Carol Shandrew: Supporting actress, scriptwriter, and…professor?

From The Sacramento Bee,
Aug. 6, 1935

Carol Shandrew is one of the few actresses who had the briefest of acting careers in Hollywood, but what is really notable is the fact that her two known acting credits are confined to Tom Tyler westerns: “Ridin’ Thru” (1934), and “Tracy Rides” (1935). Carol was mentioned briefly in the June 28, 2018 article “Ridin' Thru classic Tom Tyler B-western” for her somewhat distinct and unusual credit as one of the three writers for this story, the other two being Rose Gordon and Carl Krusada. There has been some debate as to whether she actually contributed to the story, or if her name only appeared as a credit due to some other reason, such as a production studio quota.

Information about her is scant, but what is known about her is that Carol Bell Shandrew was born in Arbon, Idaho on October 11, 1912 to Henry E. and May L. Shandrew, one of twelve children in a Latter-Day Saint family. At some point, her family moved from Idaho to Logan, Utah. Carol married at the age of seventeen to Alfred E. Harrison in 1929, which was not an uncommon age to get married back then. She attended college, the University of Utah and initially entertained the idea of becoming a scriptwriter in Hollywood. Making that dream happen, however, would not take place, if at all, until the mid-1930’s when she managed to snag her first uncredited role as a ranch guest in “Ridin’ Thru”, a Reliable Pictures B-western directed by Harry S. Webb, which starred Tom Tyler. It remains unknown as to how she managed to get this role, although her pretty blonde looks and tall height certainly may have helped. Being new to Hollywood, “Ridin’ Thru”  is also where viewers of the film will see her name credited under Story, followed by Rose Gordon credited for Continuity, and Cark Krusada credited for Dialogue. Carol gets some more screen time in “Tracy Rides” (1935), another Reliable Pictures B-western starring Tom, where she plays Judy Green, daughter of a sheepherder. Curiously enough, this is where Carol Shandrew’s film career seems to end…or does it?

By 1934 her marriage to Alfred ended in divorce. A wedding notice to Cyrus C. Pinneo in The Sacramento Union dated August 22, 1935 states that Carol was previously employed at RKO although it does not state what her role was. RKO was formed from the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chain and Film Booking Offices of America, the studio to which Tom Tyler was under contract with from 1925 to 1929. Making a second attempt for a successful marriage, however, only ended up in a second divorce. Still wanting to make a marriage work, Carol wedded Sidney John Parr in June 1938.

"Ridin' Thru" 1934

According to a news blurb in The Sacramento Union dated May 1, 1941, Carol is mentioned as being a budding scriptwriter and radio star, although information on the latter has been difficult to trace. By 1945, Carol divorced Sidney, then married one last time to Ira Schoolman. Soon after they married, Ira joined the Army. Returning home from military service, Carol and Ira ran a jewelry sales and repair business starting in Los Angeles, S & W Repair Services. Carol only had one daughter by Ira named Kathryn, with no other children from her previous marriages. For some reason, Carol divorced Ira in 1953. Finally figuring out what she wanted to do with her life – and having a natural talent for academics, especially science, she enrolled at University of Redlands in Redlands, California in the early 1950’s, and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Science. The study of Physical Science includes: Astronomy, Inorganic Chemistry, Physics, and Earth Sciences. Yet at the same time, Carol still had some remaining interest in the world of acting, for she took part in the play "Two Blind Mice", written by Samuel Spewack, while she was at Redlands working on her degree. Deciding to further her education in graduate school, she continued studying in the same field for her Master’s degree at Sacramento State College, or the modern-day California State University, Sacramento. During the last few years of her life, Carol was an assistant instructor in Physical Science at this university, possibly making plans to continue obtaining a PhD in the subject.

Carol Schoolman suddenly fell ill on July 17, 1957 when she died at the age of 44 died in Sacramento, California, the day before she was getting ready to officially graduate and accept her Master’s degree on the stage, according to her obituary in The Sacramento Bee dated July 19, 1957. It is worth keeping in mind that back in the 1950’s, it was a rarity for a woman to attend graduate school and earn a degree in the field of science.

Had Carol remained healthy, there is the strong possibility she would have gone on to get her PhD in Physical Science and be a full-time Professor. Nowadays when we hear the word actress and a PhD in science, we often think of Mayim Bialik, who earned her PhD in Neuroscience from the University of California, Los Angeles. In a world of educated Hollywood actors and actresses who usually major in Communications or Theatre, Carol Shandrew was a woman well ahead of her time, with her ambitions and achievements, even though she had one of the briefest careers in Hollywood as an actress.