"He's my definition of an ideal husband. In Horace I've found a man instead of a boy " ~ Carole
On December 8, 1945 Carole married William "Horace" Schmidlapp, her fourth husband. Horace was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1916. He came from a wealthy family and became a Broadway producer. Carole's close friend Jacqueline Susann introduced them in the Spring of 1945. They were married in New York City and honeymooned in Cuba. She called her new husband "Poppie" and took time off from her career while she lived with him in New York. There were rumors that he was going to produce a movie for her but it never happened. In the Fall of 1946 her film contract at 20th Century Fox was cancelled and she was hospitalized for an "acute abdominal condition". Carole became very depressed and planned to commit suicide by driving her car off a cliff. She said she changed her mind after seeing a kitten in the road. Horace and Carole bought a thirteen room Pacific Palisades mansion in the Spring of 1947. They both wanted to have a baby so they built a nursery in their new home.
Carole and Horace Schmidlapp
When she was unable to get pregnant they visited several orphanages and considered adopting a child. Carole said "I have now what I've always wanted in a marriage. I have the feeling of a deep security which will insure a permanent future with children of our own. I have a home now, not merely a house. My husband has a solid sense of values and brings out the best in me. We're already planning a home in the East with at least three children. When this happens, I'll commute to Hollywood for my picture assignments." Unfortunately by the Summer of 1947 the marriage was in trouble and Carole began having an affair with actor Rex Harrison. She spent several months working in England while Horace remained in New York. In March of 1948 she filed for divorce. Just four months later Carole committed suicide. After her death Horace fought with her family over the estate. He later dated Lana Turner and Sheree North. Horace married Patricia Kennedy in 1958 and moved to Florida. He died in 1987 at the age of seventy-one.
