Carter was born in
Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, New York, to
Russian Jewish immigrants Anna ( Borofsky) and Harry Chakrin. His parents owned a candy store there where he began to dance on tables at the age of 3. Carter served in the
United States Army Air Forces during
World War II. He hosted an early television variety program called
Cavalcade of Stars on the
DuMont Network. He was lured to NBC to host his own program titled
The Jack Carter Show. Carter recommended
Jackie Gleason take his place as host of
Cavalcade of Stars, though DuMont did not hire Gleason until the network's choice,
Jerry Lester, also jumped to NBC.
The Jack Carter Show appeared under the banner of the
Saturday Night Revue, NBC's -hour Saturday night programming slot. Carter hosted his show for one hour each week followed by the 90-minute
Your Show of Shows starring
Sid Caesar,
Imogene Coca,
Carl Reiner, and
Howard Morris. Carter remained friends with Caesar his entire life and delivered the eulogy at his funeral. His only major
Broadway appearance was opposite
Sammy Davis Jr. in the 1956 musical
Mr. Wonderful. He earlier replaced
Phil Silvers in the Broadway show
Top Banana. He was a frequent guest on
The Ed Sullivan Show during the 1960s and early 1970s, and was known for his impression of
Ed Sullivan. He appeared as himself (along with his then-wife
Paula Stewart) in the comedy series
The Joey Bishop Show. In the late 1960s, he was the host of a game-show pilot called
Second Guessers. The pilot did not sell. He was also a frequent panelist on the television game show
Match Game during the 1973–1974 season and again during the early 1980s. In 1975, he appeared as a guest star on the quiz show
$10,000 Pyramid with contestant Liz Hogan Schultz, and appeared as the ill-fated mayor in the cult horror film
Alligator in 1980. Starting in the 1970s, Carter was on more than ten
Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts for some popular television stars and sports personalities. In 1981, Carter starred as
Fagin in the stage performance of
Oliver! at the Birmingham Theater in
Birmingham, Michigan alongside
Shani Wallis as Nancy. He made appearances on many television series, including
Diagnosis: Unknown,
The Dick Van Dyke Show,
I Dream of Jeannie,
Combat!,
The Love Boat,
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,
The Rockford Files,
Emergency!,
Mannix,
Cannon,
The Wild Wild West,
Tales of Tomorrow,
The Kallikaks,
Password,
$weepstake$,
The Ren & Stimpy Show,
7th Heaven,
Diagnosis Murder,
The Road West,
Sanford and Son,
Tattletales,
Monk,
Rules of Engagement,
Living Single,
iCarly,
Desperate Housewives, and
Shameless and voice work on
King of the Hill. He was a guest on
Norm Macdonald's video podcast,
Norm Macdonald Live, in 2014. In 1994, Carter was offered the role of Wilbur Cobb in
The Ren & Stimpy Show, a character intended to be named Raymond Spum, but was renamed after
John Kricfalusi was fired. Showrunner
Bob Camp felt sorry for Carter's lack of work, so he shoehorned the character in episodes at every opportunity he could, to the detriment of the show and criticism by crew members such as
William Wray. ==Death==