Doris Singleton
| Doris Singleton | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Dorthea Singleton September 28, 1919 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | June 26, 2012 (aged 92) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress, vocalist |
| Years active | 1953–1986 |
| Spouse(s) | Charles Isaacs (m.1941–2002; his death) |
Doris Singleton (born Dorthea Singleton; September 28, 1919 – June 26, 2012) was an American actress, perhaps best remembered as Lucy Ricardo's nemesis/frenemy, the snobbish Carolyn Appleby, in I Love Lucy.
Singleton, born in New York City, trained as a ballerina, dancing for three seasons in the mid-1930s with the newly formed "Ballet Theatre", later to become the American Ballet Theatre. She began her career in show business as a vocalist in the late 1930s with Art Jarrett's orchestra. Her distinctive low, lyrical voice made her a favorite in the radio industry. Doris Singleton worked in New York during World War II both as a guest star and in regular roles on numerous hit radio shows, including The Whistler and The Alan Young Show.
During a guest appearance on the radio show My Favorite Husband in 1948 she met Lucille Ball and began their long professional relationship. She had a recurring role in I Love Lucy playing Carolyn Appleby in ten episodes between 1953 and 1957. (The character was named "Lillian Appleby" in her first appearance but "Carolyn Appleby" thereafter.) In 1953, she made her television debut as Gloria Harper in the episode "Jungle Devil" on the series, The Adventures of Superman. Coincidentally, Singleton's final appearance on I Love Lucy was in an episode with Superman George Reeves ("Lucy and Superman" episode #166). In 1956 and 1957, she appeared twice in The People's Choice.
In 1966, Singleton was teamed again with Ball on The Lucy Show in the episode, "Lucy and Art Linkletter", in which she plays Ruth Cosgrove, an actress whom Linkletter hires to help Lucy with a stunt on his television series. In an interview in The Lucy Book by Geoffrey Mark Fidelman (Renaissance Books, p. 233), Singleton revealed that she had originally been hired to be a regular on Ball's third series, Here's Lucy, in 1968. Ball would have played a dumb secretary and Singleton the more intelligent one, but the premise was dropped when Ball decided to cast her own children in the show. She did, however, appear in the series premiere episode, "Mod, Mod Lucy". On March 4, 1974, she appeared in episode 22 of season 6 entitled "Lucy Carter Meets Lucille Ball".
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