Virginia Carroll
Encyclopedia
Virginia Carroll was an American
actress. She was best known for her appearance in a number of western films
Carroll was born Virginia Broberg in Los Angeles
on December 2, 1913. Her brother, Frank Carroll, became a Los Angeles newscaster. She worked as a model at a department store in Los Angeles until she began her film career in 1935.
Carroll was initially cast in a small part as a fashion model in the 1935 film, Roberta
. She appeared in her first western film less than a year later in 1936's A Tenderfoot Goes West, co-starring Jack La Rue
.
Carroll became a staple in B-listed western feature film
s. She appeared on screen in these westerns opposite Tex Ritter
, Don "Red" Barry, Roy Rogers
, Johnny Mack Brown
, Bill Elliott
, Gene Autry
and Whip Wilson
. Her roles included the 1942 film, Prairie Gunsmoke.
Carroll was also cast in television roles later in her acting career, including roles on The Roy Rogers Show
, Dragnet
, The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
and Perry Mason
.
Carroll married her first husband, actor Ralph Byrd
, in 1936. Byrd would become best known for his role as comic strip
hero, Dick Tracy
. Carroll and Byrd remained married until his death in 1952. She was married to her second husband, Lloyd McLean, a 20th Century Fox
film projectionist
, in 1957. The couple remained married until McLean's death in 1969, leaving Carroll a widow
for the second time.
Virginia Carroll died at a Santa Barbara, California
, retirement community
on July 23, 2009, of natural causes at the age of 95. She is survived by one daughter from her marriage to Ralph Byrd, Carroll Byrd Evangeline.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress. She was best known for her appearance in a number of western films
Carroll was born Virginia Broberg in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
on December 2, 1913. Her brother, Frank Carroll, became a Los Angeles newscaster. She worked as a model at a department store in Los Angeles until she began her film career in 1935.
Carroll was initially cast in a small part as a fashion model in the 1935 film, Roberta
Roberta (1935 film)
Roberta is a 1935 musical film by RKO starring Irene Dunne, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, and Randolph Scott. It was an adaptation of a 1933 Broadway theatre musical of the same name, which in turn was based on the novel Gowns by Roberta by Alice Duer Miller...
. She appeared in her first western film less than a year later in 1936's A Tenderfoot Goes West, co-starring Jack La Rue
Jack La Rue
Jack La Rue was an American film and stage actor.Born as Gaspere Biondolillo, he worked on the New York stage from 1923 to 1931. He moved to Hollywood, where he appeared in numerous films...
.
Carroll became a staple in B-listed western feature film
Feature film
In the film industry, a feature film is a film production made for initial distribution in theaters and being the main attraction of the screening, rather than a short film screened before it; a full length movie...
s. She appeared on screen in these westerns opposite Tex Ritter
Tex Ritter
Woodward Maurice Ritter , better known as Tex Ritter, was an American country music singer and movie actor popular from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and the patriarch of the Ritter family in acting...
, Don "Red" Barry, Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers
Roy Rogers, born Leonard Franklin Slye , was an American singer and cowboy actor, one of the most heavily marketed and merchandised stars of his era, as well as being the namesake of the Roy Rogers Restaurants franchised chain...
, Johnny Mack Brown
Johnny Mack Brown
Johnny Mack Brown was an All-American college football player and film actor originally billed as John Mack Brown at the height of his screen career.-Early life:...
, Bill Elliott
Bill Elliott
William Clyde "Bill" Elliott , also known as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville or Million Dollar Bill, is a part-time driver and former champion of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Elliott was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America on August 15, 2007. He won the 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup...
, Gene Autry
Gene Autry
Orvon Grover Autry , better known as Gene Autry, was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television for more than three decades beginning in the 1930s...
and Whip Wilson
Whip Wilson
Whip Wilson was an American cowboy film star of the late 1940s and into the 1950s, known for his roles in B-westerns....
. Her roles included the 1942 film, Prairie Gunsmoke.
Carroll was also cast in television roles later in her acting career, including roles on The Roy Rogers Show
The Roy Rogers Show
The Roy Rogers Show is an American Western television series that broadcast 100 episodes on NBC for six seasons between December 30, 1951 and June 9, 1957. The show starred Roy Rogers as a ranch owner, Dale Evans as the proprietor of the Eureka Cafe in fictional Mineral City, and Pat Brady as...
, Dragnet
Dragnet (series)
Dragnet is a radio and television crime drama about the cases of a dedicated Los Angeles police detective, Sergeant Joe Friday, and his partners...
, The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok
The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok is an American Western television series which ran for eight seasons from 1951 through 1958. The Screen Gems series began in syndication, but ran on CBS from 1955 through 1958, and, at the same time, on ABC from 1957 through 1958.-Synopsis:The Adventures of Wild...
and Perry Mason
Perry Mason
Perry Mason is a fictional character, a defense attorney who was the main character in works of detective fiction authored by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason was featured in more than 80 novels and short stories, most of which had a plot involving his client's murder trial...
.
Carroll married her first husband, actor Ralph Byrd
Ralph Byrd
Ralph Byrd was an American actor. He was most famous for playing the comic strip character Dick Tracy on screen, in serials, movies and television.-Early life and career:...
, in 1936. Byrd would become best known for his role as comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
hero, Dick Tracy
Dick Tracy
Dick Tracy is a comic strip featuring Dick Tracy, a hard-hitting, fast-shooting and intelligent police detective. Created by Chester Gould, the strip made its debut on October 4, 1931, in the Detroit Mirror. It was distributed by the Chicago Tribune New York News Syndicate...
. Carroll and Byrd remained married until his death in 1952. She was married to her second husband, Lloyd McLean, a 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
film projectionist
Projectionist
A Projectionist is a person who operates a movie projector. In the strict sense of the term this means any movie projector and therefore could include someone who operates the projector in a home video show or school. In common usage the term is generally understood to describe a paid employee of...
, in 1957. The couple remained married until McLean's death in 1969, leaving Carroll a widow
Widow
A widow is a woman whose spouse has died, while a widower is a man whose spouse has died. The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed widowhood or occasionally viduity. The adjective form is widowed...
for the second time.
Virginia Carroll died at a Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
, retirement community
Retirement community
A retirement community, or active adult community, is a very broad, generic term that covers many varieties of housing for retirees and seniors - especially designed or geared for people who no longer work, or restricted to those over a certain age . It differs from a retirement home which is a...
on July 23, 2009, of natural causes at the age of 95. She is survived by one daughter from her marriage to Ralph Byrd, Carroll Byrd Evangeline.
External links
- Virginia Carroll - Daily Telegraph obituary