Re: ACTOR JACK CARSON
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In reply to:
ACTOR JACK CARSON
Debbie Alberts 7/09/02
'The Fresno Bee'
Fresno, CA, Thursday, January 3, 1963.
SUDDEN DEATH OF JACK CARSON JOLTS FILMLAND
By Donald Blake
ENCINO, Los Angeles Co. - UPI - Actor Jack Carson turned in one of his greatest performances during the last two months of his life by concealing a death dealing cancer.
He died yesterday at the age of 52 of a malignancy of the liver.
Carson succumbed only a few hours before cancer claimed another Hollywood personality actor-producer Dick Powell.
Carson's death came as a shock to his friends who had not been told of the actor's illness at his insistence. He had undergone surgery about six weeks ago for the malignancy and was confined to bed at home for the past two weeks. His wife Sandra and brother Robert were with him when death came.
Told Only Recently
Frank Stempel, Carson's agent for more than 25 years, said the actor's closest friends were told of his illness only recently.
"Jack evidently knew he had cancer, but he didn't tell anybody," he said last night. "I talked to Jack last night and this morning. He wasn't feeling well, but he was all right."
But a hint of Carson's failing health came last August 26th in Andover, NJ, when he collapsed on stage during a dress rehearsal for Critics Choice. Physicians said -at the time- he had a stomach disorder.
His last appearance was on Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color on television four months ago when he appeared in good health and spirits.
Carson's first stage appearance came when -because of his size- he was chosen to play the part of Hercules in a college production. It was an auspicious debut. He tripped during a preformance and knocked down half the set.
Joined Act
A college friend, Dave Willock, thought it was so funny he persuaded Carson to team with him in a vaudeville act.
Carson came to Hollywood in 1936 to play bit parts in movies and on radio. He appeared in more than 40 pictures and starred on radio throughout his career.
However, Carson did not reach fame as a motion picture star until he teamed with singer Dennis Morgan in Two Guys From Texas and other Two Guys films.
"He was my very best friend," Morgan said last night. "Besides pictures, we traveled to hundreds of army camps and hospitals together during the war. We often went hunting and fishing together."
In addition to his wife and brother, he is survived by his mother, Elsa Carson, and two children by a previous marriage to singer, Kay St. Germain, John, Jr., 21, and Kathryn, 17.
His funeral will be at 11 AM Saturday in the Wee Kirk of the Heather in Forrest Lawn Memorial Park.
Born in Carman, Manitoba, Canada, on October 27, 1910, Carson nevertheless always thought of himself as a native American. His family moved to Milwaukee, Wis., when he was a youngster. He considered it his hometown.
He was educated at St. John's Military Academy in Delafield, Wis., and at Carlton College in Northfield, Minn., where at 6 foot, 2, weighing 220 pounds, he was a football star.