In the late 1970s Carroll's successful one-woman show, Gertrude Stein, Gertrude Stein, Gertrude Stein, by playwright Marty Martin, won several major theater awards;[7] her recorded version won a 1980 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word, Documentary or Drama.[8]
In early 1976, Carroll was cast as Lily, the mother of Shirley Feeney (played by Cindy Williams) in the episode "Mother Knows Worst" on the hit ABC situation comedy, Laverne & Shirley.[9] She portrayed Pearl Markowitz, the mother of Adam Arkin's character Lenny Markowitz, in the 1977 CBS situation comedy Busting Loose.[citation needed] She made a guest appearance on "The Love Boat" Season 2 Episode 5, which aired on 10/20/1978. Her frequent television roles in the 1980s included newspaper owner Hope Stinson on the syndicated The Ted Knight Show (the former Too Close for Comfort) during its final season in 1986; and as Gussie Holt, the mother of Suzanne Somers's lead character in the syndicated sitcom She's the Sheriff (1987–1989).[citation needed]
When drama critic Frank Rich of The New York Times reviewed her performance in "Merry Wives", he wrote, "Her performance is a triumph from start to finish, and, I think, a particularly brave and moving one, with implications that go beyond this one production. Ms. Carroll and Mr. Kahn help revivify the argument that the right actresses can perform some of the great classic roles traditionally denied to women and make them their own. It's not a new argument, to be sure; female Hamlets stretch back into history. But what separates Ms. Carroll's Falstaff from some other similar casting experiments of late is that her performance exists to investigate a character rather than merely as ideological window dressing for a gimmicky production."[14]
Personal life
Carroll married Lee Karsian in 1955 and they had three children, including actress Tara Karsian. The marriage ended in a divorce in 1976.[2] In 1991, Carroll received an honorary doctorate from Siena College in Albany, New York.[15] Carroll, a practicing Roman Catholic, cited that her religious views helped her to determine what projects to accept.[16] She was a lifelong Republican as of 1992.[17]
Hanna-Barbera lawsuit
In 1963, Carroll filed a $12,000 lawsuit against Hanna-Barbera for breach of contract, claiming that she had been cast and signed on to the role of Jane Jetson on The Jetsons. Morey Amsterdam, who alleged that he had been cast as George, was also a plaintiff in the same suit.[18][19] Although her contracts stipulated she would be paid US$500 an episode with a guarantee of twenty-four episodes (i.e., a full season), she recorded only one episode before being replaced.[18] Several sources claimed the change had occurred as a result of sponsor conflict with Carroll's work on Make Room for Daddy.[20][21] The case had been closed by early 1965.[22] Carroll stated in an interview in 2013 that the court had ruled in favor of Hanna-Barbera.[18]
Tangled: The Series (2017–2018) – Old Lady Crowley (voice, short "Make Me Smile" and episodes "One Angry Princess", "Max's Enemy" and "Secret of the Sun Drop")
^The Evening Sentinel, June 1, 1962, Morey Amsterdam and Pat Carroll have been forced off as "voice" stars of ABC's new animated "The Jetsons" cartoon series. Too many sponsor conflicts, what with Morey being a regular on the Dick Van Dyke Show and Pat likewise on the Danny Thomas Show.