Carole Wells (born August 31, 1942) is an American actress, opera singer, producer and author.[1]
Early years
The daughter of a doctor,[2] Wells was born Carole Maureen Wells in Shreveport, Louisiana, the fourth of six children in her family. Her siblings were two brothers and three sisters.[3] She graduated from Hollywood High School,[4] where she was a sorority sister of future actress Linda Evans.[5]
Stage
Wells began acting with a role in a play at a little theater in Burbank, California, when she was 12 years old.[6]
Described as a light soprano, Wells took opera lessons in the 1960s[3]: 199 and expanded her repertoire to musical theater, performing in "musical productions of The Sound of Music, Call Me Madam with Ethel Merman ... Wildcat with Martha Raye, and State Fair with Roger Smith."[3]: 200
Television and film work
Wells was selective with regard to working in television. She said: "There are certain things I don't want to do. I won't do a television series unless it's a real good one. You put too much into it for what you get out. It's hard to find a series that's good for a girl."[7]
Wells is partnered with Bemer Group, a manufacturer of devices that boost blood circulation.[18][19]
Personal life
Wells married Edward Laurence Doheny IV in June 1963.[3] Doheny was an "oil scion,"[20] the great grandson of Edward Laurence Doheny, the first man to successfully drill an oil well in the Los Angeles City Oil Field. Edward Laurence Doheny IV died of an overdose of sedatives, deemed to be suicide , on 14 Feb 1973 (aged 30), in Santa Monica, California. They had two sons.[3]: 200
In 1977, while she and Karabian were on an "around the world honeymoon",[3]: 203 a Japan Airlines flight on which they were traveling (Japan Airlines Flight 472) was hijacked by Japanese terrorists who asked for a ransom of $6 million and release of nine terrorists from jail. After being released, Wells described the hijacking as "a terrible experience."[21] She was pregnant at the time and later suffered a miscarriage, which her husband attributed to the trauma of the hijacking.[23]
References
^Claeson, Samuel (December 2024). "Carole Wells: An Interview". Classic Images. pp. 26–29.
^Scheuer, Steven H. (January 26, 1969). "TV Mailbag". The Bridgeport Post. Connecticut, Bridgeport. p. 57. Retrieved May 27, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
