Doris Carson

Biography

One of the bright lights of the 1930s musical stage, actress/singer Doris Carson was the granddaughter of "The Ravels," a popular 19th century vaudeville team, and was the daughter of character actor James B. Carson. Her career started when she understudied Ruby Keeler in Florenz Ziegfeld Jr's musical "Show Girl" (1929) with music by the Gershwins. A two-week substitution for Miss Keeler led to important roles in Gershwin's "Strike Up the Band" (1930), Kern & Harbach's "The Cat and the Fiddle" (1931) and Rodgers & Hart's "On Your Toes" (1936) in which she played Frankie Frayne. In London's West end she appeared in Cole Porter's "Nymph Errant" (1933). In 1940 Carson appeared with Edward Everett Horton in "Springtime for Henry," directed by Henry Levin at the Bass Rocks Theatre in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Although she was a favorite on Broadway, she never succeeded in the film industry.