Quiz

During the 1940s, he would often disappear from Hollywood for weeks at a time. Only his wife knew where he went, and she (Kay St. Germain Wells) would tell no one. Years later Carson revealed the secret: he had joined the Clyde Beatty circus as a clown and was traveling with their show. Audiences never knew it was him; "They loved me and my routines," he said,.

A pilot, Carson had volunteered to join the U.S. Army Air Corps but was rejected due to his height. He was turned down by the Army because he had flat feet. During WWII, he entertained Gen. Douglas MacArthur's troops in the South Pacific.

Collapsed in August of 1962 while in rehearsal for the play "Critic's Choice." An early diagnosis deemed it a stomach "disorder," but two months later, cancer was discovered while he was undergoing an unrelated operation.

Died on the same day as Dick Powell. They died from different forms of cancer.

Carson's daughter with Kay St. Germain Wells, Germaine Catherine Carson, died of cancer on April 12, 2010. In his will, Carson inadvertently reversed her first and middle names, requiring her to apply for a legal alias or aka as Catherine Germaine Carson, a name she kept until her death.

He became briefly involved with Warner Bros. singing star Doris Day while appearing together in her very first movies Amore sotto coperta (1948), L'amore non può attendere (1949) and Musica per i tuoi sogni (1949). He was 38 and she was 26. The relationship didn't work reportedly because he drank too much.

Was writing a book about religion before he died.

Worked with Ginger Rogers in six RKO pics and lost her each time to one of her leading co-stars. He finally won her in La sposa illegittima (1951).

He and Dennis Morgan made 11 movies together: Wings for the Eagle (1942), The Hard Way (1943), Sotto le stelle di Hollywood (1943), Al chiaro di luna (1944), Ho baciato una stella (1944), ...e un'altra notte ancora (1946), Two Guys from Milwaukee (1946), L'ora, il luogo e la ragazza (1946), Always Together (1947), Speroni e calze di seta (1948), and L'amore non può attendere (1949).

Recorded for Design Records in 1957: "Jack Carson Sings Favorite College Songs". He later sang for Capitol Records.

Had a four-year run on radio with "Everybody Loves Jack" (1943-1947).

He was awarded 2 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: For Radio at 6361 Hollywood Boulevard, and for Television at 1560 Vine Street in Hollywood, California.

His first vaudeville teaming was with friend Dave Willock. He and Dave graduated from St. John's Academy in Delafield, Wisconsin, and teamed up while attending Carleton College. They sang, danced and told jokes and later went on radio.

Was in four Oscar Best Picture nominees: Palcoscenico (1937), Mr. Smith va a Washington (1939), Il romanzo di Mildred (1945) and La gatta sul tetto che scotta (1958).

While touring in vaudeville, he met his first wife, dancer Betty Alice Lindy. They later performed together in a song-and-dance act ("Lindy and Carson") for a year on the Orpheum Theatre circuit. They married in 1938 but divorced a year later.

Younger son of Edward L. Carson, who worked in insurance. Carson's elder brother was actor Robert Carson. The boys were born in Canada but raised in Milwaukee. Carson was the uncle of Kit Carson and grandfather of Seth D. Webster, who is the son of Daniel Frank Webster. Carson's fourth wife, Sandra Jolley, was the first wife of actor Forrest Tucker.

Jack's 4th wife, Sandra Jolley, was the first wife of actor Forrest Tucker.

There was an unsubstantiated claim that Carson had a bit role in "Follow the Fleet.".

Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith. Pg. 94-95. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387

Stepfather of Brooke Tucker.