Thelma Carpenter

Thelma Carpenter (January 15, 1922 – May 14, 1997) was an American jazz singer, actress, and Broadway performer born in Brooklyn, New York, the only child of Fred and Mary Carpenter. She attended Girls' Commercial High School, where actress Susan Hayward was enrolled a few years ahead of her. Carpenter's Broadway career spanned from 1945 to 1977, encompassing productions including Memphis Bound, Inside U.S.A., the 1952 revival of Shuffle Along, Ankles Aweigh, Hello, Dolly!, and Pippin.

Carpenter demonstrated performing ability from an early age, hosting her own radio program on WNYC in New York as a child and winning an amateur night competition at the Apollo Theatre in 1938. She performed at clubs along 52nd Street, including Kelly's Stables and the Famous Door, where she was discovered by producer John Hammond. Her professional career as a band vocalist began in 1939 with Teddy Wilson's orchestra, for which she recorded "Love Grows on the White Oak Tree" and "This Is the Moment" on Brunswick Records. In 1940 she joined Coleman Hawkins' orchestra and recorded "He's Funny That Way" for RCA Bluebird Records. She succeeded Helen Humes as Count Basie's vocalist in 1943, remaining with the band for two years and recording the Columbia Records hit "I Didn't Know About You," along with popular sides that included "Do Nothing till You Hear from Me," "More Than You Know," "I Dream of You," "Tess's Torch Song," and "My Ideal."

For the 1945–46 season, Carpenter replaced Dinah Shore as the vocalist on Eddie Cantor's radio program, becoming the first Black artist to serve as a permanent member of an all-white show without playing a character. As a solo recording artist she worked with Majestic Records, Musicraft Records, Columbia Records, RCA Victor Records, and Coral Records. In 1961 she reached the Billboard Top 60 with "Yes, I'm Lonesome Tonight," an answer record to Elvis Presley's hit, released on Coral Records. She also recorded a critically acclaimed album titled Thinking of You Tonight. A 26-track compilation, Seems Like Old Times, was issued by Sepia Records in 2006, and an album with Ellis Larkins and Alec Wilder titled Souvenir is available on Audiophile Records. In May 2024, Jasmine Records released a compilation of her Eddie Cantor radio appearances from 1945–46 alongside live performances with Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Teddy Wilson, Eddie Condon, and Garland Wilson.

Throughout her career Carpenter was a fixture at prominent nightclubs, performing at Le Ruban Bleu, Spivy's Roof, the Bon Soir, the St. Regis Maisonette, and Michael's Pub in New York, as well as Chez Bricktop in Paris and Rome. She headlined major theaters including the Capitol Theatre, Loew's State Theatre, the Strand, and the Palace Theatre on Broadway, and appeared with Duke Ellington in concerts and on television. Her television work began in the 1940s and included Cavalcade of Stars with Jackie Gleason, Ed Sullivan's Toast of the Town, the Eddie Condon Floor Show, and Kreisler Bandstand with Duke Ellington. She appeared in three episodes of Cavalcade of Stars between 1949 and 1952 alongside Jackie Gleason, Jack Carter, and Victor Borge, and played the recurring role of Mabel Bates across 12 episodes of the sitcom Barefoot in the Park in 1970, a project she had been offered after a producer from Paramount saw her performing in Hello, Dolly! She appeared on The Love Boat in 1981 and was prominently featured on the 1993 NBC special Apollo Theater Hall of Fame, hosted by Bill Cosby and featuring Diana Ross and Eric Clapton — nearly 60 years after she had first won amateur night at the same venue. Her final television appearance came in 1996 on an episode of Cosby.

On Broadway, Carpenter appeared alongside Bill Robinson in Memphis Bound and with Beatrice Lillie in Inside U.S.A. She performed in the 1952 revival of Shuffle Along with Avon Long and in Ankles Aweigh with Betty and Jane Kean. In Hello, Dolly! she replaced Pearl Bailey more than 100 times and became the fully billed matinee star, with her name featured in all of the production's advertisements. She created the role of Irene Paige in Bubbling Brown Sugar, performing in the Philadelphia and Washington engagements before departing prior to the Broadway opening, and was featured in the original workshop production of Taking My Turn. She toured nationally as Berthe in Bob Fosse's production of Pippin during the same period she filmed her production number "He's the Wizard" for Sidney Lumet's film version of The Wiz, in which she played Miss One, the Good Witch of the North. Fosse and Lumet coordinated their schedules to allow her to complete both projects simultaneously.

Carpenter's film credits include an uncredited appearance in Crazy House in 1943, Call Her Mom in 1972, The Devil's Daughter in 1973, The Wiz in 1978, The Cotton Club in 1984, and New York Stories in 1989, though her scenes in that film were cut prior to release. She died of cardiac arrest in New York on May 14, 1997, and was cremated, leaving no immediate survivors.