Pat Caroll is DEAD TO ME!!

Holy shit! They're dropping like flies today!

Err Pat Carroll. Goddamn autocorrect.

R1, how inconsiderate to die at the weekend.

I hope someone is with Jm J Bullock.

Awwww, that's a sad one! Just loved Pat Carroll since I first saw her on The Danny Thomas Show, as well as various game and panel shows in the 1950s. She always seemed like such a neat lady. In her golden years she returned to theater in Washington DC and played Mother Courage and even Sir John Falstaff in Merry Wives of Windsor. And she wrote and starred off-Broadway and on tour in her one woman show about Gertrude Stein. Truly a unique actor!

I was frankly unaware of some of her TV credits of recent years. Very glad to hear she continued to work for such a long time.

When we first got cable in 1979, my mother fell in love with CBS Cable, the pioneering arts channel that paved the way for pre-reality A&E and Bravo. Her two favorite broadcasts were Pat Carroll's one-woman Gertrude Stein show and Maxim Mazumdar's [italic]Oscar Remembered.[/italic]

She was a female Falstaff apparently, and was terrific, I had heard.

Always thought she was a lesbian! Apparently not.

Loved Pat. RIP.

Elaine Stritch was originally cast as Ursula, but she wasn't following Howard Ashman's stage be directions, so Pat stepped in:

[quote] Howard was aggravated. Stritch had reworked the tempo of the song. She was not following his demo in the slightest. She was undirectable. Howard seemed genuinely depressed that someone whose work he so enjoyed, and who seemed the answer to our problems, treated his material so rudely. So suddenly instead of having two great candidates, we had none. Fortunately, Pat Carroll eventually swam to our rescue. With her approach she said was channeling “Maurice Evans doing Tallulah Bankhead.”

Wasn’t she in an episode of Designing Women? Something to do with Julia if I recall correctly.

I loved her when I was a kid and I’m really shocked to hear she died today. Pat Carroll was still alive until today?!?!?!

She also did a fun behind-the-scenes documentary about the Gertrude Stein show. One great scene featured this old recording of Alice B. Toklas reciting her recipe for hashish fudge.

Sweet lovely interview at r4! Thank you for posting.

The first thing I remember seeing her in as a kid was Bobby Sherman's short-lived ABC sitcom.

She was fab.

But I admit, I was in the didn't-she-die-ages-ago club.

1973

R9, she played an old teacher of Julia's who came to visit and then refused to leave. This was during the awful last season.

It was just her luck to get hospitalized next to a Playboy bunny.

I remember when she played Shirley's mother in an episode of "Laverne & Shirley." May she RIP.

A dyke is a dyke is a dyke.

The only reason she was cast as Ursula was because Be Arthur's agent turned down the role before speaking to her. Bea Arthur was pissed. Elaine Stritch was deemed too scary for children.

I wish Bea Arthur would have been Ursula.

The first time I saw Pat was when she played the wife of Danny Thomas' agent Jerry Halper on The Danny Thomas Show. IIRC the character's name was Bunny Halper, or Helper....can that be since we had Millie Helper on the Dick Van Dyke Show? Anyway, I remember Bunny being pregnant through several episodes and I think maybe Pat was actually pregnant then and they wrote it into the show rather try and disguise it. Anyone else remember her from that?

Sorry to hear about her passing from "pnuemonia" and interesting to learn of her "schol" upbringing. Who writes or then proofreads this shit nowadays?? Cut-and-past your stories from Microsoft Word after running a spelling and grammar check first, you 17-year-old summer intern "journalist" bitches!?!

I just had a flash of her hobbling around in a leg cast and had to look up where that was from. Mary Tyler Moore Show. My eldergay brain is failing. RIP

R24 Yes! I remember her being on MTM.

And Laverne and Shirley!

Honestly, I thought she was already dead. RIP

She was one of those funny, smart, witty women.

She is missed.

According to iMDB, she was working as of 2020! I'd like to see any of you bitches crank it out at 93.

[quote]Cut-and-past your stories from Microsoft Word after running a spelling and grammar check first

Oh, dear!

My uncle worked on the Too Close For Comfort reboot back in the late 80s and adored her. He always said that was the happiest set he ever worked on and everyone was devastated when Ted Knight suffered that fatal heart attack and they had to end it prematurely though Nancy Dussault tried her damndest to keep it going by first suggesting that her character enter into a post-breakdown lesbian relationship with Carroll's character and then coming up with the "wacky" idea of having Ted's character "possess" her and she play both roles.

She knew she'd never get real work again.

[quote]Nancy Dussault tried her damnedest to keep it going by first suggesting that her character enter into a post-breakdown lesbian relationship with Carroll's character and then coming up with the "wacky" idea of having Ted's character "possess" her and she play both roles.

Poor Nancy was still suffering from "Bajour!" induced PTSD.

r24 see r18

I can’t decide who I want to direct that post-Ted Knight season, r30.

John Waters or David Lynch?

And she originated the part of Miss Tweed in "Something's Afoot" - a musical spoof on Agatha Christie's ten little indians.

I was reading a recent interview tonight that was linked in one of her obits and it was remarkable how up and positive she was about all of her past work, including flops and missteps. She was also asked by the interviewer on her opinions of some of her most notoriously difficult and/or prickly co-stars like Danny Kaye, Sid Caesar, Henry Morgan, Danny Thomas, Jackie Gleason and Mel Brooks, but she never took the bait and only spoke rapturously about all of them. And it sounded sincerely genuine.

[quote]Nancy Dussault tried her damndest to keep it going by first suggesting that her character enter into a post-breakdown lesbian relationship with Carroll's character and then coming up with the "wacky" idea of having Ted's character "possess" her and she play both roles

This can't be true, r30! Is Nancy Dussault insane? That's crazier than the Eight is Enough lesbian step-incest plot supposedly suggested by Betty Buckley and Laurie Walters

Why is she serving blowjob face in OP’s pic?

I was 9 or so when all this happened but I remember him telling my mother about it and she thought it was the most bizarre thing she had ever heard.

Uncle Neil took me to the set once cause he thought I'd like to see/meet the guy who created Garfield cause he knew I liked to read "the funny books". I was not impressed.

headshot

I never liked this actress . She always played " bitter " to me .

[quote]The first time I saw Pat was when she played the wife of Danny Thomas' agent Jerry Halper on The Danny Thomas Show. IIRC the character's name was Bunny Halper, or Helper....can that be since we had Millie Helper on the Dick Van Dyke Show? Anyway, I remember Bunny being pregnant through several episodes and I think maybe Pat was actually pregnant then and they wrote it into the show rather try and disguise it. Anyone else remember her from that? r

I remember her from that, R22. Her character's name was indeed named Bunny Halper, not to be confused with Millie Helper. Jerry Halper was played by Sid Melton. I also remember her being pregnant on the show.

We bitch so much about Bonnie Franklin, but she was a goddess next to that cunt Nancy Dussault.

[quote]Holy shit! They're dropping like flies today!

Who else besides Nichelle Nichols?

Pat Carroll (with Barbara Ruick) in the 1965 version of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella."

[quote]I remember her from that, R22. Her character's name was indeed named Bunny Halper, not to be confused with Millie Helper. Jerry Halper was played by Sid Melton. I also remember her being pregnant on the show.

Correction: Sid Melton's character was named Charlie Halper, not Jerry Halper. We were confusing him with Jerry Helper from "The Dick Van Dyke Show."

I wonder if the old Danny Thomas Show holds up today? I'm sure most people reading this barely remember Danny except as a joke about glass top coffee tables and as Marlo's daddy.

But he was a HUGE TV star in the 1950s and well into the 1960s, and his sitcom, which began as Make Room for Daddy in the mid-50s was able to withstand some big cast changes when DL fave Jean Hagen decided she'd had enough as his underused TV wife and left the series. For a season or two Danny continued playing night club singer/comedian widower Danny Williams with 2 kids and then there was a big transition when Marjorie Lord and Angela Cartwright joined the series as his new pretty young wife and daughter. They were all so beloved they even guest starred as the Williams family on one of the better Lucy-Desi Comedy Hours.

The eldest daughter from the previous iteration Sherry Lansing was replaced by look-alike Penny Parker and was eventually married off. Rusty Hamer, adorably impish in the early seasons as the impish young son, aged badly and Cartwright continued be merely annoying. There were lots of guests stars in semi-continuous roles, including handsome young Pat Harrington Jr. as daughter Terry's fiance/husband, Hans Conreid as Danny's Uncle Tonoose from the old country (though did they ever mention what old country?) and, of course, Sid Melton and dear Pat Carroll as Danny's agent and wife. And....does anyone remember Annette Funicello as elder daughter Terry's best friend? Or was it Anna Maria Alberghetti? Am I mis-remembering?

Who remembers that series?

Anna Maria Alberghetti in a taxi, honey.

I adored that old dyke, especially in Cinderella when she rubs unicorn oil on her arthritic knees. My brother told me when I was very young that Cinderella's stepsisters were both lesbians and that's why the Prince never liked them. I just loved their dresses and hats.

Thought that was Ayn Rand in OP’s pic

[R46], I've been watching the reruns on FREEVEE, and just got to the first Pat Carroll epiode.

Sherry Jackon played Terry, not Sherry Lansing.

Annette Funicello did several episodes as an Italian exchange student living with the Williams family.

[quote]The eldest daughter from the previous iteration Sherry Lansing was replaced by look-alike Penny Parker and was eventually married off.

When Sherry Jackson's character of Terry was brought back during the 1959-1960 season, now played by lookalike Penney Parker, she was married off to Pat Harrington Jr., years before he started bursting unannounced into Ann Romano's apartment,

[quote]Rusty Hamer, adorably impish in the early seasons as the impish young son, aged badly and Cartwright continued be merely annoying.

Angela Cartwright was a terrible actress when she joined the show. She would smile on literally every line she spoke, even if she was announcing that she was running away from home. Rusty Hamer suffered from depression years after the show went off the air and committed suicide in 1990.

[quote]And....does anyone remember Annette Funicello as elder daughter Terry's best friend? Or was it Anna Maria Alberghetti? Am I mis-remembering?

Annette played an Italian exchange student named Gina. Later, Danny Thomas brought an Italian child performer named Piccola Pupa onto the show as his protege.

Piccola Pupa!

[quote]Always thought she was a lesbian! Apparently not

Please.

I will miss you, person I’ve never heard of before.

^^ Twink

Thank you, r50, r51 and r52 for your corrections and additions to my post.

Yes, Sherry Jackson, I should have remembered her name. I wonder if it was her choice to leave the series? And how did Annette ever get permission from Walt Disney to appear on the series? Ugh, Piccola Pupa, she was a drag! Do any of you elder gays remember Penny Parker from a very short-livedearly 60s sitcom called MARGIE about a 1920s teenager? Penny played her fast flapper bff Maybelle.

Anyway, got to hand it to Danny, he continued to make the series an ensemble affair and often wisely threw the plot arcs to his supporting cast and guest stars. IIRC his producing partner was former movie gangster/villain Sheldon Leonard and he and Danny produced lots of successful 1960s TV series. Leonard also appeared on Danny's show but I can't remember his recurring character.

The end of Clairol will have a big impact on everybody.

Myself especially.

Now for a word from Garlique!

[quote]Do any of you elder gays remember Penny Parker from a very short-lived early 60s sitcom called MARGIE about a 1920s teenager?

I remember it! Cynthia Pepper starred as Margie. It ran for one season, after which I don't recall hearing another word about Cynthia Pepper or Penney Parker.

Margie

Her voice work in The Little Mermaid 🧜‍♀️ instilled in me an enduring fear of bull dykes.

[quote]Yes, Sherry Jackson, I should have remembered her name. I wonder if it was her choice to leave the series?

I recall reading somewhere that Sherry Jackson was very close to Jean Hagen and had no interest in staying with the show after Jean left.

Pat Carroll was a lifelong Republican.

Source, r62?

[quote] tell me more about Jon’s gambling.

Did she poo-pa on ze coffee table?

[quote]Carroll married Lee Karsian in 1955 and they had three children, including actress Tara Karsian.[3] The marriage ended in a divorce in 1976.[3] In 1991 Carroll received an honorary doctorate from Siena College in Albany, New York.[12] Carroll, a practicing Roman Catholic, cited that her religious views helped her to determine what projects to accept.[13] She was a lifelong Republican in 1992.[14]

Sorry, ignore R64

that was supposed to be

[quote] Pupa

Did she poo-pa on ze coffee table?

Thank you, r65.

She was a lot of fun playing Doris Day’s sister in “With Six You Get Eggroll.” She was the one who kept egging Doris Day’s character to get together with Brian Keith…….Ad a matter of fact Pat Carroll was one of those faces from my childhood who seemed to be everywhere - like Buddy Hackett, Alice Ghostly, Joanne Whorly, Kaye Ballard, Richard Deacon etc oh and Reta Shaw

Agree, R68. Pat kind of picked up where Thelma Ritter left off.

r58! Yes, Cynthia Pepper, I was blanking on her name. She seemed to come out of nowhere to play Margie and then returned there when the show folded after a brief season. I seem to remember watching that show on lonely Saturday or Sunday evenings as a kid, just waiting to grow up and start living.

For your vinyl collection, r70...

Cute little video of Pat acting out Ursula with a young woman.

Ursula always brings to mind Sally from Bold & the Beautiful.

I saw her doing her Gertrude Stein (which I first misspelled as "Gerturde"). Her Gertrude Stein was bigger-than-life--the life of the party! Yeah. Shur.

Falstaff

She was hilarious on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and on "Laverne and Shirley."

Gertrude Stein was wonderful. She had a great last act of her career. RIP Pat Carroll.

r71, I would have killed a classmate for that.

They're frequently on eBay, r77.

It's not like it's a penmanship medal, r77.

Awww, that’s a shame.

He was terrific in All In The Family.

What were you expected to put in that Margie box? Was it for holding 45 records? Or a lunch box? A doll clothes carrier?

Death does come in threes: Tony Dow, Pat Carroll, Ayman al-Zawahri

I think it was for dolls and...whatever, r81.

[quote]For a season or two Danny continued playing night club singer/comedian widower Danny Williams with 2 kids

R46 That was season 4, when Danny Thomas also had a broken leg. Much as I liked Jean Hagan as Danny's wife (and more so than Marjory Lord), Danny as a widower parent was something unusual for a situation comedy at the time because the writers couldn't rely on the usual husband-wife-kids formula. Some of the season 4 episodes were more dramedy than situation comedy, which again was unusual for the early 1950s. Mary Wickes (as Danny's publicity agent) provided some female input when needed, but it was mostly Danny going it alone with his kids.

I thought Pat Caroll and Sid Melton were great additions to the later seasons of the show. They added comedy that wasn't only about raising the children.

Par Carroll played Mrs. Meers in the Broadway-bound production of “Thoroughly Modern Millie”, but was replaced by Harriet Harris. Any of you theater insiders know what happened there?

I saw her in Nunsense in Boston years ago. Hilarious in the bit when the Reverend Mother sniffs poppers.