Carol Arthur

Carol Arthur, born Carol Arata on August 4, 1935, in Hackensack, New Jersey, was an American actress whose career spanned Broadway, film, and television. She was raised in nearby East Rutherford, the daughter of Mildred, née Foehl, and Peter Arata, a police officer. Arthur attended East Rutherford High School, where she edited the school newspaper and performed in stage productions. She died on November 1, 2020, at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Los Angeles at the age of 85, having been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease eleven years before her death.

Arthur's Broadway career extended from 1960 to 1981 and included appearances in Once Upon a Mattress, I Can Get It for You Wholesale, High Spirits, Woman of the Year, and The Music Man. Her role in The Music Man came during the show's short-lived 1980 Broadway revival, in which she played Mrs. Paroo opposite Dick Van Dyke. She also appeared in The Music Master during her years on the Broadway stage.

On screen, Arthur became recognizable through supporting roles in four films directed by Mel Brooks. Among these was Blazing Saddles (1974), in which she played Harriett Johnson, an outspoken town schoolteacher. The following year she appeared in The Sunshine Boys (1975) as the daughter of George Burns's character. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Arthur served as the on-air spokeswoman for the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, portraying a character called Safety Sadie in television and radio public service announcements.

Her television work included guest appearances on The Dom DeLuise Show, Emergency!, Sanford and Son, Rhoda, Alice, Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories, St. Elsewhere, and 7th Heaven, with credits running from the mid-1970s through the mid-2000s.

Arthur met actor Dom DeLuise in 1964 while both were working in stage productions in Provincetown, Massachusetts. The two married in 1965 and had three sons together — Peter, Michael, and David DeLuise — all of whom became actors. She is survived by her three sons and several grandchildren.