaheim University Vice-President for Academic Affairs Dr. David Nunan
David Nunan
David Nunan is an Australian linguist who has focused on the teaching of English. His ELT textbook series "Go For It!" is the largest selling textbook series in the world with sales exceeding 2.5 billion copies....
, prior to answering questions regarding her daughter Carrie Hamilton and the Carrie Hamilton Entertainment Institute during a Q&A session with moderator Darrell Nelson. Carol concluded the Q&A by reading the following quote from her daughter Carrie:
"ABOUT ART. . . The legacy is really the lives we touch, the inspiration we give, altering someone's plan -- if even for a moment, and getting them to think, rage, cry, laugh, argue . . . walk around the block, dazed . . . (I do that a lot after seeing powerful theater!) More than anything, we are remembered for our smiles; the ones we share with our closest and dearest, and the ones we bestow on a total stranger, who needed it then, and God put you there to deliver."
External links
- Carrie Hamilton Unofficial Page
- Anaheim University Carrie Hamilton Entertainment Institute
- The Carrie Hamilton Theatre
- Carrie Hamilton Theatre info on Pasadena PlayhousePasadena PlayhouseThe Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year.-History:...
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