Joan Carroll (born Joan Marie Felt, January 18, 1931 - November 16, 2016) was an American child actress who appeared in films until retiring in 1950.
Childhood career
Carroll was born Joan Marie Felt to Wright and Freida Felt on January 18, 1931.
Carroll developed into an excellent singer and tap dancer at the Fanchon and Marco Dancing School in Hollywood,Best, Marc. Those Endearing Young Charms, p. 20. and became an accomplished child actress. Her stage name was changed to Carol and then Carroll.
Between 1937 and 1940 she appeared in supporting roles in several movies. Her big break came the 1940 film, Primrose Path, as Ginger Rogers's younger sister, for which she won a Critics Award. The same year she became the first child star to be summoned from Hollywood in order to appear in the leading role in a Broadway musical, Panama Hattie, which ran from October 30, 1940, to January 3, 1942.
Carroll became RKO Radio Pictures' resident juvenile personality in both "A" and "B" pictures. RKO starred Carroll in the leading role with Ruth Warrick in two zany comedy vehicles, Obliging Young Lady (1941) and Petticoat Larceny (1943). She continued to work in films as an adolescent, but less frequently. Two of her best-remembered pictures came from this period: Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) as Judy Garland and Margaret O'Brien's sister, and The Bells of St. Mary's (1945), in which she played "the sensitive child of separated parents.""Virginia Wright: Drama Editor." Los Angeles Daily News, 12 January 1946.
Later life and death After 1950, Carroll retired. In 1951, she married James Krack."The Former Joan Felt Became Bride of James J. Krack" (photo caption). Los Angeles Mirror, 3 January 1952, 38.
She and her brother donated a historic family lamp to the Nevada State Museum on July 7, 2011.
Carroll died near her home in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on November 16, 2016, aged 85. She was survived by her four children and extended family.
Filmography Year Title Role Notes1936 The First Baby 1937 One Mile from Heaven Sunny 1938 Walking Down Broadway Sunny Martin Gateway Child (uncredited) Two Sisters Sally, as a child 1939 Mr. Moto's Last Warning Mary Delacour (as Joan Carol) Tower of London Lady Mowbray (uncredited) A Child Is Born Little Girl Barricade Winifred Ward 1940 Laddie Sister Stanton Primrose Path Honeybell Anne of Windy Poplars Betty Grayson 1942 Obliging Young Lady Bridget Potter (starring role)1943 Petticoat Larceny Joan "Small Change" Mitchell 1944 Meet Me in St. Louis Agnes Smith Tomorrow the World Pat Frame 1945 The Clock Girl in Penn Station (uncredited) The Bells of St. Mary's Patsy Gallagher 1950 Second Chance Nurse Eva
Bibliography Best, Marc. Those Endearing Young Charms: Child Performers of the Screen. South Brunswick and New York: Barnes & Co., 1971, pp. 20–24; /
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