John Elmer (Jack) Carson

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Actor

1962 Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color (TV series) (2 episodes)

1962 Alfred Hitchcock Presents (TV series) (1 episode)

1954-1962 The United States Steel Hour (TV series) (6 episodes)

1961 Bus Stop (TV series) (1 episode)

1961 The Dick Powell Theatre (TV series) (1 episode)

1961 King of the Roaring 20's: The Story of Arnold Rothstein

1961 The Dinah Shore Chevy Show (TV series) (1 episode)

1961 The Chevy Show (TV series) (1 episode)

1961 Twilight Zone (TV series) (1 episode)

1960 Thriller (TV series) (1 episode)

1960 New Comedy Showcase (TV series) (1 episode)

1960 Zane Grey Theater (TV series) (1 episode)

1960 The Bramble Bush

1959 Startime (TV series) (1 episode)

1959 Bonanza (TV series) (1 episode)

1959 Alcoa Theatre (TV series) (2 episodes)

1958 Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys!

1957-1958 Playhouse 90 (TV series) (2 episodes)

1958 Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

1956-1958 Schlitz Playhouse (TV series) (3 episodes)

1958 Studio One in Hollywood (TV series) (1 episode)

1958 Studio 57 (TV series) (1 episode)

1957 Date with the Angels (TV series) (1 episode)

1957 The Tarnished Angels

1955-1957 Climax! (TV series) (2 episodes)

1957 The Guy Mitchell Show (TV series) (1 episode)

1951-1957 Lux Video Theatre (TV series) (3 episodes)

1957 The Steve Allen Plymouth Show (TV series) (1 episode)

1957 The Tattered Dress

1956 The Ford Television Theatre (TV series) (1 episode)

1956 Magnificent Roughnecks

1956 The Bottom of the Bottle

1955 Damon Runyon Theater (TV series) (1 episode)

1955 Screen Directors Playhouse (TV series) (1 episode)

1955 Jane Wyman Presents The Fireside Theatre (TV series) (1 episode)

1955 Ain't Misbehavin'

1954 The Jack Carson Show (TV series) (1954-55)

1954 Phffft

1954 A Star Is Born

1953-1954 G.E. True Theater (TV series) (2 episodes)

1954 Red Garters

1953 Dangerous When Wet

1952 The U.S. Royal Showcase (TV series) (1 episode)

1951 The Groom Wore Spurs

1951 Mr. Universe

1950 Bright Leaf

1950 Your Show of Shows (TV series) (1 episode)

1950 The Good Humor Man

1950 The Ford Theatre Hour (TV series) (1 episode)

1949 My Dream Is Yours

1949 John Loves Mary

1948 Two Guys from Texas

1948 Romance on the High Seas

1948 April Showers

1947 So You Want to Be in Pictures (short) (uncredited)

1947 Love and Learn

1946 The Time, the Place and the Girl

1946 Two Guys from Milwaukee

1946 One More Tomorrow

1945 Mildred Pierce

1945 Roughly Speaking

1944 Arsenic and Old Lace

1944 The Doughgirls

1944 Make Your Own Bed

1944 Shine on Harvest Moon

1943 Princess O'Rourke

1943 The Hard Way

1942 Gentleman Jim

1942 Wings for the Eagle

1942 Larceny, Inc.

1942 The Male Animal

1941 Blues in the Night

1941 Navy Blues

1941 The Bride Came C.O.D.

1941 Love Crazy

1941 The Strawberry Blonde

1941 Mr. & Mrs. Smith

1940 Love Thy Neighbor

1940 Sandy Gets Her Man

1940 Lucky Partners

1940 Queen of the Mob

1940 Girl in 313

1940 Typhoon

1940 Alias the Deacon

1940 Enemy Agent

1940 Shooting High

1940 Young as You Feel

1940 Parole Fixer

1940 I Take This Woman

1940 City of Chance Narration - Prologue (uncredited)

1939 The Honeymoon's Over

1939 Destry Rides Again

1939 Legion of Lost Flyers

1939 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (uncredited)

1939 The Escape

1939 5th Ave Girl (uncredited)

1939 The Kid from Texas

1938 Mr. Doodle Kicks Off

1938 Carefree

1938 Having Wonderful Time

1938 Picketing for Love (short)

1938 The Saint in New York

1938 Vivacious Lady

1938 Law of the Underworld

1938 Go Chase Yourself

1938 This Marriage Business

1938 Condemned Women (uncredited)

1938 Maid's Night Out (uncredited)

1938 Night Spot

1938 Bringing Up Baby (uncredited)

1938 Everybody's Doing It (uncredited)

1938 Crashing Hollywood

1937 She's Got Everything

1937 Quick Money

1937 Harris in the Spring (short)

1937 High Flyers

1937 A Damsel in Distress (uncredited)

1937 A Rented Riot (short)

1937 Stand-In

1937 Music for Madame

1937 Stage Door

1937 Reported Missing (uncredited)

1937 On Again-Off Again (uncredited)

1937 It Could Happen to You! (uncredited)

1937 Too Many Wives

1937 You Only Live Once (uncredited)

Appearances

1960 This Is Your Life (TV series) (1 episode)

Celebrity Golf (TV series) (1 episode)

1958 The Garry Moore Show (TV series) (1 episode)

1958 The Betty White Show (TV series) (1 episode)

1954-1957 The George Gobel Show (TV series) (3 episodes)

1956 Screen Snapshots: Playtime in Hollywood (documentary short)

1956 Fabulous Hollywood (documentary short)

Strike It Rich (TV series) (1955, 1956)

1951-1955 The Colgate Comedy Hour (TV series) (4 episodes)

1955 Make the Connection (TV series) (1 episode)

1955 Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Plays Golf (short)

1955 Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Cowboy Stars (documentary short)

1954 A Star Is Born World Premiere (TV short)

1954 The Name's the Same (TV series) (1 episode)

1954 The Buick-Berle Show (TV series) (1 episode)

1953 Screen Snapshots: Hollywood's Pair of Jacks (short)

1952 What's My Line? (TV series) (1 episode)

1950-1952 All Star Revue (TV series) (alternate host)

1950 Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Goes to Bat (documentary short)

1950 The Soundman (documentary short) (uncredited)

1949 It's a Great Feeling

1948 Camera Angles (documentary short)

1947 Always Together (uncredited)

1947 Screen Snapshots Series 27, No. 3: Out of This World Series (short)

1944 Hollywood Canteen

1944 Road to Victory (short)

1943 Food and Magic (documentary short) (uncredited)

1943 Thank Your Lucky Stars

Walk of Fame

Won Star on the Walk of Fame Television At 1560 Vine Street.

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He's kind of forgotten now, but back in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s; Jack Carson was one of the funniest people alive. The critics were never very kind and his jovial, oval face precluded any thought of leading man roles. But he may have the most astounding filmography of anyone in this book. He was an elite member of the underappreciated club of supporting actors. He performed in varying degrees in a lot of serious films. His wit and charisma merited star status on his own network radio shows and, for a time, his own variety show in the early days of television. He was amazingly prolific, appearing in fifty-seven movies from 1937 to 1941.

Just look at this list of films he appeared in:

Bringing Up Baby (1938), with Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, directed by Howard-Hawks.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), with Jimmy Stewart, directed by Frank Capra.

Arsenic and Old Lace (1944), with Cary Grant, Raymond Massey and Peter Lorre, again directed by Capra.

Mildred Pierce (1945), with Oscar-winner Joan Crawford, directed by Michael Curtiz.

A Star Is Born (1954), with Judy Garland and James Mason, directed by George Cukor

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), with Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor, directed by Richard Brooks, who among many other things wrote the screenplays for In Cold Blood and Elmer Gantry.

This is just a six-pack of some of the greatest films of the 20th century. Sure, some roles were tiny, and he may have been batting ninth in the order as it were, but these were the big leagues to be sure.

Jack Carson proved his bona fide acting credentials with good performances in Pierce, as the icky real estate agent Wally Fay, and in Cat as Burl Ives' son, Gooper Pollitt.

He suffered no shortage of celebrity in his time, but the dramatic promise shown in his later films, alas, would not be fulfilled. His life was sadly cut short by cancer at the early age of 53. There is still a website, in a technology invented long after his passing that lobbies for a Lifetime Achievement Oscar in honor of his career. That would be a nice thing to have happen.

People will always laugh at somebody else's discomfort. But they only laugh because they have suffered the same indignity themselves or known darn well how it feels. Being a comedian is almost like being a doctor – the more troubles you discover and understand, the more gladness you can bring to an audience.

Fans are people who let an actor know he's not alone in the way he feels about himself.

Wives: Elizabeth Lindy (m. 1938, div. 1939) | Kay St. Germain (m. 1941, div. 1950) | Lola Albright (m. 1952, div. 1958) | Sandra Jolley (until his death)

He passed away on January 2, 1963 in Encino, California of stomach cancer.

He is entombed in Glendale's Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery.