Comedian Jack Carter Dies at 93
Variety
Staff
June 29, 2015
Comedian Jack Carter died Sunday, June 28, of respiratory
failure at his home in Beverly Hills. He was 93. He was also an actor, emcee,
singer, mimic, dancer, and director in a career that spanned over seven
decades.
He began his
professional career appearing on Broadway in “Call Me Mister.” He later
appeared on Milton Berle’s “Texaco Star Theatre” shows, and it was during this
time that Carter got his first real break.
For two years, he
hosted the early television variety program “Cavalcade of Stars” prior to
having his own show on NBC, “The Jack Carter Show,” which lasted three years,
and was a part of the “Saturday Night Review.” He also co-starred in several of
the Colgate Comedy Hours with Ed Wynn, Jimmy Durante, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis
and Donald O’Connor.
In addition to
“Call Me Mister,” his Broadway credits include “Mr. Wonderful” and “Top
Banana.” He hosted the first televised Tony Awards in 1956. Other theater credits
include “Guys and Dolls,” “The Last of the Red Hot Lovers,” “Born Yesterday,”
“Critics Choice,” “The Odd Couple,” “A Hatful of Rain,” “Little Me,” “A Funny
Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” and as Fagin in “Oliver” and “Sugar”
with Robert Morse.
He often appeared
in dramatic roles on television including “The Last Hurrah” with Carol
O’Connor; “The Sex Symbol” with Connie Stevens and Shelley Winters; and he
received two Emmy nominations for the NBC series “Dr. Kildare,” starring
Richard Chamberlain, and an Emmy nomination for the ABC movie of the week “The
Girl Who Couldn’t Lose.” His many other television credits include “The
Rockford Files,” “Diagnosis Murder,” “Touched by an Angel,” “Emergency,”
“Police Story,” “Fame,” “Fantasy Island,” Steven Spielberg’s “Amazing Stories”
as well as “3rd Rock From the Sun,” “Baywatch,” “7th Heaven,” “Just Shoot Me!,”
“King of the Hill,” “Murder, She Wrote,” “Caroline in the City,” “Coach,”
“Living Single,” “Monk,” “Desperate Housewives,” “iCarly,” “Parks & Recreation,”
“Family Guy,” “New Girl,” “Rules of Engagement,” and, most recently in 2014,
several appearances on “Shameless.”
His work as a director included Lucille Ball’s CBS series
“Here’s Lucy” and plays including “A Thousand Clowns,” “Silver Anniversary” and
“Mouth-Trap.”
Throughout his career, Carter was a prominent presence on
TV variety shows and musicals. He has made more than 50 appearances on “The Ed
Sullivan Show” and guest starred on “The Dean Martin Show,” “The Andy Williams
Show,” “The Jackie Gleason Show,” “Laugh-In” and numerous Bob Hope comedy
specials. He was a frequent panelist on “Match Game” through the 1970s and ’80s
as well as a guest star on “The $10,000 Pyramid.”
He was a top nightclub entertainer, playing clubs and
theaters in Las Vegas as well as New York, London, Atlantic City and Chicago.
His movie credits
include “Play It to the Bone,” “The Horizontal Lieutenant,” “Viva Las Vegas,”
“The Amazing Dobermans,” “Alligator,” “Comics,” “Hustle” with Burt Reynolds and
Mel Brooks’ “History of the World, Part I.”
Jack Chakrin was born in Brooklyn, New York. While in his
teens, he honed his comedic craft as a mimic appearing on the “Major Bowes’
Amateur Hour” radio show. He attended the Academy of Dramatic Art aspiring to
be a dramatic actor. He began his professional career after serving in the Army
in World War II.
Survivors include
his wife Roxanne, whom he married in 1971; sons Michael Carter and Chase
Carter; daughter Wendy Carter; and grandchildren Jake and
CARTER, Jack (Jack Chakrin)
Born: 6/24/1923, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A.
Died: 6/28/2015, Beverly Hills, California, U.S.A.
Jack Carter’s westerns – actor:
The Road West (TV) – 1967 (Tallyl)
The Wild Wild West (TV) – 1969 (Allan Thorpe)
