# Georgia Carroll > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Georgia_Carroll > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Georgia_Carroll.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Carroll > Source revision: 1343099354 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|American singer (1919 - 2011)}} {{Infobox musical artist | name = Georgia Carroll | image = Georgia Carroll.jpg | caption = Carroll in 1942 | image_size = | background = solo_singer | birth_name = | alias = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1919|11|18|mf=y}} | death_date = {{Death date and age|2011|1|14|1919|11|18|mf=yes}} | birth_place = [Blooming Grove, Texas](/source/Blooming_Grove%2C_Texas), U.S | instrument = [Singing](/source/Singing) | genre = | occupation = [Big-band](/source/Big-band) [singer](/source/singing) | years_active = 1941–1946 | spouse = [Kay Kyser](/source/Kay_Kyser) (m. 1944; died 1985) }} '''Georgia Carroll''' (November 18, 1919 – January 14, 2011) was an American singer, model and actress, best known for her work with [Kay Kyser](/source/Kay_Kyser)'s [big band](/source/big_band) orchestra in the mid-1940s. She and Kyser were married in 1944 until he died in 1985. == Life == The daughter of Roger Carroll and his wife,{{cite news|title=Georgia Carroll, Navarro County Girl, Aids Red Cross|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5820168/corsicana_semiweekly_light/|work=Corsicana Semi-Weekly Light|date=November 14, 1939|location=Texas, Corsicana|page=5|via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)|accessdate = July 7, 2016}} {{Open access}} Carroll was born in [Blooming Grove, Texas](/source/Blooming_Grove%2C_Texas), where her father raised sheep. Her family moved to [Dallas, Texas](/source/Dallas), where she graduated from [Woodrow Wilson High School](/source/Woodrow_Wilson_High_School_(Dallas)). One of Carroll's early jobs was modeling for a department store in Dallas. 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.{{cite news|title=Georgia Carroll Taking Lessons in Voice in New York|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5820128/corsicana_daily_sun/|work=Corsicana Daily Sun|date=November 1, 1939|location=Texas, Corsicana|page=7|via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)|accessdate = July 7, 2016}} {{Open access}} She had her first brush with celebrity when she was the model for "The Spirit of the Centennial" statue at the 1936 [Texas Centennial Exposition](/source/Texas_Centennial_Exposition) at [Fair Park](/source/Fair_Park) in Dallas, Texas. The statue still stands in front of what is now [The Women's Museum](/source/The_Women's_Museum). She was a 1937 graduate of [Woodrow Wilson High School](/source/Woodrow_Wilson_High_School_(Dallas%2C_Texas)) in Dallas and has been inducted into the school's Hall of Fame along with many other well-known graduates.{{Citation needed |date=June 2023}} Carroll came to Hollywood when producers wanted her to play Daisy Mae in a film version of the [Li'l Abner](/source/Li'l_Abner). Her height cost her that opportunity, however, when she turned out to be taller than the actor selected to play the title character.{{cite news|last1=Johnson|first1=Erskine|title=In Hollywood|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/5820049/the_courier_news/|work=The Courier News|agency=Newspaper Enterprise Association|date=May 11, 1943|location=Arkansas, Blytheville|page=4|via = [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com)|accessdate = July 7, 2016}} {{Open access}} Her acting career began in 1941 when she appeared in several uncredited small roles in films such as ''[Maisie Was a Lady](/source/Maisie_Was_a_Lady)'' with [Lew Ayres](/source/Lew_Ayres) and [Ann Sothern](/source/Ann_Sothern), ''[Ziegfeld Girl](/source/Ziegfeld_Girl_(film))'' with [Judy Garland](/source/Judy_Garland), as well as ''[You're in the Army Now](/source/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](/source/Betsy_Ross) in the [James Cagney](/source/James_Cagney) musical ''[Yankee Doodle Dandy](/source/Yankee_Doodle_Dandy)'' in 1942. She also did modelling during this time, appearing in advertisements for Jewelite hairbrushes, among other products. [Anne Taintor](/source/Anne_Taintor) used some of these advertisements featuring Carroll to express the voice of the modern woman.{{Citation needed |date=June 2023}}{{Clarify|date=June 2013}} In 1943, Carroll joined Kay Kyser's band, ''[Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge](/source/Kay_Kyser's_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](/source/Gorgeous_George), who used the name Gorgeous George. As a member of Kyser's band, Carroll appeared in three films: ''[Around the World](/source/Around_the_World_(1943_film))'', ''[Carolina Blues](/source/Carolina_Blues)'', and most notably the World War II-era "morale booster" ''[Thousands Cheer](/source/Thousands_Cheer)'' which gave fans a chance to see Kyser and his band in [Technicolor](/source/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](/source/Arthur_Freed)/[Nacio Herb Brown](/source/Nacio_Herb_Brown) standard "Should I?" [[File:N 73 421 Inaugural Ball-1949 Gov Kerr Scott (30660720013).jpg|thumb|right|250px|Carroll (second from left) with her husband, Governor [W. Kerr Scott](/source/W._Kerr_Scott), First Lady [Mary White Scott](/source/Mary_White_Scott), and John Anderson at the North Carolina Inaugural Ball in 1949.]] In 1945, Carroll married Kyser and made no further film appearances, retiring from performing in 1946; Kyser 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](/source/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.[http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/htm/05289.html http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/htm/05289.html], Lib.unc.edu. Retrieved May 15, 2007. ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== {{commons category}} *{{IMDb name|id=0140821|name=Georgia Carroll}} *[http://www.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/k/Kyser,Kay_and_Georgia_Carroll.html Inventory of the Kay Kyser and Georgia Carroll Kyser Papers, 1906-2004], in the [Southern Historical Collection](/source/Southern_Historical_Collection), [UNC-Chapel Hill](/source/University_of_North_Carolina_at_Chapel_Hill) {{Kay Kyser}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Carroll, Georgia}} Category:1919 births Category:2011 deaths Category:Actresses from Texas Category:American women singers Category:Female models from Texas Category:People from Navarro County, Texas Category:American film actresses Category:21st-century American women Category:Woodrow Wilson High School (Dallas) alumni --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Georgia Carroll](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Carroll) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_Carroll?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.