Carol Arthur DeLuise (born Carol Arata; August 4, 1935 – November 1, 2020), known professionally as Carol Arthur, was an American actress, mainly recognizable in supporting roles in films directed by

Mel Brooks Melvin James Brooks (né Kaminsky; born June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian, filmmaker, and songwriter. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodie ...

Early life

Arthur was born in

Hackensack, New Jersey Hackensack is the most populous municipality in and the county seat of Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

and raised in nearby East Rutherford, the daughter of Mildred (''née'' Foehl) and Peter Arata, a police officer. She graduated from East Rutherford High School, where she edited the school paper and performed on stage."Keeping In Touch"
''Commercial Leader and South-Bergen Review''. December 12, 1984. Accessed November 3, 2020. "Carol DeLuise, the former Carol Arata of East Rutherford, remembers her area friends with a Christmas card that shows her growing sons, Michael, left, David and Peter, right — and their dog Midnight.... Carol was Miss Everything at East Rutherford High School where she wrote and starred in the musicals, edited the yearbook and the school newspaper and finished off with academic honors."

Career

Arthur appeared in minor roles in four films directed by

and in other works with her husband, Dom DeLuise, including Brooks' '' Blazing Saddles'' (1974) as the outspoken town school teacher Harriett Johnson ("You are the leading asshole in the state!"). One of her more notable credits was as the daughter of

George Burns George Burns (born Nathan Birnbaum; January 20, 1896March 9, 1996) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer, and one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, radio, film, and television. His arched eyeb ...

' character in '' The Sunshine Boys'' (1975). She also guest-starred on many television shows from the mid-1970s to the mid-2000s, including ''The Dom DeLuise Show'', ''

Emergency! ''Emergency!'' is an American Action fiction, action-adventure medical drama television series jointly produced by Mark VII Limited and Universal Television. Debuting on NBC as a midseason replacement on January 15, 1972, replacing two situatio ...

'', '' Sanford and Son'', '' Rhoda'', ''

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

'', ''

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

Amazing Stories ''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearance ...

'', ''

St. Elsewhere ''St. Elsewhere'' is an American medical drama television series created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982, to May 25, 1988. The series stars Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd, and William Daniels as ...

'', and '' 7th Heaven''. During the late-1970s and early-1980s, Arthur appeared as "Safety Sadie", the spokeswoman for the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in several television and radio public service announcements. Arthur also appeared in various stage productions, including the role of Mrs. Paroo in the short-lived 1980 Broadway revival of ''

The Music Man ''The Music Man'' is a musical theatre, musical with book, music, and lyrics by Meredith Willson, based on a story by Willson and Franklin Lacey. The plot concerns a confidence trick, con man Harold Hill, who poses as a boys' band organizer and ...

'' starring

Dick Van Dyke Richard Wayne Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an American actor, entertainer and comedian. Dick Van Dyke on screen and stage, His work spans screen and stage, and List of awards and nominations received by Dick Van Dyke, his awards includ ...

Personal life

Arthur met her future husband, DeLuise, in 1964 while working on stage in

Provincetown, Massachusetts Provincetown () is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States census, Provi ...

. The couple married in 1965; together they had three sons, all of whom have become actors:

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

, and David DeLuise.

Death

Arthur died on November 1, 2020, at age 85, at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Los Angeles. She had been diagnosed with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

eleven years earlier. She was survived by her three sons and several grandchildren.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Arthur, Carol 1935 births 2020 deaths 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from New Jersey People from East Rutherford, New Jersey Actors from Hackensack, New Jersey American film actresses American television actresses Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in California DeLuise family East Rutherford High School alumni Deaths from dementia in California