Former MGM star Carleton Carpenter, whose 1950 duet with Debbie Reynolds of “Aba Daba Honeymoon” sold over a million copies and landed at No. 1, died peacefully at home on January 31, 2022 at the age of 95. He lived for many years in Warwick, NY.
Carleton Upham Carpenter Jr. was born July 10, 1926 in Bennington, VT, where he attended Bennington High School. He served as a Seabee in the U.S. Navy during World War II and helped to build the airstrip from which the Enola Gay took off for its flight to Hiroshima. His first performing jobs were as a magician and clown in carnivals.
He went to New York in 1944 to try his luck on the stage and on his very first day of arrival, he read the casting notices before even going to his hotel, and landed a role in David Merrick’s first production, “Bright Boy.” It was followed by “Three to Make Ready” with Ray Bolger, “John Murray Anderson’s Almanac” with Hermione Gingold, and “Hotel Paradiso” with Bert Lahr and Angela Lansbury, which marked Lansbury’s Broadway debut. After the opening, due to his success, the producers elevated his name above the title with Lahr and Lansbury.
He made his film debut in Louis de Rochemont’s controversial picture “Lost Boundaries,” about a black family who passed for white, which was filmed in New York and various locations in New England.
MGM signed him to a contract in 1950 and the first movie assigned to him was “Summer Stock” with Gene Kelly and Judy Garland. Garland caused so many delays that he also managed to squeeze in “Father of the Bride” as one of Elizabeth Taylor’s suitors, and “Three Little Worlds,” in which he was first teamed with Debbie Reynolds. The tall, lanky Carpenter contrasted well with the cute and short Reynolds.
He and Reynolds made history in “Two Weeks With Love,” in which they revived an old vaudeville song, “Aba Daba Honeymoon,” and stole the film from stars Jane Powell and Ricardo Montalban. The soundtrack to the song was released as a single, the first time that had ever been done, and it shot to No. 1, earning a Gold Record. He and Reynolds put together a vaudeville act and toured the Loew’s theater circuit at the Capitol in New York and around the country. The clip was later used in the 1974 film “That’s Entertainment,” as well as their number from “Three Little Words.” It still sells today in various compilations.
He subsequently starred in two films of his own, “Sky Full of Moon” with Jan Sterling, which William Inge claimed was his inspiration for “Bus Stop,” and “Fearless Fagan,” based on the true story of a soldier who brought his pet lion into the Army with him. He also appeared in “Vengeance Valley” with Burt Lancaster, “The Whistle at Eaton Falls” with Dorothy Gish in a comeback role, “Take the High Ground” with Richard Widmark, and “Up Periscope” with James Garner.
Carpenter moved back to New York at the end of his MGM contract in order to appear in “Almanac” and later starred off-Broadway as well in such plays as “The Boys in the Band” and “Dylan.”
He played Cornelius in the Mary Martin company of “Hello, Dolly!”, which toured throughout the U.S. and Far East, including entertaining troops in Vietnam at the height of the war. Life Magazine did a cover story and a documentary was filmed by NBC for a network TV special.
He performed in hundreds of radio and TV shows, as early as 1946, when he was a regular on an early NBC television show, “Campus Hoopla.”
He starred opposite Ann Sothern in the 1954 Max Liebman “spectacular” “Lady in the Dark,” and they recorded the score for RCA Victor records. Other TV appearances included “Perry Mason,” “Father Knows Best,” “Goodyear Playhouse,” “General Electric Theater,” “Ann Sothern Show,” “The Millionaire,” “The Rifleman,” and his own series, “Luke and the Tenderfoot.” He played the title role in Sidney Lumet’s 1955 production of George Kelly’s “The Show-Off,” and co-starred with Shirley Temple in a musical version of “Mother Goose” for her Shirley Temple Storybook series in 1958.
In addition to his performing, Carpenter turned author and wrote seven acclaimed mystery novels: Games Murderers Play,” “Deadhead,” “Cat Got Your Tongue?”, “Only Her Hairdresser Knew,” “Sleight of Deadly Hand,” “The Peabody Experience,” and “Stumped.” He also had several stories published in “Alfred Hitchcock Magazine” and “Ellery Queen Magazine.”
His last Broadway appearance was in the Gershwin musical “Crazy For You,” which he also toured across the country, and his last New York appearance was in the 2006 City Center Encores revival of “70 Girls 70.”
Carpenter was also a successful songwriter and among his songs are the Christmas perennial “Christmas Eve,” which was recorded by Billy Eckstine, “Cabin in the Woods,” and “Ev’ry Other Day,” which he recorded for MGM Records. His musical “Northern Boulevard” was first produced by Rosetta LeNoire at her Amas Musical Theatre, and later at the Oldcastle Theatre in Bennington.
Carpenter’s memoir “The Absolute Joy of Work” was published in 2017 by Bear Manor Media.
He is survived by nieces Lesley Phelps and Mrs. Michael Hall Axt, a close cousin Barbara Gallett, several other cousins, and longtime friend Alan Eichler.