Carole's Lovers

Here is Carole with Willis Hunt Jr, her second husband. Willis was a wealthy yacht salesman with a reputation as a playboy who loved to party. He proposed to Carole two weeks after meeting her. She said "We like to do the same things. I think it will work". On July 4, 1940 they eloped in Las Vegas. He became abusive and she walked out on him two months later. They were divorced in November 1940 and Carole claimed it made her suffer a nervous breakdown. She told reporters "There I was being so happy, so ecstatic, so delirious, so willing to forsake all others. To stop being Miss Big and try being the Little Woman. He didn't want a Little Woman." Surprisingly Carole and Willis remained friends and continued to go out together. In 1969 Willis was stabbed to death by his wife at the age of fifty-five. She was charged with murder but was acquitted.

Here is Carole with Horace Schmidlapp, her fourth husband. They were introduced by her friend Jacqueline Susann. Horace was a Broadway producer from a rich family. She called him "Poppie". They were married on December 8, 1945 and honeymooned in Cuba. Carole said "He's my definition of an ideal husband. In Horace I've found a man instead of a boy". She lived with him in New York City for a while but they spent much of their marriage apart. In an interview she said  "I have now what I've always wanted in a marriage. I have the feeling of a deep security which will insure a permanent future with children of our own. I have a home now, not merely a house. My husband has a solid sense of values and brings out the best in me. We're already planning a home in the East with at least three children. When this happens, I'll commute to Hollywood for my picture assignments." Carole began having an affair with Rex Harrison and filed for divorce in March 1948. After Carole's death Horace fought with her family over her estate. He later dated Lana Turner and Sheree North. Horace died in 1987 at the age of seventy-one.

Carole and Horace on their wedding day

Here is Carole with her fiance Busby Berkeley. He was a successful choreographer and director. They met in 1937 when she auditioned for a role in Varsity Show and he helped her get a contract with Warner Brothers. Busby was twenty-three years older than Carole. Although their romance got her a lot of attention in Hollywood she claimed they were not dating. Carole said "Mr. Berkeley and I are good friends, but we certainly aren't in love". Her first husband, Irving Wheeler, sued Busby for $250,000 for "alienation of affection" but lost the case. Busby was an alcoholic and his mother did not like Carole. He broke up with her in 1938. She would later comment "I think Busby is a very grand person and I have the highest regard for him. I do hope someday he'll meet the right person to bring him happiness as a life companion. I wasn't the right person." Busby died in 1976 at the age of eighty.

Here is Carole with her fiance Gene Markey. He was a successful screenwriter and producer. Gene was twenty-three years older than her and had been married to Hedy Lamar. Carole started dating him in early 1941 but she continued to see other men.  She said "Gene Markey gives me books of plays to read, books about the theater; he talks to me about the theater and gives me the feeling we are talking about it". Gene gave Carole her beloved Great Dane Donner. Their relationship got serious in 1942 and they were engaged for a short time. When the press announced they were getting married in Washington Carole told them "I'm going to Washington for a visit, that's all. Mr. Markey is there and of course I will see him, but there are no immediate plans to announce." Soon after they parted as friends. In 1946 Gene married Myrna Loy. He died on May 1, 1980 at the age of eighty-four.

Here is Carole with her boyfriend Franchot Tone. They dated for a few months in 1940. At the beginning of their romance she told a reporter "It's just dandy - and it's already lasted two whole weeks."

Carole and Franchot in 1940

Here is Carole with her boyfriend art director Cedric Gibbons. They went out on several dates in 1940.

Carole and Cedric in 1940

Here is Carole with her boyfriend attorney Greg Bautzer. They had a brief fling in 1941.

Here is Carole with her boyfriend George Montgomery. They worked together in the musical Cadet Girl.

Here is Carole with her boyfriend Tony Martin. They spent a lot of time together in 1942.

Here is Carole with her longtime lover George Jessel. They had an on-again off-again affair that lasted for years.

Turnabout

In 1940 Carole starred in the sex-change comedy Turnabout. She was under contract with Hal Roach when she made the movie. Carole is Sally Willows, an unhappy housewife who magically switches bodies with her husband. John Hubbard plays Sally's husband Tim who must act like a woman when an angry genie makes the couple trade places. Carole and John also worked together in Road Show. Turnabout was based on the book by Thorne Smith. The cast includes Adolphe Menjou, Mary Astor, Marjorie Main, and Margaret Roach (Hal Roach's daughter). Carole became close friends with Margaret. John and Carole had to learn each others lines because their voices were dubbed in many scenes.

Carole studied John's mannerisms so she would be believable playing a man trapped in a woman's body. Turnabout was produced and directed by Hal Roach. He gave Carole the nickname "The Ping Girl" but she begged the press not to call her that. Turnabout was filmed in February 1940. Before filming began Carole had cosmetic surgery on her nose and lost more than ten pounds. The costumes were designed by Royer. Turnabout was released on May 17, 1940. Censors changed some controversial scenes before they would let the film be released. Turnabout was a hit and Carole got rave reviews for her performance. In 1979 Turnabout was made into a television series starring Sharon Gless and Rick Springfield.

With Mary Astor

Carole's Words

On posing in bathing suits: "A bathing suit is a girl's best friend in Hollywood. No girl should consider herself too important for that kind of publicity."


On her goals: "I want to be as good an actress as Bette Davis, and I'd like to be a great singer. But more than that I'd like to be happily married and have some children."


On wealthy husbands: "A man should be wealthy before marriage. It may be his last chance."


On love: "Let me tell you this: Every girl in the world wants to find the right man, someone who is sympathetic and understanding and helpful and strong, someone she can love madly. Actresses are no exception; the glamour and the tinsel, the fame and the money mean very little if there is hurt in the heart."


On being divorced three times: "Why do people attack me for getting three divorces? It's legal; if there's something wrong about it, why don't they attack the laws of the land, and let me alone?"

 
On love: "The only thing I've found out about love is that I don't know anything about it. I wish somebody would tell me what it's really like. I've made a couple of guesses. But that business about 'women's intuition' just isn't true. Not in
my case, anyway."


On her future: "I have no intention of ending my career in a rooming house, with full scrapbooks and an empty stomach."


On her dreams: "My dreams are mad, silly things. I've started reading Freud. Very interesting."


On being labeled "The Ping Girl": "I want a fair chance to prove myself something more than a curvaceous cutie. I want to get out of bathing suits and into something more substantial. Unfortunately the publicity department of my studio does not agree. They have conceived the brilliant idea of selling me to the public as "the ping girl - because she makes you purr". This flash of genius is to be illustrated with a series of pictures out of their files, suggestive of anything but acting talent."


On her 1942 U.S.O. tour: "We had a wonderful time everywhere overseas. But it was hard. For five months we never gave less than five shows a day. It was too cold to sleep nights and there wasn't water enough to take a bath. We bathed and shampooed in cold water - there was no hot. I had to do my own washing. And I ate more sand and fog, than food. I was hairdresser for the gang; at that we didn't look too bad."

On rumors: "Anyone in public life gets used to unkind rumors after a time. Though all of them are very upsetting when they are published and spoken about publicly, particularly by those in the business who are, shall I say, jealous of your success. I have learned to stand up to them by ignoring them and not dignifying them with an answer."


On England: "This is a wonderful country. The people are wonderful, too. They like me for myself."


On writing Four Jills In A Jeep: "The studio gave me two ghost writers but they stunk it all up. I finally decided to talk it to a steno typist. Naturally with some Scotch and soda under my belt. Yes, it was very droll. I'd go out to the kitchen and sneak a drink, and come back again with a lot of new inspirations. I had too many swear words, like Hell, damn and Christ in it. Edwin Seaver, the writer whom I know, went over it and he said , "I think this part stinks", or "that part stinks"...and I cut a lot out. But I sweated it out and wrote it."


On her friends: "I hate to lose any friends because I feel that a little part of me goes with them. The sense of loss is painful. Now I know upon whom I can rely."


On money: "I'm pretty good at saving up to a certain point. When the money bags start getting heavy I have an awful urge to lighten them. But the business manager is curing me of that."

On her close friend Cesar Romero: "I demand a sense of humor in any man in my life. Cesar Romero, for example, has a wonderful sense of humor, plus a wonderful quality of humility. He makes fun of his face. Calls himself "Cowface". He doesn't think he is the great Adonis, as so many actors do."


On going to Hollywood: "I had thought of going across the street to the drugstore for a malted milk, for the purpose of being discovered for movies but decided instead to take the money I'd saved and go to Hollywood. Funny thing - I found Hollywood already had plenty of blondes."


On working as a waitress: "Three orders at a time had me nuts. I'd bring in the beef stew and give it to the wrong man and he'd start in on it. By that time I'd realize the error and give grab it away. The man who was supposed to get the beef stew then wouldn't take it. Before I was through the manager would be making me pay for half the orders."


On achieving her goals: "If you want to do something or be someone set your mind to it and never give up - no matter how rough the going becomes. I didn't have a college education, but I learned that there's no obstacle too big which
can't be surmounted."


On her first job in San Francisco: "The manager of the Royal Hawaiian club in San Francisco was interviewing girls to sing and dance in the floor show and when he asked me if I could sing and dance I blithely said 'Of course, I'm great!' when actually I was a greenhorn at both. Luckily the chorus was learning a new hula routine and in the resultant confusion no one noticed I didn't know my right foot from my left."

On the possibility of marrying for a third time: "I only hope it's true that the third time is the charm. Because I'm pretty sure I'll marry again. I like the things marriage stands for. I'm just praying I can wait long enough next time to be sure it's love. I don't want to be guessing all my life."

On sex appeal: "I think sex is definitely here to stay so I don't see any necessity for throwing it in people's faces. I don't think a girl has to wear dresses cut down to her tummy to exhibit what is known as feminine allure. She can exhibit it in a high neck dress but subtly. Heaven knows I want people to think I have sex appeal. But I also want to think I have something besides sex appeal."


On entertaining the troops during World War 2: "It's not only a duty, it's a lark. Even if your clothes are wrinkled, your face is chapped to the ears and you're deaf from flying in bombers, it's like home when you come down in the midst of Americans. It's living such as I have never known back here."


On moving to New York City: "We're going to call New York home. My husband's business keeps him in New York most of the time so we decided we could hardly make Hollywood as a permanent home."


On not being allowed to visit soldiers in dangerous areas: "The boys were counting on us to come and perform for them, and we could not go. It broke my heart. Once I sent cables to the commanding officer, asking special permission to make trips to Hollandia and Biak, because I knew the fellows were waiting for us. Permission was refused by headquarters."



 

On posing for leg art early in her career: "It was the leg art that did the trick. Naughty leg art, if you happen to look at it in that light. You see when the boys needed someone to pose in a skin-tight white bathing suit, go sleigh riding in shorts, or climb a ladder in a skirt they would yell 'Get Landis!' and Landis was willin'. That made everybody happy except, maybe, the goody-goods and the bluenoses and I suspect they took a second peek now and then."

On her first husband Irving Wheeler: "I didn't think anyone knew I'd ever been married. I thought Irving had forgotten our marriage, too. We lived together for three weeks and then had an argument. I've only seen him once since then, and that was when he told me he wanted a divorce."


On marriage: "Ever since I was a very small child, I wanted marriage and children more than I wanted anything else, including a career. Because I wanted marriage and children so badly, I constantly sought for love, I was too eager for it. I read into people things that weren't there, so that the minute a personable fellow, with whom I felt the least 'sympatica' showed me the least persuasive interest, I just went overboard for it."


On attracting men: "If you want to interest men, you have to have the courage to attract them. Most men, I've found, like a girl who's daring enough to get their attention - if she's demure enough to appreciate it after she gets it. As long as it's a man's world, a girl has to be daring to get ahead."


On getting noticed: "The first time I wore a bare midriff gown, Hollywood noticed me. Hollywood didn't discover me, I discovered it."

On gossip: "Don't gossip - particularly about other women. Don't make sarcastic and catty remarks. Kindness is the secret to true femininity."


On starting a family: "It is a great disappointment to me that I'm not expecting along with several other of my married friends. Both my husband and I feel that it is time to forget about the superficial things in life. It is the natural, wholesome way of living - having children and establishing a home - that counts. Having a child makes a soldier realize that he has something very real to fight for. With a home and a family waiting for him, he has an incentive to give everything he has. When the war is over, we intend to buy a large ranch in Nevada. Lots of space, several children, simple living is our dream. Although my career is secondary, it will be necessary for me, and a lot of other wives, to help financially until my husband gets back into civilian life."


On having children: "We're really eager for that family of three children. I think Horace prefers boys but I'll be satisfied with either boys or girls, although I think an arrangement of two boys and a girl would be nice. I find I'm terribly anxious to start living in a real home of my own and once my children arrive, they and my husband will be the most important things in my life. My motion picture career will be of secondary importance."


On her high school classmates: "I always seemed so much older than the other kids my age - they 
seemed like tots."


On why movies are important: "Movies are a tremendous power for the good. In wartime they helped stave off countless cases of homesickness, they entertained our men and kept them informed about people and things back home. Ask any veteran how important those nightly movies in the jungle rain were to him and his buddies. I know because I sat
though many myself."
 

On playing the piano: "Every girl has, in the back of her wish department, some unsatisfied longing held over from childhood. Personally, I always wanted to play the piano. Now that I have a piano and some spare time between pictures, I've been taking lessons. I'm not good, but I'm getting better and I've obtained a lot of satisfaction out of the effort."

Thank You To Carole's Most Devoted Fan

Carole has many wonderful fans who help keep her memory alive. We would like to say a special "THANK YOU" to her most devoted fan Norman Boisclair. For the last several years he has been on a letter writing campaign to help get Carole the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Thanks to Norman's effort the Red Cross awarded Carole a very special honorary certificate. Recently he used his own time and money to give Carole a permanent display at her hometown library. We are very grateful for everything Norman has done for our Carole!

1943 Article ~ My Wartime Honeymoon

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Winnie The WAC

Besides being a successful actress Carole was also an accomplished author. She wrote many articles about her experiences during World war 2 and the book Four Jills In A Jeep.  In 1945 she was asked to write a forward for the book Winnie the WAC. Winnie was a popular World War 2 comic strip character created by Cpl. Vic Herman. The book was reprinted in 2002 along with Carole's original forward.

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1941 Article ~ Glamour Girls Are Suckers

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