Constance Emmeline Carpenter (19 April 1904 – 26 December 1992) was an English-born American film and musical theatre actress.

Biography

Carpenter was born in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

, in 1904, the daughter of Harold Carpenter and his wife Mabel Anne, ''née'' Cottrell,

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Br ...

artists.''New York Times'' obituary, 1 January 1993
/ref> Her first appearance on stage was with fellow-pupils of the Lila Field Academy, a stage school whose alumni included Noël Coward and

Ninette de Valois Dame Ninette de Valois (born Edris Stannus; 6 June 1898 – 8 March 2001) was an Irish-born British dancer, teacher, choreographer, and director of classical ballet. Most notably, she danced professionally with Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Ru ...

. Her debut as an adult performer was in the

C. B. Cochran Sir Charles Blake Cochran (25 September 1872 31 January 1951), generally known as C. B. Cochran, was an English theatrical manager and impresario. He produced some of the most successful musical revues, musicals and plays of the 1920s and 193 ...

revue ''Fun of the Fayre'' in 1921. She made her Broadway debut in '' André Charlot's Revue of 1924''. She remained in America for five years, appearing in ''The Charlot Revue of 1926'' in 1925–26, after which she played Mae in George and Ira Gershwin's '' Oh, Kay!'' in 1926 and Alice Carter in the

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most well-known American ...

, Lorenz Hart and

Herbert Fields Herbert Fields (July 26, 1897March 24, 1958) was an American librettist and screenwriter. Biography Born in New York City, Fields began his career as an actor, then graduated to choreography and stage direction before turning to writing. From ...

musical '' A Connecticut Yankee'' in which she played for a year, from November 1927. In 1929 Carpenter returned to London, appearing in Cochran and Charlot productions. She appeared in

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speakin ...

at the Lyceum with Naughton and Gold in the Christmas 1930 season. Throughout the 1930s she divided her time between English and American engagements. In 1938 and 1939 she appeared in Terence Rattigan's long-running '' French Without Tears'' at the

Criterion Theatre The Criterion Theatre is a West End theatre at Piccadilly Circus in the City of Westminster, and is a Grade II* listed building. It has a seating capacity of 588. Building the theatre In 1870, the caterers Spiers and Pond began develop ...

, London. During World War II, Carpenter entertained troops throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia. After returning to the United States in 1950, she took American citizenship. Carpenter's most notable Broadway credit was ''

The King and I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the chil ...

'' in 1952 first as understudy to Gertrude Lawrence and then as the leading lady when Lawrence died during the run. In 1954 Carpenter appeared in London in ''An Evening with

Beatrice Lillie Beatrice Gladys Lillie, Lady Peel (29 May 1894 – 20 January 1989), known as Bea Lillie, was a Canadian-born British actress, singer and comedic performer. She began to perform as a child with her mother and sister. She made her West End theat ...

''."Simon And Laura", ''The Times'', 22 November 1954, p. 2 Her final Broadway appearance was in the Jerome Lawrence and

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nor ...

play '' The Incomparable Max'' (1971), based on stories by

Max Beerbohm Sir Henry Maximilian Beerbohm (24 August 1872 – 20 May 1956) was an English essayist, Parody, parodist and Caricature, caricaturist under the signature Max. He first became known in the 1890s as a dandy and a humorist. He was the drama critic ...

. Carpenter film credits were limited to ''Just for a Song'' (1929), ''Two Worlds'' (1930), and ''Brown Sugar'' (1931).

Personal life

Carpenter married and divorced Paul Ord Hamilton, J. H. S. Lucas-Scudamore and the actor

Eric Berry James Eric Berry (born December 29, 1988) is an American former football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers, where he was a two-time unanimous All-American and r ...

; she was twice married to and twice divorced from the songwriter Captain James Kennedy. She died of a

stroke A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...

in Lenox Hill Hospital in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, aged 88.

Notes and references

;Notes ;References

Sources

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carpenter, Constance 1904 births 1992 deaths American film actresses American musical theatre actresses American stage actresses English film actresses English stage actresses English musical theatre actresses British emigrants to the United States People from Bath, Somerset 20th-century American actresses 20th-century English actresses 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers