Nancy Carroll

Born Ann Veronica LaHiff in New York on November 19, 1904, Nancy Carroll was to be one of the finest actresses ever to grace the silver screen. She was smitten, early, by the acting bug when she appeared as Fay Larkin in 1918's RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE a film that went absolutely no where. Prior to that she had limited experience on the stages surrounding NYC. Nancy was all of 14 at the time but she already knew what she wanted to do. For the time being she would go back to being a young girl and occasional stints on the stage. To Nancy, stage work was all fine and good but she had tasted life in front of the camera and she wanted to go back, but there was no doubt that her tender young age was going to work against her for the time being. Later she performed on Broadway. Impatience can be hard to control, but by 1927 she was ready when she made her "second" film debut in LADIES MUST DRESS after being spotted in a play on the west coast. She impressed the powers that be and was signed to a contract with Paramount. In 1928, Nancy appeared in seven movies such as THE WATER HOLE, MR. ROMEO and CHICKEN A LA KING, but it was as Barbara Quayle in EASY COME, EASY GO that would establish her reputation. The movie was intended to be a vehicle that would intensify Richard Dix's career---and it did, but it also made Nancy Carroll a film force to be reckoned with. The production was a hit. Her next film was ABIE'S IRISH ROSE. The film was adapted from the stage version which ran on Broadway for six years. Paramount shelled out $500,000 for the rights to the film (the highest at that time) and cast Nancy in the role of Rosemary Murphy. She and her co-star, Buddy Rogers, made a lovely couple on stage but other movies with a similar theme caused the film not to be accepted well at the box-office. In 1929, she had another big hit with her part in THE SHOPWORN ANGEL. It was Nancy's first "talkie" ( and a partial one at that) and it showed the Paramount executives that she was one that would make a successful transition from the "silents" to an exciting new medium.
In that same year she made CLOSE HARMONY in Paramont's first all-talkie. Once again a hit was born. Later, in their third pairing together, she and Buddy Rogers filmed ILLUSION. They were able to profit from their intense popularity but there was a sameness to their material. In 1930, Nancy was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as Hallie Hobart in the highly acclaimed THE DEVIL'S HOLIDAY. She had given a luminous performance. She didn't win but it solidified her as a genuine star. It was said she was a close second to Norma Shearer in THE DIVORCEE. By the time Nancy filmed HONEY, the tempo of her rise caused her to receive more fan mail than any other star. Paramount had a genuine super star on their hands. She continued to be a big success throughout the 1930s when she made her last big picture as Grace Bristow in THAT CERTAIN AGE. After the conclusion of filming she retired only to come back one more time for a chance at the infant medium of television in the series THE ALDRICH FAMILY during the 1950-1951 season. She then retired forever from film but went back to work on the stage. Nancy was found dead of a heart attack on August 6, 1965, after she failed to show up at a stage performance. She was 60.