Georgia Carroll
Encyclopedia
Georgia Carroll was an American
singer, fashion model, and actress, best known for her work with Kay Kyser
's big band
orchestra in the mid-1940s.
Born in Blooming Grove, Texas
, Carroll's first brush with celebrity was when she was the model for "The Spirit of the Centennial" statue at the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition at Fair Park
in Dallas, Texas
. The statue still stands in front of what is now The Women's Museum
. She was a 1937 graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas and has been inducted into the school's Hall of Fame along with many other well-known graduates.
Carroll's acting career began in 1941 when she appeared in several uncredited small roles in films such as Maisie Was a Lady
with Lew Ayres
and Ann Sothern
, Ziegfeld Girl
with Judy Garland
, as well as You're in the Army Now
and Navy Blues, in both of which she appeared with the Navy Blues Sextette group.
Possibly her most visible acting role was as Betsy Ross
in the James Cagney
musical Yankee Doodle Dandy
in 1942. She also did modelling during this time, appearing in advertisements for Jewelite hairbrushes, among other products.
In 1943, Carroll joined Kay Kyser's band, known as the "Kollege of Musical Knowledge", as a featured vocalist. Capitalizing on her good looks, she was given the nickname "Gorgeous Georgia Carroll", probably as a joking reference to the professional wrestler George Wagner
, who used the name "Gorgeous George". As a member of Kyser's band, Carroll appeared in three films: Around the World, Carolina Blues, and most notably the Second World War-era "morale booster" Thousands Cheer
which gave fans a chance to see Kyser and his band in Technicolor
. Kyser's band has a featured performance near the end of the film, with Carroll delivering a key solo interlude of the Arthur Freed
/Nacio Herb Brown
standard, "Should I?"
In 1945, Carroll married Kyser and made no further film appearances, retiring from performing in 1946; Kyser himself retired from performing in 1951. The couple, who had three children, remained married until his death in 1985. Carroll had been living in Chapel Hill since retirement. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
is custodian of a large archive of documents and material about Kay Kyser which was donated by Carroll.
Georgia Carroll died in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
on January 14, 2011.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer, fashion model, and actress, best known for her work with Kay Kyser
Kay Kyser
James Kern Kyser was a popular bandleader and radio personality of the 1930s and 1940s.-Early years:He was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, the son of pharmacists Paul Bynum Kyser and Emily Royster Kyser. Editor Vermont C. Royster was his cousin...
's big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
orchestra in the mid-1940s.
Born in Blooming Grove, Texas
Blooming Grove, Texas
Blooming Grove is a town in Navarro County, Texas, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 833.-Geography:Blooming Grove is located at ....
, Carroll's first brush with celebrity was when she was the model for "The Spirit of the Centennial" statue at the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition at Fair Park
Fair Park
Dallas Fair Park is a recreational and educational complex located in Dallas, Texas . The complex is registered as a Dallas Landmark, National Historic Landmark and is home to nine museums, six performance facilities, a lagoon, and the largest Ferris wheel in North America...
in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
. The statue still stands in front of what is now The Women's Museum
The Women's Museum
The Women's Museum: An Institute for the Future is a museum located inside Fair Park in Dallas, Texas , covering the subject of American women's history...
. She was a 1937 graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas and has been inducted into the school's Hall of Fame along with many other well-known graduates.
Carroll's acting career began in 1941 when she appeared in several uncredited small roles in films such as Maisie Was a Lady
Maisie Was a Lady
Maisie Was a Lady is the fourth in a series of films starring Ann Sothern as good-hearted showgirl Maisie Ravier.-Plot:When wealthy drunkard Robert "Bob" Rawlston loses Maisie her carnival sideshow job as the Headless Woman, he offers her the use of his car to get to town. However, she is pulled...
with Lew Ayres
Lew Ayres
Lew Ayres was an American actor, best known for starring as Paul in All Quiet on the Western Front and for playing Dr...
and Ann Sothern
Ann Sothern
Ann Sothern was an American film and television actress whose career spanned six decades.-Early life and career:...
, Ziegfeld Girl
Ziegfeld Girl (film)
Ziegfeld Girl is a 1941 American film starring James Stewart, Judy Garland, Hedy Lamarr, and Lana Turner, and co-starring Tony Martin, Jackie Cooper, Eve Arden, and Philip Dorn. Released by MGM, it was directed by Robert Z...
with Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
, as well as You're in the Army Now
You're in the Army Now
You're in the Army Now is a 1941 comedy film starring Jimmy Durante, Phil Silvers, Jane Wyman, and Regis Toomey.It featured the longest kiss in film, lasting three minutes and six seconds until Elena Undone beat it by eighteen seconds.- Cast :...
and Navy Blues, in both of which she appeared with the Navy Blues Sextette group.
Possibly her most visible acting role was as Betsy Ross
Betsy Ross
Betsy Ross is widely credited with making the first American flag. There is, however, no credible historical evidence that the story is true.-Early life:...
in the James Cagney
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
musical Yankee Doodle Dandy
Yankee Doodle Dandy
Yankee Doodle Dandy is a 1942 American biographical musical film about George M. Cohan, known as "The Man Who Owns Broadway". It stars James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston, and Richard Whorf, and features Irene Manning, George Tobias, Rosemary DeCamp and Jeanne Cagney.The movie was written by...
in 1942. She also did modelling during this time, appearing in advertisements for Jewelite hairbrushes, among other products.
In 1943, Carroll joined Kay Kyser's band, known as the "Kollege of Musical Knowledge", as a featured vocalist. Capitalizing on her good looks, she was given the nickname "Gorgeous Georgia Carroll", probably as a joking reference to the professional wrestler George Wagner
George Wagner
George Raymond Wagner was an American professional wrestler best known by his ring name Gorgeous George...
, who used the name "Gorgeous George". As a member of Kyser's band, Carroll appeared in three films: Around the World, Carolina Blues, and most notably the Second World War-era "morale booster" Thousands Cheer
Thousands Cheer
Thousands Cheer is a 1943 American comedy musical film released by MGM. Produced at the height of the Second World War, the film was intended as a morale booster for American troops and their families.-Plot:The film is essentially a two-part program...
which gave fans a chance to see Kyser and his band in Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
. Kyser's band has a featured performance near the end of the film, with Carroll delivering a key solo interlude of the Arthur Freed
Arthur Freed
Arthur Freed was born Arthur Grossman in Charleston, South Carolina. He was a Jewish American lyricist and a Hollywood film producer.- Biography :Freed began his career as a song-plugger and pianist in Chicago...
/Nacio Herb Brown
Nacio Herb Brown
Nacio Herb Brown was an American writer of popular songs, movie scores, and Broadway theatre music in the 1920s through the early 1950s.-Biography:...
standard, "Should I?"
In 1945, Carroll married Kyser and made no further film appearances, retiring from performing in 1946; Kyser himself retired from performing in 1951. The couple, who had three children, remained married until his death in 1985. Carroll had been living in Chapel Hill since retirement. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
is custodian of a large archive of documents and material about Kay Kyser which was donated by Carroll.
Georgia Carroll died in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Chapel Hill is a town in Orange County, North Carolina, United States and the home of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and UNC Health Care...
on January 14, 2011.
External links
- Inventory of the Kay Kyser and Georgia Carroll Kyser Papers, 1906-2004, in the Southern Historical CollectionSouthern Historical CollectionThe Southern Historical Collection is a repository of distinct archival collections at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill which document the culture and history of the American South...
, UNC-Chapel HillUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillThe University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...