Carole Wells (born August 31, 1942) is an American actress, opera singer, producer and author.

Early years

The daughter of a doctor, Wells was born Carole Maureen Wells in Shreveport, Louisiana, the fourth of six children in her family. Her siblings were two brothers and three sisters. She graduated from

Hollywood High School Hollywood High School is a four-year public secondary school in the Los Angeles Unified School District, located at the intersection of North Highland Avenue and West Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California. His ...

, where she was a sorority sister of future actress

Linda Evans Linda Evans (born Linda Evenstad; November 18, 1942) is a retired American actress known primarily for her roles on television. In the 1960s, she played Audra Barkley, the daughter of Victoria Barkley (played by Barbara Stanwyck), in the Wes ...

Stage

Wells began acting with a role in a play at a little theater in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...

, when she was 12 years old. Described as a light soprano, Wells took opera lessons in the 1960s and expanded her repertoire to

musical theater Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, moveme ...

, performing in "musical productions of ''The Sound of Music'', ''Call Me Madam'' with Ethel Merman ... ''Wildcat'' with Martha Raye, and ''State Fair'' with Roger Smith."

Television and film work

Wells was selective with regard to working in television. She said: "There are certain things I don't want to do. I won't do a television series unless it's a real good one. You put too much into it for what you get out. It's hard to find a series that's good for a girl." Wells played Edwina Brown in the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

drama ''

National Velvet ''National Velvet'' is a novel by Enid Bagnold (1889–1981), first published in 1935. It was illustrated by Laurian Jones, Bagnold's daughter, who was born in 1921. The novel tells the story of a teenaged girl who wins a horse racing compet ...

'' (1960-1962)Terrace, Vincent (2011). ''Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Pp. 745-746. and Lucy Hanks in the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

comedy ''

Pistols 'n' Petticoats ''Pistols 'n' Petticoats'' is an American Western sitcom starring Ann Sheridan that ran on CBS during the 1966-1967 television season. It was produced by Kayro/Universal Television for CBS Productions and ran from September 17, 1966 to March 1 ...

'' (1966-1967). She also was seen on ''The Brian Keith Show'', ''Showcase 5 -- Something Special'', ''

Wagon Train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western television series that aired for eight seasons, first on the NBC television network (1957–1962) and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and reached the top of the ...

'', '' Police Woman'', She appeared in the television series ''

Medic A medic is a person trained to provide medical care, encompassing a wide range of individuals involved in the diagnosis, treatment, and management of health conditions. The term can refer to fully qualified medical practitioners, such as physic ...

'', ''

Father Knows Best ''Father Knows Best'' is an American sitcom starring Robert Young (actor), Robert Young, Jane Wyatt, Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray (actor), Billy Gray and Lauren Chapin. The series, which began on radio in 1949, aired as a television show for six ...

'', '' Bachelor Father'', ''

Maverick Maverick or Maveric may refer to: History * Maverick (animal), an unbranded range animal, derived from U.S. cattleman Samuel Maverick Aviation * AEA Maverick, an Australian single-seat sportsplane design * General Aviation Design Bureau T-32 M ...

'' in " The Lass with the Poisonous Air," '' Fury'', ''

The Donna Reed Show ''The Donna Reed Show'' is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the middle-class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz co-stars as her Pediatrics, pediatrician husband Dr. Alex Stone, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage childr ...

'', ''

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis ''The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis'' (also known as simply ''Dobie Gillis'' or ''Max Shulmans Dobie Gillis'' in later seasons and in syndication) is an American sitcom starring Dwayne Hickman that aired on CBS from September 29, 1959, to June 5, 1 ...

'', '' Wide Country'', '' Laramie'', ''

'', ''

Leave It to Beaver ''Leave It to Beaver'' is an American television sitcom that follows the misadventures of a suburban boy, his family and his friends. It starred Barbara Billingsley, Hugh Beaumont, Tony Dow and Jerry Mathers. CBS first broadcast the show ...

'', ''

Ben Casey ''Ben Casey'' is an American medical drama television series that aired on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols "♂, ♀, ✳, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member ...

'', ''

Arrest and Trial ''Arrest and Trial'' is a 90-minute American crime/legal drama series that ran during the 1963–1964 season on ABC, airing Sundays from 8:30-10 pm Eastern. Overview The majority of episodes consists of two segments. Set in Los Angeles, the ...

'', ''

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and four short stories, all of which involve a ...

'', ''

'' (as a series regular), '' The Virginian'', ''

The Sixth Sense ''The Sixth Sense'' is a 1999 American psychological thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It stars Bruce Willis as a child psychologist whose patient ( Haley Joel Osment) claims he can see and talk to the dead. Released ...

'', '' The Brian Keith Show'', ''

Switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type o ...

'', '' McCloud'', '' Police Woman'' and '' 1st & Ten'', among others. She appeared in the films '' A Thunder of Drums'', ''

Come Blow Your Horn ''Come Blow Your Horn'' is Neil Simon's first play, which premiered on Broadway in 1961 and had a London production in 1962 at the Prince of Wales Theatre. Simon rewrote the script more than two dozen times over several years, resulting in a hit ...

'', ''

The Lively Set ''The Lively Set'' is a 1964 American color action drama sport film directed by Jack Arnold and starring James Darren, Pamela Tiffin, Doug McClure and Joanie Sommers. Plot Casey Owens, a young mechanic, has developed a design for a turbine c ...

'', ''

Zorro in the Court of England ''Zorro in the Court of England'' () is a 1969 Italian adventure film directed by Franco Montemurro. Cast * Spiros Focás: Pedro Suarez / Zorro * Dada Gallotti: Rosanna Gonzales * Franco Ressel: Lord Percy Moore * Massimo Carocci: Pedrito * ...

'', '' The House of Seven Corpses'', ''

Funny Lady ''Funny Lady'' is a 1975 American biographical film, biographical musical film, musical comedy-drama film and the sequel to the 1968 film ''Funny Girl (film), Funny Girl''. The film stars Barbra Streisand, James Caan, Omar Sharif, Roddy McDowa ...

'' and ''

The Cheap Detective ''The Cheap Detective'' is a 1978 American Mystery film, mystery comedy film written by Neil Simon and directed by Robert Moore (director), Robert Moore. It stars Peter Falk as Lou Peckinpaugh, a parody of Humphrey Bogart. The film is a parody ...

''.

Books

* ''Amberella: An Action Hero Adventure'' * ''Hijacked: An Eyewitness Account of Evil'' ( MotherBird Productions, 14 September 2018,

Other work

Wells is partnered with Bemer Group, a manufacturer of devices that boost blood circulation.

Personal life

Wells married Edward Laurence Doheny IV in June 1963. Doheny was an "oil scion," the great grandson of

Edward Laurence Doheny Edward Laurence Doheny (; August 10, 1856 – September 8, 1935) was an American oil tycoon who, in 1892, drilled the first successful oil well in the Los Angeles City Oil Field. His success set off a petroleum boom in Southern California, a ...

, the first man to successfully drill an oil well in the

Los Angeles City Oil Field The Los Angeles City Oil Field is a large oil field north of Downtown Los Angeles. Long and narrow, it extends from immediately south of Dodger Stadium west to Vermont Avenue, encompassing an area of about four miles (6 km) long by a quarter- ...

. Edward Laurence Doheny IV died of an overdose of sedatives, deemed to be suicide , on 14 Feb 1973 (aged 30), in Santa Monica, California. They had two sons. Later she married Walter J. Karabian, a member of the California House of Representatives. They had a son and a daughter. In 1977, while she and Karabian were on an "around the world honeymoon", a

Japan Airlines Japan Airlines (JAL) is the flag carrier airline of Japan. JAL is headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport, Narita and Haneda Airport, Haneda airports, as well as secondary hubs in Osaka's Kansai ...

flight on which they were traveling ( Japan Airlines Flight 472) was hijacked by Japanese terrorists who asked for a ransom of $6 million and release of nine terrorists from jail. After being released, Wells described the hijacking as "a terrible experience." She was pregnant at the time and later suffered a miscarriage, which her husband attributed to the trauma of the hijacking.

References

External links

*
Blogspot: The Carole Wells Show

Hollywood High School Alumni Association: Carole Wells's Page

On Purpose Magazine: Actress Carole Wells On Her Career and New Children's Book Amberella

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Carole 1942 births Living people 20th-century American actresses American film actresses Actresses from Shreveport, Louisiana Writers from Shreveport, Louisiana 21st-century American women