This is more of a 40 s story but nevertheless it feature a beautiful young actress getting married here in England and is well worth including I think.
Carole and Tommy Wallace’s Love Story
On January 5, 1943 Carole married Captain Thomas Wallace in London, England. He was a twenty-five year old Air Force pilot from Pasadena. Tommy had been part of the English Royal Air Force’s American “Eagle Squadron”. She met him on November 13, 1942 when she was entertaining soldiers in England. Carole said “Something hit me right in the heart. I only looked at him for a minute, but I saw his wonderful dimples, his tremendously expressive eyes, his curly hair.” He proposed on their first date but she waited several weeks before agreeing to marry him. Tommy couldn’t get an engagement ring so he gave her his signet ring. She had wanted to get married on January 1, her 24th birthday, but it was against British law. The wedding was almost canceled when she suffered an appendicitis attack in December 1942. She recovered in time for the ceremony and the doctor who removed her appendix gave her away. While getting ready at the Savoy hotel Carole said she was “nervous”. This was her third marriage and Kay Francis tried to convince her to cancel the wedding. Carole wore a cream colored satin dress designed by Hartnell, a strand of pearls, and orange blossoms in her hair. Her bouquet was made of white carnations and orchids. The ceremony took place at 2:00 PM at the Church of Our Lady Of Assumption on Warrick Street. Tommy was a Presbyterian but he agreed to have a Catholic ceremony. He told reporters “I am probably the luckiest man in the world”. Tommy’s friend Gus Daymond was his best man and Mitzi Mayfair was the maid of honor. Mitzi had collected ration coupons so Carole could get her dress and shoes.
The ceremony was performed by Father Waterkeyn and Father Harris. Hundreds of fans and photographers waited outside the church to see the bride and groom. Carole said “I want to have a wonderful marriage and children whom I may love and make a fuss over long after the movies are gone.” She wrote about their romance in her book Four Jills In A Jeep and the wedding was recreated in the 1944 film. The large wedding cake was actually made of cardboard with a small white cake inside. They had no honeymoon because Carole went to North Africa three days after the wedding to perform for the troops. Tommy was stationed overseas during most of their marriage so they spent very little time together. She wrote to him every day they were apart and kept six photos of him in her bedroom. They finally took a honeymoon trip to New York City in September 1943. Tommy hated her Hollywood lifestyle and wanted her to give up her career to become a housewife. Carole was also very disappointed that they didn’t have children. When their marriage started to fall apart she attempted suicide. The couple separated in October 1944 and were divorced the following year. Carole always considered Tommy the great love of her life. In an interview she said “No woman ever loved a man more than I loved Tommy Wallace. And Tommy loved me, too. All my life, above all the rest, I want to remember that.” Tommy married his second wife Joanne in 1946. They moved to England and had two sons. He served in the Air Force during the Korean war and later worked for Goodyear. Tragically in 1968 Tommy was killed in an accidental shooting.* We want to thank Tommy’s family for giving us information about his life after Carole *
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