{{Short description|American lyricist, singer and actress (1917–2004)}} '''June Carroll''' (1917 – May 16, 2004) was an American lyricist, singer and actress.
Born June Sillman in Detroit, Michigan. In 1945, she wrote songs for the Roy Rogers/Dale Evans musical Western ''The Man From Oklahoma'' as well as was the co-writer for ''An Angel Comes to Brooklyn'', of which she also acted in as the character Kay .<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=An Angel Comes to Brooklyn (1945) - Overview - TCM.com |url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/67352/An-Angel-Comes-to-Brooklyn/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019153344/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/67352/An-Angel-Comes-to-Brooklyn/ |archive-date=2015-10-19 |access-date=2026-04-19 |website=Turner Classic Movies |language=en}}</ref> In the following year, Carrol wrote the lyrics as well as co-wrote the book with Robert Duke for the 1946 musical comedy play ''If the Show Fits''.<ref>{{Cite news |date=December 7, 1946 |title=If the Shoe Fits |work=New York Daily News |pages=209|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/445375417/?match=1&terms=june%20carroll}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=If the Shoe Fits – Broadway Show – Musical {{!}} IBDB |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-show/if-the-shoe-fits-4648 |access-date=2026-04-18 |website=www.ibdb.com}}</ref> Carroll later appeared in the Broadway musical ''New Faces of 1952'', introducing the now-standard "Guess Who I Saw Today", by Elisse Boyd and Murray Grand, as well as two songs that she had written with Arthur Siegel,<ref>{{Cite web |title=ACE Repertory |url=https://www.ascap.com/repertory#/ace/search/performer/june%20carroll?page=1 |access-date=2026-04-22 |website=www.ascap.com}}</ref> "Penny Candy" and "Love Is a Simple Thing".<ref>(Album notes), ''Leonard Sillman's New Faces of 1952'', RCA Victor LOC 1008 Song credits from New Faces of 1952</ref> The Sauter-Finegan Orchestra recorded "Love Is a Simple Thing", as well Steve Lawrence having recorded the song for his album ''...All About Love'' (1959). The first verse of the song is the following:<ref>{{Citation |title=Steve Lawrence – Love Is A Simple Thing |url=https://genius.com/Steve-lawrence-love-is-a-simple-thing-lyrics |access-date=2026-04-22}}</ref><blockquote>Love is a simple thing
Love is a silver ring
Shiny as a ribbon bow, soft as a quiet snow
Love is a nursery rhyme
Old as the tick of time</blockquote>She and Siegel also wrote "Monotonous", introduced by Eartha Kitt in the show.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=May 23, 2004 |title=June Carroll, 86, singer, lyricist, |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/729001001 |work=Newsday |pages=34}}</ref> For the show, the song was a showstopper (a performance that generates so much applause that the production is temporarily paused).<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=June Carroll - Entertainment News, Obituary, Media - Variety |url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117905503?refCatId=25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112112229/http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117905503?refCatId=25 |archive-date=2012-11-12 |access-date=2026-04-18 |website=www.variety.com |language=en-GB}}</ref>
== Personal life == She was the sister of the Broadway producer Leonard Sillman, who produced ''New Faces of 1952'', and the wife of Sidney Carroll, the screenwriter. She had four children, including composer Steve Reich from her first marriage, in 1935, as well as Leonard Reich, and Jonathan Carroll and David Carroll, American authors, from her second marriage, in 1940.
Carroll died from complications of Parkinson's disease in Los Angeles at the age of 86.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Playbill News: June Carroll, Performer and Lyricist for New Faces and Other Shows, Dead at 86 |url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/86331.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050228230936/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/86331.html |archive-date=2005-02-28 |access-date=2026-04-18 |website=www.playbill.com}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Portal|Biography}} * {{IMDb name|140879}} * {{Find a Grave|8819943}} * {{IBDB name}} * {{iobdb name|28772}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Carroll, June}} Category:1917 births Category:2004 deaths Category:American musical theatre lyricists Category:American women lyricists Category:American stage actresses Category:Jewish American actresses Category:Actresses from Detroit Category:20th-century American songwriters Category:Burials at Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery Category:20th-century American women singers Category:20th-century American singers Category:20th-century American Jews Category:21st-century American Jews Category:21st-century American women