CAROLE LOMBARD: It Started With An “E”

For a long time us Carole fans have been led to believe that “Carole Lombard” was initially “Carol Lombard” until a misspelling or numerologist added an “e.” Holes started to appear from the start and with Lombard archivists such as Vincent Paterno, who pulled up census data and credits from Lombard’s Sennett films, such theories have been debunked. And now, here’s more to add to the matter:

On Feb.4, 1925 Lombard made her debut* in the Los Angeles Times which wrote, “Another lovely society girl has succumbled to the lure of the movies. She is Jane Peters, daughter of Miss Elizabeth Peters, society leader, living at North Wilton Place. Incidentally Miss Peters has taken the name of Carole Lombard.” (Society Girl Goes In Silent Drama, Los Angeles Times, February 4, 1925, A9)

From then until the fall of 1927, she was referred to in every article as “Carole Lombard,” “Carole Jane Peters,” and sometimes “Jane Peters” as well.

When she signed a contract with Mack Sennett in September 1927, that’s when things started to get confusing. On September 18, 1927 “Carol” first appeared and though some articles continued to refer to her as Carole, “Carol” quickly became the norm after that. (Occasionally an “e” would crop up in articles over the next few years.) Silly Sennett also had it spelled as “Carole” and “Carolle” a couple of times in the credits and promo ads.

It should also be noted that in some of the letters Lombard wrote during the time, for instance to Cecil de Mille after she was fired from Dynamite, she signed her name as “Carole Lombard.”

It wasn’t until September 4, 1930 that the “E” made an official comeback. When announcing Lombard’s Paramount Contract, the Los Angeles Times added, “This may have something to do with the new contract and it may not, but Miss Lombard has changed the spelling of her first name. Instead of Carol, it is now Carole. There has been as yet no official ruling on its pronunciation.” (Carole Lombard Wins Contract, Los Angeles Times, September 4, 1930)

In January 1931 numerology was thrown in by Photoplay which commented, “It used to be plain Carol, but after a visit to a numerologist she added a vowel.” (“News!-Views!-Gossip!-of Stars and Studios,” Photoplay, January 1931, p.43)

The bizarre part is that catalogs such as the Internet Movie Database have her credited as “Carol Lombard” during her tenure at Fox. This is not consistent though with articles, reviews, and advertisements featuring “Carole Lombard” in films such as Marriage and Transit and Hearts and Spurs. What gives?

As they say, More Will Be Revealed. . .

*Carole Lombard appeared in the society pages of the Los Angeles Times in 1924 as “Jane Peters”