Jump to content

Carol Lawrence

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the voice-over actress, seeCarolyn Lawrence.

Carol Lawrence
Lawrence in a scene from the
General Electric Theaterepisode
"The Iron Silence" (1961)
Born
Carolina Maria Laraia

(1932-09-05)September 5, 1932(age 91)
Melrose Park, Illinois,U.S.
Occupation(s)Actress, singer
Years active1952–2018
Spouses
Cosmo Allegretti
​
​
(m.1956;div.1959)​
​
​
(m.1963;div.1981)​
John Gregory Guydus
​
​
(m.1982;div.1983)​
Children2

Carol Lawrence(bornCarolina Maria Laraia;September 5, 1932) is an American actress, appearing in musical theatre and on television. She is known for creating the role of Maria onBroadwayin the musicalWest Side Story(1957), receiving a nomination for theTony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.She appeared atThe Muny,St. Louis, in several musicals, includingFunny Girl.She also appeared in many television dramas, includingRawhide,The Six Million Dollar ManandMurder, She Wrote.She was married to fellow performerRobert Goulet.

Biography

[edit]

Early years

[edit]

Lawrence was born Carolina Maria Laraia on September 5, 1932,[1]inMelrose Park, Illinois.Her parents were of Italian ancestry,[2]her father being born inTrivigno,in theprovince of Potenza,and her maternal family coming from the same town.[3]Laraia graduated fromProviso Township High School,in Maywood, Illinois. She spent one year atNorthwestern Universityand then left to pursue her career.[1]

Career

[edit]
Larry Kertand Carol Lawrence in the balcony scene ofWest Side Story,original Broadway cast (1957)

Lawrence made her Broadway debut as a Ted Adair Dancer in the 1951 revueBorscht Capades,alongsideJoel Grey.[4][5][6][7]She achieved success in the role ofMariain the original Broadway production ofWest Side Storyin 1957,[8]for which she received aTony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musicalnomination (even though the part was the lead), losing toBarbara Cook(The Music Man).[8]She played the role for two years, and after an appearance in the short-lived showSaratogain 1959[8]she returned toWest Side Storyfor its 1960 season. Other Broadway successes wereSubways Are for Sleeping,I Do! I Do!(replacement "She/Agnes", 1967), andKiss of the Spider Woman(1992–93, replacement Spider Woman/Aurora).[1][8]Her most recent Broadway credit is serving as standby forLauren Bacallin the 1999 production ofNoël Coward'sWaiting in the Wings.[9]

She made a few record albums of standards and showtunes includingTonight at 8:30(1960), where she sang studio versions of the songs "Tonight",and"Something's Coming",both fromWest Side Story.

She played several roles atThe Munyin St. Louis, Missouri, the largest outdoor theater in the U.S., includingFanny BriceinFunny Girl(1975),[10]Charity inSweet Charity(1977), and Lucille Early inNo, No, Nanette(1990). Among her other musical theatre parts are the title role inMame(2000 at the Helen Hayes Center for Performing Arts in Nyack, New York),[11]Guenevere inCamelot(opposite husband Robert Goulet),[1]Do I Hear a Waltz?at the Pasadena Playhouse (2001),[12]andFolliesat the Wadsworth Theatre in Los Angeles in 2002.[13]

Her television performances include a guest role inBreaking Point(as Evelyn Denner in the 1963 episode titled "There Are the Hip, and There Are the Square" ). In October 1976, she appeared as the special guest on the popular weekly variety programThe Bobby Vinton Show,which aired across the United States and Canada. She performed "Friend of the Father". Other appearances includeRawhide;Combat!;Wagon Train;The Fugitive;The Big Valley;Hawaii 5-0;Marcus Welby, M.D.;Medical Center;Kung Fu;Mannix;Murder, She Wrote;Saved by the Bell;andSex and the City.[14]

From 1991 to 1993, she played the role of matriarch Angela Eckart onGeneral Hospital.[14]She hosted five shows ofChef du Jourfor theFood Network,cooking fromI Remember Pasta,her own cookbook, and setting a record for cookbook sales on theHome Shopping Network.[14]

In 1999, she appeared in the television movie remake ofJason Miller'sThat Championship Seasonin a cameo role as Claire's mother (the mother-in-law ofVincent D'Onofrio's character), a role written into the film specifically for her.[15]In 2013, she appeared Off-Broadway at the Westside Theatre Downstairs inJason Odell Williams's playHandle with Care.[16]

Lawrence has written her autobiography, with Phyllis Hobe, titledCarol Lawrence: The Backstage Story,published in 1990.[2]

Awards

[edit]

Personal life

[edit]
Lawrence (center) next to John F. Kennedy at the White House, two days before Kennedy's assassination

Lawrence married three times:

  • Cosmo Allegretti (January 13, 1956 – January 30, 1959; annulled)[17]
  • Robert Goulet(1963–1981);[18][19]together they had two sons, Christopher (b. 1964) and Michael Goulet (b. 1966).
  • Greg Guydus (March 7, 1982 – December 12, 1984)[20]

Lawrence and Goulet married while both were Broadway stars; their romance was treated in the press like a fairy-tale. In her 1990 bookCarol Lawrence: The Backstage Story,she accused Goulet of having alcoholism and being an abusive husband and father.[21]

Lawrence, a registeredDemocrat,accompanied Democratic National Committee (DNC) ChairmanJohn Bailey,DNC Vice-chairwoman Margaret B. Price, DNC SecretaryDorothy Vredenburgh Bush,Lena Horne,Richard Adler,and Sidney Salomon on a visit withPresident John F. KennedyatThe White Houseon November 20, 1963, two days beforehis assassination.[22]

Lawrence is Presbyterian and a member of the Bel Air Presbyterian Church.[23]

References

[edit]
  1. ^abcd"Carol Lawrence".Los Angeles Times.Archived fromthe originalon April 29, 2021.RetrievedAugust 14,2017.
  2. ^abCarol Lawrence: The Backstage StoryMcGraw-Hill, 1990, p.10,ISBN0070367248
  3. ^Katz, Bobbie."The Katz Meow - Carol Lawrence".Lasvegasroundtheclock.Archived fromthe originalon September 1, 2007.RetrievedJune 30,2014.
  4. ^"Carol Lawrence – Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB".ibdb.RetrievedJuly 29,2023.
  5. ^"Borscht Capades – Broadway Musical – Original | IBDB".ibdb.RetrievedJuly 29,2023.
  6. ^"The Herald-News 14 Nov 1962, page 6".Newspapers.RetrievedAugust 13,2023.
  7. ^"The News Journal 05 Mar 1995, page Page 45".Newspapers.RetrievedAugust 13,2023.
  8. ^abcd"Carol Lawrence Credits"Playbill,accessed April 24, 2015
  9. ^"Waiting in the Wings – Broadway Play – Original | IBDB".ibdb.RetrievedJuly 29,2023.
  10. ^"Funny GirlMUNY "ovrtur, accessed April 24, 2015
  11. ^Carol Lawrence Coaxes the Blues Right Out of the Horn "theatermania, June 19, 2000
  12. ^"Do I Hear A WaltzPhotos "rnh, accessed April 24, 2015
  13. ^Johnson, Reed."'Follies' Remains Marvelous Contradiction"Los Angeles Times,June 18, 2002
  14. ^abc"Carol Lawrence"masterworksbroadway, accessed April 25, 2015
  15. ^That Championship SeasonTurner Classic Movies,accessed April 24, 2015
  16. ^Purcell, Carey."'Handle With Care', Starring Tony Nominee Carol Lawrence, Ends Run at the Westside March 9"Playbill,March 9, 2014
  17. ^Barnes, Mike."'Captain Kangaroo's' Cosmo Allegretti Dies at 86"The Hollywood Reporter,August 8, 2013
  18. ^"Carol Lawrence Sues For Divorce".Eugene Register-Guard.June 19, 1980.RetrievedAugust 14,2017.
  19. ^Thomas, Bob (July 2, 1963)."Goulet Tells How He Met Carol".Daytona Beach Morning Journal.RetrievedAugust 14,2017.
  20. ^Krebs, Albin and Thomas, Robert McG."Notes On People; Carol Lawrence Reweds"The New York Times,March 9, 1982
  21. ^Witchel, Alex (May 23, 1993)."Happy Ever After in Camelot".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedJanuary 6,2019.
  22. ^"Visit of Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman John Bailey, Lena Horne, Carol Lawrence, Richard Adler, Sidney Salomon, Vice-Chairwoman of the DNC Margaret B. Price, and Secretary of the DNC Dorothy Vredenburgh Bush, 11:30AM - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum".Jfklibrary.org.RetrievedJuly 31,2017.
  23. ^"Robert Goulet, Las Vegas Lancelot".Washington Post.August 28, 1990.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Carol_Lawrence&oldid=1233761673"