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Jack Carter
Carter in 1949
Born	Jack Chakrin (1922-06-24)June 24, 1922 Brooklyn, New York U.S.
Died	June 28, 2015(2015-06-28) (aged 93) Beverly Hills, California, U.S.
Occupations	Actor comedian television presenter
Years active	1942–2014
Spouses	Joan Mann ​ ​(m. 1949; div. 1958)​ Paula Stewart ​ ​(m. 1961; div. 1970)​ Roxanne Wander ​ ​(m. 1971; div. 1977)​ ​ ​(m. 1992⁠–⁠2015)​
Children	4
Signature

Jack Carter (born Jack Chakrin; June 24, 1922 – June 28, 2015) was an American comedian, actor, and television presenter. Born in Brooklyn, Carter had a long-running comedy act similar to fellow rapid-paced contemporaries Milton Berle and Morey Amsterdam.

Life and career

Carter was born in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, New York, to Russian Jewish immigrants Anna (née Borofsky) and Harry Chakrin. His parents owned a candy store there where he began to dance on tables at the age of 3. Carter served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. He hosted an early television variety program called Cavalcade of Stars on the DuMont Network. He was lured to NBC to host his own program titled The Jack Carter Show. Carter recommended Jackie Gleason take his place as host of Cavalcade of Stars, though DuMont did not hire Gleason until the network's choice, Jerry Lester, also jumped to NBC. The Jack Carter Show appeared under the banner of the Saturday Night Revue, NBC's 2+1⁄2-hour Saturday night programming slot. Carter hosted his show for one hour each week followed by the 90-minute Your Show of Shows starring Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner, and Howard Morris. Carter remained friends with Sid Caesar his entire life and delivered the eulogy at his funeral.

His only major Broadway appearance was opposite Sammy Davis Jr. in the 1956 musical Mr. Wonderful. He earlier replaced Phil Silvers in the Broadway show Top Banana. He was a frequent guest on The Ed Sullivan Show during the 1960s and early 1970s, and was known for his impression of Ed Sullivan. He appeared as himself (along with his then-wife Paula Stewart) in the comedy series The Joey Bishop Show. In the late 1960s, he was the host of a game-show pilot called Second Guessers. The pilot did not sell. He was also a frequent panelist on the television game show Match Game during the 1973–1974 season and again during the early 1980s. In 1975, he appeared as a guest star on the quiz show $10,000 Pyramid with contestant Liz Hogan Schultz, and appeared as the ill-fated mayor in the cult horror film Alligator in 1980.

Starting in the 1970s, Carter was on more than ten Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts for some popular television stars and sports personalities.

In 1981, Carter starred as Fagin in the stage performance of Oliver! at the Birmingham Theater in (Birmingham, Michigan) alongside Shani Wallis as Nancy.

He made appearances on many television series, including Diagnosis: Unknown, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Combat!, The Love Boat, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Rockford Files, Emergency!, Mannix, Cannon, The Wild Wild West, Tales of Tomorrow, The Kallikaks, Password, $weepstake$, The Ren & Stimpy Show, 7th Heaven, Diagnosis Murder, The Road West, Sanford and Son, Tattletales, Monk, Rules of Engagement, Living Single, iCarly, Desperate Housewives, and Shameless and voice work on King of the Hill. His last round of work included a cameo on New Girl and a voice on Family Guy. He was a guest on Norm Macdonald's video podcast, Norm Macdonald Live, in 2014.

In 1994, Carter was offered the role of Wilbur Cobb in The Ren & Stimpy Show, a character intended to be named Raymond Spum but renamed after John Kricfalusi's firing. Showrunner Bob Camp felt sorry for Carter's lack of work, so he shoehorned the character in episodes in every opportunity he could to the detriment of the show and criticism by crew members such as Bill Wray.

Carter died on June 28, 2015, four days after his 93rd birthday, at his home in Beverly Hills, California, of respiratory failure.

Filmography

Television

Film

Video games

References

• Komorowski, Thad (2017). Sick Little Monkeys: The Unauthorized Ren & Stimpy Story. Albany, Georgia: BearManor Media. ISBN 978-1629331836.

1. ^ Gertner, Richard (1982). International television almanac. Quigley Publishing Company. pp. 44–. ISBN 9780900610271. Retrieved March 17, 2012.
2. "Jack Carter Net Worth: Late Comedian's Beverly Hills Mansion Listed For $5.825M". Realty Today. December 2, 2015.
3. Hevesi, Dennis (June 29, 2015). "Jack Carter, Comedian Who Brought His Rapid-Fire Delivery to TV, Dies at 93". The New York Times. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
4. Carter, Jack (August 4, 2014). "Norm Macdonald Live" (Interview). Interviewed by Norm Macdonald. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
5. Canby, Vincent. "Alligator" (film review), The New York Times, Friday, June 5, 1981. Retrieved October 29, 2022.
6. Komorowski 2017, p. 249.
7. "Comedian Jack Carter Dead at 93". Variety. June 29, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
8. ^ "Jack Carter (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved December 19, 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.

External links

• Jack Carter at IMDb
• Jack Carter interview, April 2011, Part One
• Jack Carter interview, April 2011, Part Two
• Jack Carter interview, June 2011, Part Three
• Jack Carter interview, June 2011, Part Four
• Jack Carter on The Tonight Show with Jerry Lewis, 1962

• 1922 births
• 2015 deaths
• 20th-century American comedians
• 21st-century American comedians
• 21st-century American Jews
• American Ashkenazi Jews
• American male film actors
• American male radio actors
• American male television actors
• Comedians from Brooklyn
• Comedians from California
• Deaths from respiratory failure
• Jewish American comedians
• Jewish American male actors
• Jewish American military personnel
• Jewish male comedians
• Jews from California
• Jews from New York (state)
• Male actors from Brooklyn
• Male actors from Los Angeles
• Military personnel from New York City
• Military personnel from New York (state)
• People from Brighton Beach
• United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II