Carol Bruce
USABiography of Carol Bruce
Carol Bruce, born Shirley Levy on November 15, 1919, in Great Neck, New York, USA, was an American singer, Broadway star, and film and television actress. She began her singing career in the late 1930s with Larry Clinton and his band. Bruce graduated from Erasmus Hall High School in Brooklyn, New York, before making her Broadway debut in "Louisiana Purchase," where she performed songs by renowned American composer Irving Berlin. Berlin, responsible for producing 19 musicals, met Carol at a nightclub in Newark, New Jersey, and invited her to join his project.
Broadway Success
Bruce made history as the first actress to portray Julie in Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's two-act musical "Show Boat" on Broadway since its revival in 1932. She reprised the same role in 1946, receiving favorable reviews and earning comparisons to Helen Morgan, who first introduced the character to audiences in 1927 and starred in two film adaptations of "Show Boat" in 1929 and 1936.
Television and Film Career
Throughout her successful career as a singer and actress, Bruce is most remembered by her fans for her role as the authoritative and nagging "Mama Carlson," the mother of station manager Arthur Carlson, played by Gordon Jump, in the CBS sitcom "New WKRP in Cincinnati." Her television portfolio also includes appearances in series such as "Studio One," "The Armstrong Theatre," "General Hospital," "Charlie's Angels," "Different Strokes," "Quiet Haven," "Golden Girls," and "The Twilight Zone." She played Mrs. Clark in the TV series "Jake and the Fatman," Mrs. Portmayer in the sitcom "Doctor Doctor," and Grandma Sarah in the drama series "The Five of Us." In her filmography, Carol appeared in the thriller "American Gigolo" with Richard Gere, the comedy "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" with Steve Martin, and provided voice-over for a character in the animated film "The Land Before Time IV: Journey Through the Mists."
Personal Life and Legacy
Carol Bruce was married only once, to Milton Nattanson, and they later divorced. They had a daughter named Julie, who followed in her mother's footsteps and became an actress, singer, and playwright. Julie married jazz guitarist Larry Coryell, and their children, Murali Coryell and Julian Coryell, both became musicians. Carol Bruce passed away on October 9, 2007, at the age of 87, in Woodland Hills, California, from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, just a month before her 88th birthday.
