According to an article in "Classic Images" by Frances Ingram, Jack became briefly involved with Warner Bros. singing star Doris Day while appearing together in her very first films Romance on the High Seas (1948), It's a Great Feeling (1949) and My Dream Is Yours (1949). He was 38 and she was 24. The relationship didn't work reportedly because he drank too much.
Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith. Pg. 94-95. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387
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.
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,.
During WWII, he entertained Gen. Douglas MacArthur's troops in the South Pacific.
Grandfather of Seth D. Webster, who is the son of Daniel Frank Webster.
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.
Jack and Dennis Morgan made at least 15 projects together, including Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943) and The Hard Way (1943).
Jack's 4th wife, Sandra Jolley, was the first wife of actor Forrest Tucker.
Jack's daughter with Kay St. Germain Wells, Germaine Catherine Carson, also died of cancer (April 12, 2010). In his will, Jack had reversed her first and middle names, requiring her to apply for a legal aka as Catherine Germaine Carson, the name she was using at her death.
Loved a good discussion about philosophy.
Recorded for Design Records in 1957: "Jack Carson Sings Favorite College songs". He later sang for Capitol Records.
Stepfather of Brooke Tucker.
Was a pilot. He 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.
Was writing a book about religion before he died.
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.
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 The Groom Wore Spurs (1951).