25 Facts About Art Carney

1.

Arthur William Matthew Carney was an American actor and comedian.

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2.

Art Carney, the youngest of six sons, was born in Mount Vernon, New York, the son of Helen and Edward Michael Art Carney, a newspaperman and publicist.

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3.

Art Carney was drafted into the United States Army in 1943 as an infantryman and machine gun crewman during World War II.

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4.

Art Carney can be seen impersonating Roosevelt in a 1937 promotional film for Stewart-Warner refrigerators that is preserved by the Library of Congress.

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5.

Art Carney impersonated Roosevelt on The March of Time and Dwight D Eisenhower on Living 1948.

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6.

Art Carney was a supporting player on Casey, Crime Photographer and Gang Busters.

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7.

Art Carney, established in New York as a reliable actor, played Bratten's mild-mannered victim, Clem Finch.

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8.

Gleason and Art Carney developed a good working chemistry, and Gleason recruited Art Carney to appear in other sketches, including the domestic-comedy skits featuring The Honeymooners.

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9.

Art Carney gained lifelong fame for his portrayal of sewer worker Ed Norton, opposite Jackie Gleason's bus driver, Ralph Kramden.

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10.

Between his stints with Gleason, Art Carney worked steadily as a character actor and occasionally in musical-variety.

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11.

Art Carney had his own NBC television variety show from 1959 to 1960.

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12.

In 1958, he starred in an ABC children's television special Art Carney Meets Peter and the Wolf, which featured the Bil Baird Marionettes.

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13.

Art Carney was a guest star on The Carol Burnett Show in January 1971.

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14.

Art Carney starred as Police Chief Paul Lanigan in the 1976 television film Lanigan's Rabbi, and in the short-lived series of the same name that aired in 1977 as part of the NBC Sunday Mystery Movie lineup.

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15.

In 1978, Art Carney appeared in Star Wars Holiday Special, a television film that was linked to the Star Wars film series.

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16.

Two of his hits were "The Song of the Sewer", sung in character as Norton, and "'Twas the Night Before Christmas", a spoken-word record in which Art Carney, accompanied only by a jazz drummer, recited the famous Yuletide poem in syncopation.

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17.

Some of Art Carney's recordings were comedy-novelty songs, but most were silly songs intended especially for children.

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18.

Art Carney narrated a version of The Wizard of Oz for Golden Records, with Mitch Miller and his chorus performing four of the songs from the 1939 film version.

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19.

Art Carney won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his 1974 performance as Harry Coombes, an elderly man going on the road with his pet cat, in Harry and Tonto.

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20.

Art Carney won a Golden Globe award for his performance in Harry and Tonto.

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21.

Art Carney made his Broadway debut in 1957 as the lead in The Rope Dancers with Siobhan McKenna, a drama by Morton Wishengrad.

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22.

In 1966, Art Carney married production assistant Barbara Isaac; they divorced in 1977.

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23.

Art Carney's grandson is State Representative Devin Carney and his great-nephew is musician and actor Reeve Carney.

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24.

Art Carney finally found success with Antabuse and quit drinking during the filming of Harry and Tonto.

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25.

Art Carney is interred at Riverside Cemetery in Old Saybrook, Connecticut.

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