"The Disney Characters" - Eddie Carroll AKA Jiminy Cricket
Page 1 of 1
"The Disney Characters"
Eddie Carroll AKA Jiminy Cricket
by
Scarlett Stahl
Eddie's
father handcrafted Eddie's first guitar, which Eddie taught himself how to play.
While in first grade, his teacher decided to have a little show with the
students performing for their parents after the PTA meeting. When she asked for
volunteers, Eddie offered to play his guitar and sing a song. This event created
the foundation for the rest of his life. At his school there was a large
blackboard on the wall with doors on either side of it, which led to the coat
room. The children were to wait in the coatroom and then come out in front of
the blackboard to perform. They heard the teacher tell the parents that
there would be a performance by the children. Naturally Eddie's parents knew
that he was going to perform as they had heard him practicing for weeks at home.
The show began and several children performed and then she said Eddie is going
to play his guitar and sing a song for you. All of a sudden he was frozen with
stage fright and could not move. He heard her introduce him a second and a third
time and he could hear little titters of laughter, while he stood there
paralyzed. He was in agony knowing his mother and father were out there, but he
couldn't move. Finally, with tears streaming down his face he began to play and
sing while hidden behind the wall in the coatroom. After his unseen performance,
it was followed by applause and a hug from understanding parents. That night he
vowed it would never happen again and from that day on, he made himself get into
every school play, variety show, every production, anything where there was a
chance to go on stage to overcome his stage fright. One day he realized the fear
was gone and that he loved performing. He seriously began to learn
everything he could about acting and in the tenth grade he began doing a lot of
theater productions and musicals with a fellow student, Robert Goulet..
Eddie
and Carol (also called Carolyn) have been married 44 years and have two
children. Their daughter Tina Monti is an actress and their son Leland has a
successfull practice as a Doctor of Kinesiology and
Chiropractic.
Discuss It
-- Posted January 28, 2008