Art Carney
Arthur William Matthew Carney (November 4, 1918 – November 9, 2003) was an American actor and comedian. A recipient of an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and six Primetime Emmy Awards, he was best known for his role as Ed Norton on the sitcom The Honeymooners (1955–1956).
For the football player, see Art Carney (American football).
Art Carney
November 9, 2003 (aged 85)
Riverside Cemetery, Old Saybrook, Connecticut, U.S.
- Actor
- comedian
1939–1993
3
Reeve Carney (great-nephew)
1943–1945[1]
His film roles include Harry and Tonto (1974), The Late Show (1977), House Calls (1978), Going in Style (1979), Firestarter, The Muppets Take Manhattan (both 1984), and Last Action Hero (1993).
Early life[edit]
Carney, the youngest of six sons (his brothers were Jack, Ned, Robert, Fred, and Phil), was born in Mount Vernon, New York, the son of Helen (née Farrell) and Edward Michael Carney, a newspaperman and publicist. His family was Irish American and Catholic.[2] He attended A.B. Davis High School.[3]
Carney was drafted into the United States Army in 1943[1] as an infantryman and machine gun crewman during World War II. During the Battle of Normandy serving in the 28th Infantry Division,[1] he was wounded in the leg by shrapnel and walked with a limp for the rest of his life. As a result of the injury, his right leg was ¾-inch (2 cm) shorter than his left.[4] Carney was awarded a Purple Heart, the American Campaign Medal, the European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal, and was discharged as a private in 1945.[1]
Career[edit]
Radio[edit]
Carney was a comic singer with the Horace Heidt orchestra, which was heard often on radio during the 1930s, notably on the hugely successful Pot o' Gold, the first big-money giveaway show in 1939–41. Carney's film career began with an uncredited role in Pot o' Gold (1941), the radio program's spin-off feature film, playing a member of Heidt's band. Carney, a gifted mimic, worked steadily in radio during the 1940s, playing character roles and impersonating celebrities such as President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. He can be seen impersonating Roosevelt in a 1937 promotional film for Stewart-Warner refrigerators that is preserved by the Library of Congress.[5] as well as during his appearance as a Mystery Guest on What's My Line.[6] In 1941, he was the house comic on the big band remote series Matinee at Meadowbrook.
One of his radio roles during the 1940s was the first Red Lantern on Land of the Lost. In 1943 he played Billy Oldham on Joe and Ethel Turp, based on Damon Runyon stories. He appeared on The Henry Morgan Show in 1946–47. He impersonated Roosevelt on The March of Time and Dwight D. Eisenhower on Living 1948. In 1950–51 he played Montague's father on The Magnificent Montague. He was a supporting player on Casey, Crime Photographer and Gang Busters.
Personal life[edit]
Carney was married three times to two women. In 1940, he married his high school sweetheart Jean Myers, with whom he had three children, Eileen, Brian and Paul, before divorcing in 1965. In 1966, Carney married production assistant Barbara Isaac; they divorced in 1977. After his divorce from Isaac, he reunited with Myers, and they remarried in 1980 and remained together until his death.[10][11] His grandson is Connecticut state representative Devin Carney[12] and his great-nephew is musician and actor Reeve Carney.[13]
According to Carney, he was an alcoholic by his late teens. His stage partner, comedian Ollie O'Toole, "would order gin and grapefruit juice for us in the morning and, gee, it was great." Carney later used barbiturates, amphetamines, and alcohol substitutes. To battle his addiction, which he said ran in the family, he tried psychotherapy and joined Alcoholics Anonymous. He finally found success with Antabuse and quit drinking during the filming of Harry and Tonto.[4]
Carney died at a care home in Chester, Connecticut, on November 9, 2003, five days after his 85th birthday.[10][11] He is interred at Riverside Cemetery in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. Jean Carney died on October 31, 2012, at the age of 93.[14]