Robert Carroll (June 8, 1918 – November 12, 1994) was an American

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

and

stage Stage, stages, or staging may refer to: Arts and media Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly Brit ...

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

, and

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

Early years

Bob Carroll was born Mark Kaufman in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, NY. The son of a piano salesman, Carroll attended high school in Brooklyn.

Singer

Carroll's singing career was interrupted by three years' service in the U.S. Army during World War II. When he returned to civilian life, he joined

Jimmy Dorsey James Francis Dorsey (February 29, 1904 – June 12, 1957) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, composer and big band leader. He recorded and composed the jazz and pop standards " I'm Glad There Is You (In This World of Ordinary Peopl ...

's orchestra. Carroll also sang with other orchestras, including

Charlie Barnet Charles Daly Barnet (October 26, 1913 – September 4, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. His major recordings were "Nagasaki", "Skyliner", "Cherokee", "The Wrong Idea", "Scotch and Soda", "In a Mizz", and "South ...

and

Glenn Miller Alton Glen "Glenn" Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band conductor, arranger, composer, trombonist, and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Army Air Forces ...

in the 1940s and

Gordon Jenkins Gordon Hill Jenkins (May 12, 1910 – May 1, 1984) was an American arranger, composer, and pianist who was influential in popular music in the 1940s and 1950s. Jenkins worked with The Andrews Sisters, Johnny Cash, The Weavers, Frank Sinatra, Lo ...

(for whom he recorded the hit " Charmaine" in 1951) in the 1950s. He is heard on the soundtrack of '' The Prowler'' (1951) singing "Baby". In 1957, his version of "

Butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

" on

Bally Records Bally Recording Corporation, commonly known as Bally Records, was a record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It was a subsidiary of slot machine and pinball maker Bally Manufacturing. The parent company saw and filled a need to supply records to th ...

made the charts, peaking at No. 61 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In the mid-1960s, Carroll was host and singer on ''All Time Hits'', a musical program on

WGN-TV WGN-TV (channel 9) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, serving as the local outlet for The CW. It is owned and operated by the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is sister station, sister to the company ...

in Chicago.

Actor

In the 1960s, he turned to acting and his stage career peaked in those years. On

, he appeared both in

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

s and prime time series. He performed on ''Songs for Sale'' (1950-1952) and was a regular vocalist on

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 ...

's '' Judge for Yourself'', starring

Fred Allen John Florence Sullivan (May 31, 1894 – March 17, 1956), known professionally as Fred Allen, was an American comedian. His absurdist topically-pointed radio program '' The Fred Allen Show'' (1932–1949) made him one of the most popular and forw ...

, which aired in the 1953-1954 season. In the theater, he performed in various touring productions of ''

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and musical theatre#Book musicals, book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Russian Empire, Imperial Russia in or around 19 ...

'', including in 1966 (playing Lazar) and 1968 (playing Tevye) as well as the 1989 pre-Broadway tour (playing Morcha). He played the title role in the first national tour of ''Fiorello!'' He also played 1984 touring production of ''La Cage aux Folles'' (playing Dindon).Stewart, John. Broadway Musicals, 1943-2004. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2006. Print. Other touring productions in which he appeared included ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical theater, musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Run ...

The Pajama Game ''The Pajama Game'' is a musical based on the 1953 novel '' 7½ Cents'' by Richard Bissell. The book is by George Abbott and Richard Bissell; the music and lyrics are by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. Dances were staged by Bob Fosse in his chor ...

,'' and ''

Say, Darling ''Say, Darling'' is a three-act comic play by Abe Burrows and Richard and Marian Bissell about the creation of a Broadway musical. While the play featured nine original songs with lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Jule Styne, ...

.''

Death

Carroll died at the age of 76 in Port Washington,

, where he resided.

References

Personal info also received from his children Melanie Dib, Laura Leigh Carroll, Jody Carroll and Keith Carroll as well as his grandchildren Luke and Alex El Dib. {{DEFAULTSORT:Carroll, Bob 1918 births 1994 deaths Big band singers American male stage actors American male film actors American male television actors 20th-century American male actors People from Port Washington, New York 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male singers American male jazz musicians United States Army personnel of World War II Derby Records artists