WKRP star Carol Bruce dies at 87
Carol Bruce, an American character actress best known as the acerbic Mama Carlson on WKRP in Cincinnati, has died. She was 87.
Bruce died last Tuesday at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in suburban Woodland Hills, Calif., a spokesman confirmed Monday.
Bruce was born Shirley Levy in Great Neck, N.Y., and showed talent as a teenager.
She had an early career on the musical stage, beginning as a Montreal nightclub singer and moving on to Broadway, where she was part of the original cast of Louisiana Purchase.
Irving Berlin was reported to have created a role in the musical for her distinctive sultry voice.
She was signed by Universal Pictures and made her screen debut in the 1941 Abbott & Costello vehicle Keep ‘Em Flying, followed by Behind the Eight Ball.
But she preferred live performance and returned to Broadway, where she sang in nightspots such as Copacabana, and appeared in revue and variety shows.
She won the role of Julie in the acclaimed 1946 revival of Showboat opposite Kenneth Spencer and Jan Clayton.
Bruce also appeared in One Touch of Venus, Annie Get Your Gun, Lady in the Dark and Pal Joey, and shared a stage with Noel Coward in London, England.
In 1979, she returned to film with a role in American Gigolo.
That same year, she took over the role of Mama Carlson, the tough-talking owner of a radio station managed by her son Arthur, played by Gordon Jump on WKRP in Cincinnati.
Sylvia Sidney had originated the role, but stayed with it only one season. Bruce stayed on until 1982.
She scored a stream of other TV credits throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including:
Doogie Howser, M.D.
The Golden Girls.
The Twilight Zone.
Diff’rent Strokes.
Party of Five.
Knots Landing.
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