Jack Carter
Jack Carter was a comedian and actor whose career spanned seven decades. Carter — who also sang, danced and hosted shows — was known for his quick delivery, multitude of one-liners and fearlessness on stage.
As a teenager, the New York City native won the Major Bowes radio talent contest with his impressions and began performing at nightclubs and theaters. After serving in the army during World War II, in a unit that entertained at military bases, Carter resumed performing debuted on Broadway in 1947 in the musical-comedy revue Call Me Mister. He would go on to appear in numerous stage productions, including Mr. Wonderful, Top Banana, Guys and Dolls, The Odd Couple and Oliver! He also had the distinction of hosting the first televised Tony Awards in 1956.
He gained traction on television when he began appearing on Milton Berle’s Texaco Star Theatre in 1948. He followed that with hosting Cavalcade of Stars for two years, prior to his own NBC program, The Jack Carter Show, which lasted for three years. In all, he made more than 50 appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, and had guest-starring turns on a long list of variety shows, including The Dean Martin Show, The Andy Williams Show, The Jackie Gleason Show, Laugh-In, and various Bob Hope comedy specials.
Jack Carter was a comedian and actor whose career spanned seven decades. Carter — who also sang, danced and hosted shows — was known for his quick delivery, multitude of one-liners and fearlessness on stage.
As a teenager, the New York City native won the Major Bowes radio talent contest with his impressions and began performing at nightclubs and theaters. After serving in the army during World War II, in a unit that entertained at military bases, Carter resumed performing debuted on Broadway in 1947 in the musical-comedy revue Call Me Mister. He would go on to appear in numerous stage productions, including Mr. Wonderful, Top Banana, Guys and Dolls, The Odd Couple and Oliver! He also had the distinction of hosting the first televised Tony Awards in 1956.
He gained traction on television when he began appearing on Milton Berle’s Texaco Star Theatre in 1948. He followed that with hosting Cavalcade of Stars for two years, prior to his own NBC program, The Jack Carter Show, which lasted for three years. In all, he made more than 50 appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show, and had guest-starring turns on a long list of variety shows, including The Dean Martin Show, The Andy Williams Show, The Jackie Gleason Show, Laugh-In, and various Bob Hope comedy specials.
His other television appearances included the series Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Dr. Kildare, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Batman, The Lucy Show, I Dream of Jeannie, McMillan & Wife, The Bob Hope Show, Hawaii Five-O, The Odd Couple, Sanford and Son, The Rockford Files, The Love Boat, CHiPs, Fantasy Island, Growing Pains, Fame, Murder, She Wrote, Dream On, Baywatch, Coach, Superman, Diagnosis Murder, 3rd Rock from the Sun, 7th Heaven, CSI, ER, Monk and more. One of his last credits was the Showtime series Shameless as the recurring character Stan.
He also directed two episodes of the CBS series Here’s Lucy, one of which featured Carol Burnett, in addition to stage plays including A Thousand Clowns, Silver Anniversary and Mouth-Trap.
His film credits include Play It to the Bone, The Horizontal Lieutenant, Viva Las Vegas, The Amazing Dobermans, Alligator, Comics, Hustle and Mel Brooks’s History of the World, Part I.
Carter died June 28, 2015, in Beverly Hills, California. He was 93.
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