Warner Brothers & Busby Berkeley (1937 - 1938)

"I believe in dreams. Dreams and a little of the stuff it takes to back them up." ~ Carole in 1937

In the spring of 1937 eighteen year old Carole auditioned for director Busby Berkeley. He was impressed with her dancing and with her beautiful figure. Busby gave her a bit part in his musical Varsity Show. She was only supposed to be in a few scenes but when a dancer quit Busby put Carole in the big dance finale. Off screen she and Busby started a highly publicized romance. He was twenty-three years older than her and had been married several times. With Busby's help she was given a one year contract at Warner Brothers for $50 a week. Since she was still considered a minor she had to go to court to get the contract approved. Carole was given bit parts in more than a dozen films including Hollywood Hotel, Gold Diggers In Paris, Boy Meets Girl, and Blondes At Work The roles were forgettable but she was beginning to make a name for herself in Hollywood. She posed for hundreds of publicity photos and became known for her sexy leg art.

Posing for leg art in 1937


Carole in July of 1937

Carole said "It was the leg art that did the trick. Naughty leg art, if you happen to look at it in that light. You see when the boys needed someone to pose in a skin-tight white bathing suit, go sleigh riding in shorts, or climb a ladder in a skirt they would yell 'Get Landis!' and Landis was willin'. That made everybody happy except, maybe, the goody-goods and the bluenoses and I suspect they took a second peek now and then.". In April of 1938 she made her radio debut in the Warner Brothers Academy show "Special Agent". During this time she became friends with Diana Lewis and Pat O'Brien who she worked with on Women Are Like That. Her boyfriend Busby convinced her to change her blonde hair back to it's original brunette shade. Their romance created a lot of gossip at the studio with people claiming she had used the "casting couch" to get her contract.

Carole with Busby Berkeley

She and Busby broke up several times mainly because his mother did not like Carole. When they were broken up she went out on several dates with Wayne Morris, her costar in Men Are Such Fools. Busby and Carole became engaged in early 1938. A few months later Irving Wheeler, her estranged husband, sued Busby for alienation of affection. The story made headlines all over the country and she was featured on the cover of the New York Daily News. Although Irving lost the case the bad publicity damaged her reputation. When her contract with Warner Brothers expired they did not renew it. Carole's final job at the studio was being an extra in the drama Girls On Probation. By the summer of 1938 her relationship with Busby was over. She said "I think Busby is a very grand person and I have the highest regard for him. I do hope someday he'll meet the right person to bring him happiness as a life companion. I wasn't the right person.".

With Ronald Reagan                                                         With Rosemary Lane on the set of Gold Diggers In Paris

Carole with brunette hair in 1938