CAROL ROY (OBITUARY)
Carol Roy (November 27, 1929 – May 2, 2009) Carol Roy, one of the world’s most distinguished nightclub entertainers and wife and partner of Marvyn Roy, also known as “Mr. Electric,” has died in La Quinta, California at the age of 79 after a lengthy illness. Born Carol Doris Williams in Wichita, Kansas on November 27, 1929 to Kenneth and Lavina Williams, Carol gained fame at a tender age, presenting a trick rope act on horseback in state fairs and rodeos beginning at age five. Later, trading her horse for ice skates, she became known as the Park Avenue Cowgirl, performing her rope specialty in a series of ice revues for producers Merriel Abbott, George Arnold and others, including “Fantasy on Ice.” It was while appearing at the Westward Ho Hotel in Phoenix that she first met young magician Marvyn Roy, whose magical specialty was then known as “Artistry in Lights.” After marrying Marvyn on Labor Day, 1956, the pair would gain
world fame as “Mr. Electric and Carol,” performing illusions such as “The Girl in the Lightbulb,” the lighting of a 5,000 watt lighthouse bulb and the finale production of forty illuminated “Bulbs from the Mouth.”
The “Mr. Electric” act allowed Carol and Marvyn to travel the world and become international stars, beginning at the Lido in Paris, to other top nightspots in Europe, the Middle East, and Scandanavia before starring in the first Lido Revue show at the Stardust Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. During this time, Carol’s impact on the team became more and more evident, as she worked to change the act’s choreography, music, and most importantly, Marvyn’s bowing technique. The pair appeared four times in one season on the Ed Sullivan Show on CBS-TV, and toured Russia with Sullivan and a hand-picked performing troupe in 1959.
In the United States, Marvyn and Carol became Las Vegas regulars, appearing in Donn Arden’s Hallelujah, Hollywood! and as the opening act for Dean Martin at the MGM Grand, in the Folies Bergere revue at the Tropicana, and for many years on tour across the U.S. and Canada as the opening act for Liberace, with both the “Mr. Electric” act and as “The Diamond Illusionist.”
No matter what the name of the act, the magical team of Carol and Marvyn Roy was in constant demand for more than fifty years, around the world, on cruise ships on the high seas, and at magical gatherings across the globe, finally slowing their pace and semi-retiring to the southern California desert community of La Quinta in 1996.There they appeared in several seasons of Riff Markowitz’ production of The Palm Springs Follies and continued to appear and receive accolades from various magical associations worldwide, including the Dragon Award and the Masters Fellowship and Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Academy of Magical Arts (the Magic Castle) in Hollywood, the non-profit magical organization founded by Marvyn’s boyhood friends Bill and Milt Larsen.
“Specialty acts come and go,” said Milt Larsen, “but Marvyn and Carol lived up to the billing, ‘In all the world there is only one Mr. Electric.’ For fifty years, Carol Roy supplied the energy that made Mr. Electric light up the stage.” Robert Lamoureux, president of the Magic Castle, said, “Carol Roy was one of the world’s foremost magical assistants, and with Marvyn made a legendary mark on show business. She was a brilliant lady and a truly class act.” No matter how brightly Marvyn Roy may have shown on stage, his radiance was challenged by the enthusiasm and smile of his brilliant partner and co-star Carol.
Together they rode the wind and touched the stars.
Carol is survived by her husband of 52 years, Marvyn; her son John Lange and his wife Julie and granddaughters Mallory and Lindsay, closest friend Dale Hindman and thousands of friends and loving colleagues at the Magic Castle and around the world.
Funeral services are private. A memorial service is planned for June at the Magic Castle. In lieu of flowers,donations may be made to the National Osteoporosis Foundation,1232 22nd Street N.W., Washington, D.C. 20037-1292, and the Magic Childrens’ Foundation, 7252 Yolanda Street, Reseda, CA 91335.
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