Garnett Lucille Ryman
Encyclopedia
Garnett Lucille Ryman Carroll, stage name Jane Starr (June 10, 1906 - October 23, 2002) was an American
Broadway
actress.
Lucille, as she was known, graduated from Decatur High School, Decatur, IL
and went on to Millikin University
, where she was a member of the Delta Delta Delta
sorority and acted in plays. During the following five years, she taught at Assumption High School and Roosevelt Junior High, acting in plays staged by Decatur's Town and Gown Players, a community theater company. Moving to California to study acting at the Pasadena Playhouse
in 1931, she won a $1,000 scholarship. She quit her teaching job in Decatur to act in and direct plays at the playhouse, where movie actors graced the stage and directors sought new talent.
Lucille's brother, Herbert Ryman
was a prominent Disney imagineer.
at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, demonstrating how motion pictures were made. Macloon, who had recently given an actor named Clark Gable
some of his first parts, chose her to star in the Broadway play It Pays to Sin
. When the play received scathing reviews and closed, Carroll sought consolation by visiting backstage with Katharine Hepburn
, then 26, who had also received terrible reviews while acting in a nearby theater. Instead Hepburn was characteristically blunt. "Then you're not an actress," Hepburn told Carroll. "I don't care what the critics say about me. I know what I am."
Carroll moved to San Francisco, where she and Macloon opened an experimental theater and produced several plays. She married Macloon in 1936. They divorced within a few years. During the 1930s, she traveled throughout the nation as talent scout for Universal Pictures
, rising to become head of that studio's talent department in New York.
Carroll headed MGM's talent department from 1941 to 1954 and helped sign a young actress named Lana Turner
, helped arrange a key screen test for Marilyn Monroe
and played a role in bringing June Allyson
and Janet Leigh
to MGM. She was one of the few women to reach a position of executive power in the old Hollywood studio system.
At MGM she met John Carroll
, a successful actor who had appeared in movies such as Flying Tigers
with John Wayne
and Go West with the Marx Brothers
. They were married in 1947. He died in 1979. Movies made at MGM while Lucille Carroll ran its training department included Singin' in the Rain
, Show Boat
, Gaslight
and Meet Me in St. Louis
. While she was there, MGM garnered 16 Academy Award nominations for best picture, winning Oscars for An American in Paris
and Mrs. Miniver
. In 1942, Hepburn signed a contract with MGM to appear in a picture, Woman of the Year
, the first of many in which she appeared with Spencer Tracy
. One of Carroll's roles at MGM was as an advisor to established stars such as Hepburn, Tracy, Judy Garland
, Mickey Rooney
and Greer Garson
. She smoothed over differences that arose between the stars and the studio's business executives.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
actress.
Early life
Carroll was born to Dr. Herbert R. Ryman and Cora Belle (Norris) Ryman while her father was a medical student at Kansas State Medical College. Dr. Ryan died in France while a field surgeon during World War I when she was about twelve, and her mother Cora Belle, a schoolteacher, raised the children.Lucille, as she was known, graduated from Decatur High School, Decatur, IL
Decatur, Illinois
Decatur is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city, sometimes called "the Soybean Capital of the World", was founded in 1823 and is located along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. In 2000 the city population was 81,500,...
and went on to Millikin University
Millikin University
Millikin University is an American co-educational, comprehensive, private, four-year university with traditional undergraduate programs in arts and sciences, business, fine arts, and professional studies, as well as non-traditional, adult degree-completion programs and graduate programs in...
, where she was a member of the Delta Delta Delta
Delta Delta Delta
Delta Delta Delta , also known as Tri Delta, is an international sorority founded on November 27, 1888, the eve of Thanksgiving Day. With over 200,000 initiates, Tri Delta is one of the world's largest NPC sororities.-History:...
sorority and acted in plays. During the following five years, she taught at Assumption High School and Roosevelt Junior High, acting in plays staged by Decatur's Town and Gown Players, a community theater company. Moving to California to study acting at the Pasadena Playhouse
Pasadena Playhouse
The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year.-History:...
in 1931, she won a $1,000 scholarship. She quit her teaching job in Decatur to act in and direct plays at the playhouse, where movie actors graced the stage and directors sought new talent.
Lucille's brother, Herbert Ryman
Herbert Ryman
Herbert "Herbie" Dickens Ryman was a Disney imagineer, and fine art painter. His sister, Lucille Carroll helped fund the Ryman-Carroll Foundation....
was a prominent Disney imagineer.
Career
Using the stage name Jane Starr, she worked with movie producer Louis O. MacloonLouis Macloon
Louis Owen Macloon was a prominent theatrical producer of the 1920s and 1930s.-Family:Macloon was the son of Chicago Tribune reporter Charles Macloon and his wife, Josephine, née Owen.Louis Macloon married three times:...
at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, demonstrating how motion pictures were made. Macloon, who had recently given an actor named Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
some of his first parts, chose her to star in the Broadway play It Pays to Sin
It Pays to Sin
It Pays to Sin is an American play in four scenes with an English adaptation by Louis Macloon and George Redman from the Hungarian by Johann Vaszary....
. When the play received scathing reviews and closed, Carroll sought consolation by visiting backstage with Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
, then 26, who had also received terrible reviews while acting in a nearby theater. Instead Hepburn was characteristically blunt. "Then you're not an actress," Hepburn told Carroll. "I don't care what the critics say about me. I know what I am."
Carroll moved to San Francisco, where she and Macloon opened an experimental theater and produced several plays. She married Macloon in 1936. They divorced within a few years. During the 1930s, she traveled throughout the nation as talent scout for Universal Pictures
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
, rising to become head of that studio's talent department in New York.
Carroll headed MGM's talent department from 1941 to 1954 and helped sign a young actress named Lana Turner
Lana Turner
Lana Turner was an American actress.Discovered and signed to a film contract by MGM at the age of sixteen, Turner first attracted attention in They Won't Forget . She played featured roles, often as the ingenue, in such films as Love Finds Andy Hardy...
, helped arrange a key screen test for Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
and played a role in bringing June Allyson
June Allyson
June Allyson was an American film and television actress, popular in the 1940s and 1950s. She was a major MGM contract star. Allyson won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her performance in Too Young to Kiss . From 1959–1961, she hosted and occasionally starred in her own CBS anthology...
and Janet Leigh
Janet Leigh
Janet Leigh , born Jeanette Helen Morrison, was an American actress. She was the wife of actor Tony Curtis from June 1951 to September 1962 and the mother of Kelly Curtis and Jamie Lee Curtis....
to MGM. She was one of the few women to reach a position of executive power in the old Hollywood studio system.
At MGM she met John Carroll
John Carroll (actor)
John Carroll was an American actor and singer. He was born Julian Lafaye in New Orleans, Louisiana....
, a successful actor who had appeared in movies such as Flying Tigers
Flying Tigers (film)
Flying Tigers is a 1942 black-and-white war film, starring John Wayne and John Carroll as mercenary fighter pilots fighting the Japanese in China prior to the U.S. entry into World War II....
with John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
and Go West with the Marx Brothers
Marx Brothers
The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act, originally from New York City, that enjoyed success in Vaudeville, Broadway, and motion pictures from the early 1900s to around 1950...
. They were married in 1947. He died in 1979. Movies made at MGM while Lucille Carroll ran its training department included Singin' in the Rain
Singin' in the Rain
Singin' in the Rain is a 1952 American comedy musical film starring Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds and directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, with Kelly also providing the choreography...
, Show Boat
Show Boat (1951 film)
Show Boat is a 1951 Technicolor film based on the musical by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II and the novel by Edna Ferber....
, Gaslight
Gaslight (1944 film)
Gaslight is a 1944 mystery-thriller film adapted from Patrick Hamilton's play, Gas Light, performed as Angel Street on Broadway in 1941. It was the second version to be filmed; the first, released in the United Kingdom, had been made a mere four years earlier...
and Meet Me in St. Louis
Meet Me in St. Louis
Meet Me in St. Louis is a 1944 musical film from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer which tells the story of an American family living in St. Louis at the time of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition World's Fair in 1904...
. While she was there, MGM garnered 16 Academy Award nominations for best picture, winning Oscars for An American in Paris
An American in Paris (film)
An American in Paris is a 1951 MGM musical film inspired by the 1928 orchestral composition by George Gershwin. Starring Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant, Georges Guetary, and Nina Foch, the film is set in Paris, and was directed by Vincente Minnelli from a script by Alan Jay Lerner...
and Mrs. Miniver
Mrs. Miniver (film)
Mrs. Miniver is a 1942 American drama film directed by William Wyler, and starring Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, and Teresa Wright. Based on the fictional English housewife created by Jan Struther in 1937 for a series of newspaper columns, the film won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture,...
. In 1942, Hepburn signed a contract with MGM to appear in a picture, Woman of the Year
Woman of the Year
Woman of the Year is a romantic comedy film. The movie is about an emancipated woman, chosen "Woman of the Year", and her colleague-turned-husband and their efforts to negotiate a path to marital bliss....
, the first of many in which she appeared with Spencer Tracy
Spencer Tracy
Spencer Bonaventure Tracy was an American theatrical and film actor, who appeared in 75 films from 1930 to 1967. Tracy was one of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, ranking among the top ten box office draws for almost every year from 1938 to 1951...
. One of Carroll's roles at MGM was as an advisor to established stars such as Hepburn, Tracy, Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
, Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
and Greer Garson
Greer Garson
Greer Garson, CBE was a British-born actress who was very popular during World War II, being listed by the Motion Picture Herald as one of America's top ten box office draws in 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, and 1946. As one of MGM's major stars of the 1940s, Garson received seven Academy Award...
. She smoothed over differences that arose between the stars and the studio's business executives.