* Carole was a very talented photographer. She liked to take pictures of her friends and pets.
There was a dark room in her house where she could develop her own pictures.
* She knew how to fly a plane. Carole started taking flying lessons with her second husband Willis Hunt
and got her pilots license in 1941. During World War 2 she flew for the Civilian Air Patrol.
* Carole liked to wear a lot of jewelry especially rings and pins. She always wore
a gold cross necklace. Her friend Diana Lewis had given her the cross in 1938.
* One of her hobbies was decorating. Carole decorated many of her homes with an Asian theme. She even made her own drapes and lampshades.
* She once told a reporter that she always slept in the nude when she was alone. Carole said that if
someone was with her she slept in a black nightgown. She also liked to swim in her pool naked!
* Carole loved holidays! She always had a party on New Year's Day (her birthday), Mother's Day, and the Fourth of July.
Getting hit in Road Show
* During the filming of Road Show Carole suffered a concussion when a vase hit her on
her head. The vase was supposed to be a prop but a real vase was used by mistake.
* Carole was supposed to star in the 1941 drama Blood & Sand but she was replaced by Rita Hayworth. Fox claimed that Carole had refused to dye
her hair red. However the real reason she lost the part was because she had ended her sexual relationship with Fox president Darryl Zanuck.
* Sometimes she would wear all of her wedding rings at once. Carole told people it was a reminder to never marry again
* Her first husband, Irving Wheeler, changed his name to Jack Roberts and became an actor.
He and Carole both appeared as extras in the 1937 movie The King And The Chorus Girl.
* She was going to star in the 1948 movie Amazing Mr. X but she died shortly before filming began. Lynn Bari was given Carole's part in the movie.
Playing baseball
* Carole was very athletic. She played tennis, badminton, and golf. In high school she was a pitcher on the baseball team.
* She could play the piano. Carole had a piano in her living room so she could practice.
In 1941 she started taking lessons with renowned conductor Jacques Rachmilovich.
* Carole was a big fan of classical music and had a large collection of classical record albums. Her favorite composers were Debussy and Sibelius.
* On April 24, 1942 she legally changed her name from Frances Ridste to Carole Landis. She had picked the name
out of a phone book five years earlier. Her mother, Clara Ridste, started calling herself "Clara Landis".
* She was a guest on more than seventy radio shows during her career. Carole's first
radio appearance was on the Warner Brothers Academy Theater in April 1938.
With Peggy McKenna
* In 1936 Carole received her first fan letter from a woman in Illinois named Peggy McKenna. Carole started writing to her and
Peggy became President of Carole's first fan club. Peggy moved to Hollywood in 1941 and Carole hired her as her stand-in.
* Carole was a feminist at an early age. When she was a teenager she tried to form an all
female football team at school but the principal stopped her because it was unladylike.
* She was never nominated for an Oscar. Carole was a presenter at the 1941 and 1944 Academy Awards
ceremonies. She caused a commotion at the 1941 ceremony when her slip fell out of her dress.
* Carole was born under the astrological sign of Capricorn. She studied astrology and she often went to psychics for advice.
A psychic once warned her that she "must beware of emotional entanglements with men you can't entirely possess".
* She enjoyed eating and hated to diet. Her favorite foods were eggs, donuts, and corn on the cob.
Carole's last meal on July 4, 1948 was roast chicken, a tossed salad, and lemon chiffon pie.
Eating a donut
* Carole was cast in the 1944 musical Doll Face but she quit right before filming began. Vivian Blaine replaced her in the movie.
* She hated wearing nail polish. Carole thought that nail polish looked vulgar and
that men did not like it. She would only put it on her nails for photo shoots.
* In 1945 Carole was named the best dressed stage star by the Fashion Academy of New York. She had a closet
full of expensive dresses, hats, and fur coats. Many of her clothes were designed by her close friend Don Loper.
* She filmed several scenes for the 1944 drama Wilson. Carole's entire part was cut out of the movie before it was released.
* Only one copy of Carole's 1941 musical Cadet Girl still exists. The movie is kept at the UCLA archives and can be seen with an appointment.
A scene from Cadet Girl
* In 1944 Carole appeared in ads for Chesterfield cigarettes. During her career she was also
featured in ads for Lipton tea, Schaefer beer, Jergens lotion, Sinclair oil, and Nescafe coffee.
* Carole wanted to become a serious dramatic actress. Her favorite movie was Turnabout. She said it was the only role that challenged her.
* When Carole died she only had $412.12 in her bank account. In March 1949 many of her personal possessions were sold
at an auction. Her sister, Dorothy, bought most of the items because she wanted to keep Carole's things in the family.
* The character of Jennifer North in Jacqueline Susann's 1966 novel Valley Of The Dolls was based on Carole. Jacqueline
and Carole had become lovers in 1945 when they worked together in the Broadway musical A Lady Says Yes.
* Carole was smart and she loved to read. She was a fan of Ernest Hemingway, Noel Coward,
and W. Somerset Maugham. In 1941 Ernest Hemingway gave her a set of autographed books.
