Carol Forman
{{Short description|American actress (1919–1997)}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Carol Forman
| image = Carol-Forman-theblackwidow-tdoy.jpg
| caption = Carol Forman in the movie serial, "The Black Widow" (1947)
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1919|6|19}}
| birth_name = Maude Carolyn Sawls
| birth_place = Epes, Alabama, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1997|7|9|1919|6|19}}
| death_place = Burbank, California, U.S.
| occupation = Television actress
| yearsactive = 1946–1961
| spouse = Robert Forman (1940-?) (divorced)
William Dennis (?-1979) (his death)
}}
Carol Forman (June 19, 1919 – July 9, 1997) was an American actress best known for playing exotic villains in action serials, particularly Spider Lady in the 1948 Superman serial, as well as Sombra, the lead villainess in the 1947 Republic serial The Black Widow.Cline, William C. "Filmography". In the Nick of Time. McFarland & Company, Inc. {{ISBN|0-7864-0471-X}}.
Early life
Born Maude Carolyn Sawls in Epes, Alabama on July 19, 1919 (some sources indicate 1918), the eldest of two children of Edward D. Sawls, a carpenter, and Annabelle Fleming, a homemaker.
{{cite web
|url=https://www.familysearch.org/search/ark:/61903/1:1:MX88-T58
|title= Fourteenth Census of the United States (1920) [database on-line], Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama, Enumeration District: 65, Page: 3A, Line: 17, household of Edward D. Sawls
|publisher= Family Search
|location= United States
|date=1920-01-03
|access-date=2022-06-10
}}
Her interest in acting began as a youngster. By the time she was six years old, she was starring in school plays. She would continuing acting throughout high school.{{cite web |url=https://filesofjerryblake.com/serial-villains/carol-forman/|title=Carol Forman |date= January 6, 2013|website=The Files of Jerry Blake |access-date=10 June 2022}}
As a teenager, she moved to Memphis. While in Memphis, she worked as a cosmetics salesperson. It was there that she met and married her first husband, Robert D. Forman in 1940. The marriage didn't last long.
{{cite web
|url=http://www.ancestry.com
|title= Sixteenth Census of the United States (1940) [database on-line], Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee, Enumeration District: 7, Page: 62A, Line: 2, household of Polk L. Riley Jr.
|publisher= The Generations Network
|location= United States
|date=1940-06-01
|access-date=2022-06-10
}}
{{cite web
|url=https://www.familysearch.org/search/ark:/61903/1:1:QKHS-MGTJ
|title= Tennessee, County Marriages, 1790-1950
|publisher= Family Search
|location= United States
|date=1940-07-17
|access-date=2022-06-10
}}
Career
By the mid-1940s, Forman had moved to California. While working in small community theater productions, mostly in unsympathetic roles, she was discovered by a talent scout from RKO Pictures. In 1946, RKO signed her to a contract. One of her early roles was playing Raymond Burr's girlfriend in his first film, Code of the West. She played opposite Burr again in San Quentin.{{cite news
| author =
| title = Carol Forman; Actress in Movies, TV Series
| url = https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90426728/obituary-for-carol-forman-aged-78/?xid=637
| work = Los Angeles Times
| location = Los Angeles
| date = 18 July 1997
| access-date =10 June 2022
}}
Forman became better known for her appearances in movie serials in which she differed from other actresses by playing villainesses exclusively. Her characters occasionally used disguises to go undercover or to impersonate other characters, in the same manner as Batman, or Artemis Gordon in The Wild Wild West TV series years later. In 1952, in the nostalgic musical comedy By the Light of the Silvery Moon starring Doris Day, Forman spoofed her serial persona by appearing briefly as an evil woman in a young boy's daydream.
She also made guest appearances on The Cisco Kid starring Duncan Renaldo and Leo Carrillo in the early 1950s.
Filmography
| class="wikitable" | |||
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| rowspan=4 | 1946 | From This Day Forward | Counselor in Unemployment Office | Uncredited |
| Nocturne | Receptionist | Uncredited | |
| The Falcon's Adventure | Helen Ray | ||
| San Quentin | Ruthie | ||
| rowspan=6 | 1947 | Code of the West | Milly | |
| Honeymoon | Nurse | Uncredited | |
| Desperate | Mrs. Henry Roberts | Uncredited | |
| Under the Tonto Rim | Juanita | ||
| The Black Widow | Sombra, The Black Widow | Serial | |
| Brick Bradford | Queen Khana | Serial | |
| rowspan=4 | 1948 | Docks of New Orleans | Nita Aguirre | |
| Superman | Spider Lady | Serial | |
| The Mozart Story | Catherine Cavallieri | (new scenes) | |
| The Feathered Serpent | Sonia Cabot | ||
| rowspan=2 | 1949 | Federal Agents vs. Underworld, Inc | Nila | Serial |
| Brothers in the Saddle | Flora Trigby | ||
| 1951 | Oh! Susanna | Blonde | Uncredited |
| 1952 | Blackhawk | Laska | Serial |
| 1953 | By the Light of the Silvery Moon | Dangerous Dora | Uncredited |
| 1961 | Ada | Newspaper Woman | Uncredited, (final film role) |
Death
She died in Burbank, California on July 9, 1997, of natural causes.
References
External links
- {{IMDb name|0286329}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foreman, Carol}}
Category:American television actresses
Category:Actresses from Alabama
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:Actors from Sumter County, Alabama
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