CARPENTER AIN’T
Gangly MGM and Broadway star Carleton Carpenter has died aged 95. He was best known for a string of cheery song-and-dance roles in the late 40s and early 50s, particularly those in tandem with Debbie Reynolds such as Two Weeks with Love. Their duet “Aba Daba Honeymoon”, a peppy novelty ditty about an interspecies primate marriage for which Carpenter even climbs around in simian fashion, ended up the film’s most popular moment. It was released as a single, peaking at #3 on the US Billboard charts way back in 1951. This leaves just six living current DDP picks who appeared on the US Billboard charts before the UK Singles Chart even existed – Louise Tobin, Ed Ames, Ray Anthony, April Stevens, Tony Bennett, and Steve Lawrence.
Following his Truman-administration zenith, Carpenter continued acting before turning to writing mystery novels in the 70s and 80s, and also composed to the side. The bisexual Golden Age star seemed prime material for a Crumble unique, however his Blueberry outfit instead has to share a duet with newcomer Tragic, our Maurice! Don’t ask which one is the monkey and which is the chimp.
Carleton Carpenter
10 July 1926 – 31 January 2022, aged 95
2 TEAMS (💀💀💀💀💀 5 POINTS)