Carol Byron

Carol Byron (born June 24, 1937) is an American former actress, model, and businesswoman.

Early years

Byron, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. R. Byron,[1] was born on June 24, 1937,[2] in Los Angeles. She grew up on a farm in Escondido, where her chores included milking two goats each morning before she went to school.[3] She, her brother, and her parents moved to San Marcos in November 1947. She attended the Rich-Mar School and was a student at Escondido Union High School for two years. After graduating from Pasadena High School in 1955,[4] she majored in music at Pasadena City College.[2] A professor recommended that Byron look for work in television commercials, so she went to Hollywood to pursue that objective.[3] (Another source says that a scout for the John Powers School of Modeling noticed her, which led to her working in commercials.[4])

Festival controversy

In 1954 Byron withdrew from being a princess in the Wistaria Court of the annual Wistaria Festival in Sierra Madre, California. Some initial reports said that personal reasons led to the withdrawal, while others attributed the action to the pressure of the competition to become queen of the festival. More detailed reports indicated a disagreement between Byron and William Adrian, a judge in the contest who owned a modeling agency in Pasadena.[5] Byron said that beginning on the day she tried out for the contest Adrian indicated that if she would enroll in his modeling school she would become the queen of the contest and go on to be featured on magazine covers and win other contests. Byron's father said that Adrian also spoke to him, and he told Adrian to forget it.[6] Byron said that Adrian contacted her nearly every day from her initial competition until she resigned, asking her to enroll in his school for a fee of $200.[7] Adrian denied the accusations, saying that he did not pick the queen, although he was involved in selection of the five princesses.[6] "It was all a terrible misunderstanding", he said.[1] The festival's publicity director also said that Adrian was not involved in determining the queen, adding that a group of commercial photographers made that decision.[6] The controversy was "the first hint of scandal" in the festival's history.[7]

Career

Entertainment

Byron said that she "started out as a coloratura soprano, but didn't have enough volume".[8] She began working as a fashion model in 1957, and making commercials soon followed.[2] For three years she poured coffee, washed dishes, waxed floors, and did other actions related to sponsors' products on television.[9] Many of her commercials on radio included her singing the product's jingle.[2] While she was working as a model she was selected as one of 13 women in Hollywood (out of 311 who were originally considered) who were destined for stardom.[4][10] Producers and makeup artists in Hollywood named her Deb Star of the Year, "an honor given to those deemed headed for stardom".[2]

Byron was the hostess on the television version of Dr. I.Q. in the late 1950s.[11] In 1962 she had roles on two network series.[9] She portrayed Peggy Evans, a wife and mother in Window on Main Street and Kitty Mathews, the Wiere Brothers' secretary on Oh! Those Bells[12] (a show that had been filmed almost two years before it was broadcast).[9] After those two series ended, Byron wanted more acting roles. She acknowledged that her income would be greater if she worked exclusively in commercials, but she desired the status that accompanied working in series. "It's the snob in me that makes me seek out dramatic roles," she said.[13]

In 1963, Bryon was one of the Art Linkletter Players, actors who tried to fool unaware people while cameras captured the individuals' reactions to situations, on The Art Linkletter Show on NBC-TV.[14] Other network TV programs on which she appeared included Playhouse 90, Peter Gunn, Father of the Bride, Rawhide, Perry Mason, Wagon Train, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Mister Ed, and The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.[2]

Films in which Byron was featured included The Big Beat, Senior Prom, Ask Any Girl, and Where the Boys Are.[2] She performed on stage in 1966 in a production of Take Her, She's Mine at the Valley Music Theater. A newspaper review said, "Carol Byron is beautiful, fresh and vital as the daughter, and projects Mollie's many facets with a good deal of flair."[15]

In the mid-1970s Byron was co-host of the Breakfast Club Show on radio station KCHV,[16] and she had a syndicated radio program, Woman's View.[17] She returned to acting in October 1977, portraying secretary Maggie Cutler in the College of the Desert's production of The Man Who Came to Dinner.[18] She had The Carol Byron Show on KABL-TV in 1978,[19] and in 1979 she hosted the talk show 30 Minutes with Carol Byron on KESQ-TV.[20]

Other activities

Byron is an artist who works in custom design of canvasses, knitting, needlepoint, and rug hooking.[17] In the mid-1970s she owned and operated the Lady Byron Needlepoint and Rug Hooking Shop in Palm Desert, California.[16] In 1980 she became executive director of the Los Angeles office of Group Innovations Limited, National Speakers Bureau of America; in 1981 she opened an branch of the organization in Palm Desert while keeping her Los Angeles office. Her clients included Mike Douglas, Betty Ford, Gerald Ford, Ava Gabor, and Bob Newhart. Byron provided speakers for events that included annual conventions, corporate conferences, dinner parties, and sales seminars.[21] In the early 1980s she co-founded the Pegasus Riding Academy for handicapped people.[22]

Personal life

Byron is "an accomplished sculptor and painter". When she worked in TV series she used those activities to relieve stress that built up during a hard day on the set.[3] In 1982 she married Frank Goodman, a builder, developer, and real estate broker, in Palm Desert.[22]

References

  1. 1 2 "Wistaria Vine Festival Princess Resigns Post". Los Angeles Times. March 19, 1954. p. 5. Retrieved June 24, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "She 'two-times' as a TV steady: Carol Byron Double Exposure". The Patriot-News. Pennsylvania, Harrisburg. March 11, 1962. p. 92. Retrieved June 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 3 "'Main Street' Star Also Top Saleswoman on Television". Post-Bulletin. Minnesota, Rochester. March 31, 1962. p. 8. Retrieved June 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 3 Ebeling, Marilyn (August 23, 1962). "Carol Byron Has Launched Career As Television, Hollywood Starlet". Daily Times-Advocate. California, Escondido. p. 6. Retrieved June 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Fete Princess Quits". Pasadena Star-News. March 18, 1954. p. 25. Retrieved June 24, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. 1 2 3 Laine, George (March 18, 1954). "Beauty 'Fix' Bared: Girl Tells 'Pressure' in Contest". The Independent. pp. 1, 32. Retrieved June 24, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. 1 2 Brown, Bill (March 19, 1954). "Wistara princess abdicates". Daily News. California, Los Angeles. p. 4. Retrieved June 24, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Allen, Jack (March 16, 1962). "2 Flagging Series Fail To Daunt Carol Byron". Buffalo Courier-Express. p. 12. Retrieved June 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. 1 2 3 Guild, Leo (March 8, 1962). "Carol Byron Jumps From Ads to 2 Series". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 28. Retrieved June 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Stardom In Store for the Lucky 13 . . ". Toronto Daily Star. October 14, 1959. p. 50. Retrieved June 24, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Carol Byron Is A Rare Actress". Lewiston Journal. March 7, 1959. p. 4 A. Retrieved June 24, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Carol Byron Veteran Entertainer At 24!". The Montgomery Advertiser. March 9, 1962. p. 33. Retrieved June 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "2-Time loser Carol Byron plugs for acting jobs". Evening Star. District of Columbia, Washington. June 24, 1962. p. 217. Retrieved June 23, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Linkletter Lassies Have Job Of Fooling People for TV". Express and News. Texas, San Antonio. June 9, 1963. p. TV Preview, p. 17. Retrieved June 24, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ Faber, Charles (June 16, 1966). "Walter Pidgeon's Life With Daughter". Valley Times. California, North Hollywood. p. 11. Retrieved June 24, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. 1 2 "Needle Artist To Address Club". The Desert Sun. California, Palm Springs. February 1, 1975. p. A 8. Retrieved June 26, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. 1 2 "Potpourri". Hi-Desert Star. California, Yucca Valley. February 18, 1976. p. B 4. Retrieved June 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ Turner, Lisa Larson (October 25, 1977). "COD's Dramatic Debut Is Fun For All". The Desert Sun. California, Palm Springs. p. A 12. Retrieved June 26, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ "Exchange Clubs Announce 'Search For Talent' Winners". The Desert Sun. California, Palm Springs. May 12, 1978. p. B 2. Retrieved June 26, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ "Exchange Club gives prizes to young talent". The Desert Sun. California, Palm Springs. May 30, 1979. p. B 7. Retrieved June 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ↑ Finger, Mary (January 14, 1981). "Former desert resident returns from Saudi Arabia to be married". Desert Post. California, Palm Desert. p. B 2. Retrieved June 26, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. 1 2 "Carol Byron, Frank Goodman Wed". The Desert Sun. California, Palm Springs. May 21, 1982. p. C 4. Retrieved June 22, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
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