Joan Carroll (born Joan Marie Felt, January 18, 1931 – November 16, 2016) was an American child actress who appeared in films until retiring in 1950.
Childhood career
Carroll was born Joan Marie Felt to Wright and Freida Felt on January 18, 1931.[2]
Carroll developed into an excellent singer and tap dancer at the Fanchon and Marco Dancing School in Hollywood,[3] and became an accomplished child actress. Her stage name was changed to Carol and then Carroll.[4]
Between 1937 and 1940 she appeared in supporting roles in several movies. Her big break came the 1940 film, Primrose Path, as Ginger Rogers's younger sister, for which she won a Critics Award. The same year she became the first child star to be summoned from Hollywood in order to appear in the leading role in a Broadway musical, Panama Hattie, which ran from October 30, 1940, to January 3, 1942.[5]
Best, Marc. Those Endearing Young Charms: Child Performers of the Screen. South Brunswick and New York: Barnes & Co., 1971, pp. 20–24; ISBN0498077292 / ISBN9780498077296
References
^Mooring, William H. "Hollywood in Focus." The Tidings (Los Angeles), 11 January 1952, 12.