Jean Carroll

Who was Jean Carroll?

Jean Carroll was an American actress and comedienne during the 1950s and 1960s.

Carroll was born as Celine Zeigman on January 7, 1911 in Paris, France She began her career as part of the comedy dance team Carroll and Howe, with her husband, vaudevillian Buddy Howe, who later became her manager. She appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show more than 20 times and had her own short-lived sitcom, The Jean Carroll Show, which aired for one season in.

In November 2006, she was honored with an evening at the Friar's Club in New York City, the emcee was Joy Behar and the main speaker was Lily Tomlin. In 2007, Carroll was featured in the Off-Broadway production The J.A.P. Show: Jewish American Princesses of Comedy, which includes live standup routines by four female Jewish comics juxtaposed with the stories of legendary performers from the 1950s and 1960s, Belle Barth, Pearl Williams and Betty Walker, Totie Fields, and Carroll herself. She was later featured in 2009 in the PBS documentary, Make 'em Laugh.

She died on January 1, 2010 in White Plains, New York, six days before her 99th birthday.