Darleen Carr, TV’s Good Daughter by Tony Piazza
DARLEEN CARR played Mike Stone’s (KARL MALDEN) daughter on “The Streets of San Francisco.” I will come up front and say it now, I had a “crush” on Darleen, and I think Darleen knew it. She would on occasion tease me on the set and I am convinced that it was because she sensed my shyness. We were on location one day at the Presidio in San Francisco, and in-between shooting I joined her and Trudi Schoenfeld (a fellow stand-in, and wife of our make-up man, Don) on the lawn and we had a long discussion. We eventually got around to talking about “The Sound of Music” and her sister, CHARMAIN. Darleen said that her sister wasn’t really interested in show business and had retired after just one picture because she preferred the normal life. She also revealed in the conversation that she had dubbed portions of her sister’s musical numbers in that film. Their voices were very similar and Darleen was a trained singer, so I didn’t really find that surprising. Darleen was very sweet and very unaffected by the business. No wonder she ended up playing good daughters. She was HENRY FONDA’S daughter in the television series, “The Smith Family” before playing Jeannie Stone on “Streets.” After our show she worked on many other films including “Maverick” with JAMES GARNER, and did voice work for animation features, most notably, Walt Disney’s “The Jungle Book.” She had a serious accident some years back when she was kicked in the head by a horse. She was in a coma for some time, but pulled through. She is now married to actor JAMESON PARKER of “Simon & Simon” fame. I’ve met so many wonderful celebrities in my time, and most I must say were such pleasures knowing…with Darleen being at the top of my list!
Darleen Carr on The Streets of San Francisco.
Darleen in another episode of “Streets.”
As Henry Fonda’s Daughter.
Darleen’s Sister Charmain as Liesl in “The Sound of Music.”
————————————-
Tony Piazza (Courtesy of Charlotte Alexander)
Tony Piazza is author of the 1930s Hollywood murder mystery novel, “Anything Short of Murder,” which had its roots on the TCM fan website. His second novel, “The Curse of the Crimson Dragon” was published next in early 2012, and in November of 2013 his second Tom Logan Mystery, “A Murder Amongst Angels was released.” In July of 2015 his latest Logan mystery, “Murder Is Such Sweet Revenge” was made available for purchase, and has since been an instant bestseller. All are available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble websites. He was an actor/extra during the 1970s and worked with such legends as Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, and Karl Malden. His non-fiction e-book “Bullitt Points” is an in depth look at the making of “Bullitt” from a person who was there. Look for it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble websites, or at the link posted below. All profits go to the Boys Republic charity: www.bullittpoints.com.
Tony Piazza is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and SLO NightWriters.
NEW!
The novels that started it all. The first and second novel in the Tom Logan mystery series have become audio books- read by actor James Romick, and is available on Audible, Amazon, and I-tunes.
NEW!
The NEW Tom Logan mystery, “Murder is Such Sweet Revenge” is available in print, e-book, AND NOW audio book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble websites. For audio- Audible, Amazon, and I-tunes.
Also:
My earlier bestselling novels, “The Curse of the Crimson Dragon” and “Anything Short of Murder” now joins “A Murder Amongst Angels” and “Murder is Such Sweet Revenge” on Amazon’s Kindle at a new, low price of $2.99. Now you can have hours of adventure, thrills, mystery, and romance for the price of a cup of coffee- and just as stimulating! Look for it on Amazon. Print versions have also been reduced.
Also: The new Tom Logan mystery thriller, A Murder Amongst Angels .
Find them all on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and wherever fine books are sold. Also available for $2.99 on Kindle.
Hi
Like you I had a huge crush on Darleen Carr in the 70’s so I was very interested to read your article about her.
Now I have come to appreciate what a fine actress she really is. I enjoyed her roles in Streets of San Francisco & Bret Maverick especially.
I would love a signed photo of her, do you have a mailing address where I could write to her ?
I would be so grateful for any help you could give me in the respect.
Thanks
Trevor Bott
Hi Trevor,
I wish I could help you, but Darleen is a very private person and unlike some television and motion picture stars don’t have public websites for fans, or sells autographs. However, knowing Darleen she would be very pleased by your comments. I know that I am, for your reading and commenting on my blog.
Hi Tony
Thanks for your help anyway. I still haven’t given up hope of eventually acquiring a signed photo of Darleen !
In the meantime, I really appreciate your reply & comments.
Regards
Trevor
Thanks for the information about Darleen, I enjoyed all the episodes that Darleen did for the Streets… I loved the chemistry between her and Karl and Michael.
The Darleen you saw on the screen was the Darleen you saw in person- just a sweet, thoughtful person. She was a sweetheart. Thanks for reading and commenting Michael.
Dear Tony,
I loved Darleen Carr in “the chadwick Family” 1974 starring Fred MacMurray and Kathleen Maguire. I wish to locate a copy of this film. Apparently Universal threw the reels in the garbage. an alert student from ucla film school told his professor who immediately went to the dumpster with his station wagon and cleaned all films out of the dumpster this one included. They have the 35mm and 16 mm reels in their posession.Universal for their part(who own the rights to this film) will not give me permission to spend the 2500 dollars to send this wonderful film to a lab to take the imprint off of the reels. I saw a 13 minute trailer when i googled this but that is all and i dont remember where the trailer web site is. This is a family movie and i liked Darleens role as Joan chadwick and the other actors.I dont know why companies like universal do this. This movie had a great impact on me in 1974 and again in 1989 when i saw it broadcast on abc channel 7 new york on a saturday morning with my 1 yr old daughter at the time.
God bless you and your website
Thomas
Hi Thomas,
Extremely interesting about “The Chadwick Family”. This is one film- sadly to say- that I was not aware of. I was working long hours in the television industry during that time (70s)…6 days a week…minimum of 12 hours a day…and so wasn’t catching many shows during that time. I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment on Darleen. I enjoyed working with her- she was a sweetheart.
God bless you, Thomas.
Tony
I’ve had a major crush on Darleen Carr, ever since I saw her play Jobina Fair in a 1974 episode of “The Rookies”. I haven’t seen that episode since it first aired, when I was just 11 years old. But she left a deep impression on me, and I always looked for her in other roles. Thank you so much for your blog entry about Darleen. I’ve learned so much about her that I didn’t know before. I hope that she is happy and well. Thanks again!
Thank you, John. I appreciate you reading and commenting. As I stated in my article, Darleen was lovely girl…not only outwardly, but as a person as well.