Carmelita Pope

Upon her return stateside, Pope replaced Cecily De Lucas in the role of Daisy Belle in the comedy Maid in the Ozarks at the Belasco Theatre on Broadway[3] It was Pope's performance as anointed saint Mother Cabrini in the 1947 film Citizen Saint (under her stage name, Carla Dare) that drew the attention of director Elia Kazan.

[4] He subsequently cast her as Kim Hunter's understudy in the Broadway production of A Streetcar Named Desire.

[2] She starred as a panelist on the television show Down You Go in the 1950s, did numerous radio spots, and was also the spokeswoman for Pam Cooking Spray.

[7] Following the death of her husband Howard Charles Ballenger II of Highland Park, Illinois in 1975, Pope moved to Los Angeles, where she served as the director of the Hollywood office of the American Humane Association.

Pope lived in Boise, Idaho, where she volunteered at the Warhawk Air Museum.