Carroll & Co. Founder Dies
Richard Carroll, founder of Beverly Hills menswear store Carroll & Co., died March 15 at the age of 80.
Carroll died of a heart attack while attending a civic meeting at Beverly Hills High School.
The former Warner Bros. publicist founded Carroll & Co. in 1949 after he noticed a lack of fine menswear on the west side of Los Angeles. The store launched on Beverly Boulevard and moved to Rodeo Drive three years later, when the street was vacant except for a hardware store and gas station. His store eventually became known as an outfitter to many of Hollywood’s leading men, including Cary Grant, Clark Gable, Fred Astaire, Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, Jack Lemmon and Ronald Reagan.
Carroll & Co. moved to Canon Drive in 1996. The store remains at that location, as well as at another in Pasadena. Both stores were closed on March 18 in observance of Carroll’s services, said a company spokesman.
Carroll is survived by his wife, Judy; his sons John and Tom; his daughters Abbe Horsburgh, Carey Pearlman and Jennifer Carroll; his sister Rita Wainer; and nine grandchildren. —Robert McAllister
