Georgia Carroll

Born: 1919-11-18

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Georgia Carroll (November 18, 1919 – January 14, 2011) was an American singer, fashion model, and actress, best known for her work with Kay Kyser's big band orchestra in the mid-1940s. The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Roger Carroll, she was born in Blooming Grove, Texas, where her father raised sheep. Her family moved to Dallas, Texas, where she graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School. One of Carroll's early jobs was modeling for a department store in Dallas, Texas. She eventually went to New York City and worked for the John Powers modeling agency. While she worked as a model in New York, she took vocal lessons. Her 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. She appeared as Betsy Ross in the James Cagney musical Yankee Doodle Dandy in 1942. 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.


Placeholder

The Man Who Came to Dinner

as Hollywood Blonde (uncredited)
Released: 1941-12-24

An acerbic critic wreaks havoc when a hip injury forces him to move in indefinitely with a...

Movie page

Du Barry was a Lady

as Miss January
Released: 1943-08-13

Hat check man Louis Blore is in love with nightclub star May Daly. May, however, is in love with...

Movie page

Ziegfeld Girl

as Ziegfeld Girl (uncredited)
Released: 1941-04-25

Discovery by Flo Ziegfeld changes a girl's life but not necessarily for the better, as three...

Movie page

Maisie Was a Lady

as House Guest (Uncredited)
Released: 1941-01-10

Showgirl Maisie Ravier finds herself once again out of work. She meets a wealthy playboy who...

Movie page

Around the World

as Georgia Carroll
Released: 1943-11-27

Bandleader Kay Kyser takes his troupe of nutty musicians, goofball comics and pretty girl...

Movie page

Play Girl

as Alice Sawyer (uncredited)
Released: 1941-01-29

When a gold digger starts to get a little old to ply her trade, she teaches a younger woman all...

Movie page

Navy Blues

as Navy Blues Sextet Member
Released: 1941-09-13

On a layover in Hawaii two conniving Navy seamen borrow money to lay down bets that their ship...

Movie page

You're in the Army Now

as Navy Blues Sextette Member
Released: 1941-12-25

Incompetent door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesmen become enlisted without their knowledge.

Movie page