At Ancestry.com, there is no New York City birth record for Victor S. Carrabotta on June 24, 1929. There is a New York State birth record for Salvatore V. Carabatto on June 24, 1929 in Eastchester, [Westchester County], New York.
Carrabotta and his family have not yet been found in the 1930 United States Census.
The 1940 census said Carrabotta, his parents Alfred and Rose, and older sister Theresa, lived in the Bronx, New York at 1246 Beach Avenue. His father was an orchestra musician and his mother worked in a WPA program.
On February 15, 1942, Carrabotta’s father signed his World War II draft card. His address was 1382 White Plains Road in the Bronx.
Who’s Who of American Comic Books 1928–1999 said Carrabotta attended Manhattan’s High School of Music & Art.
Carrabotta joined the Marine Corps. At Ancestry.com, a muster roll dated October 1948 placed him with the 4th Recruit Training Battalion, Marine Corps Recruit Depot in Parris Island, South Carolina.
According to the 1950 census, Carrabotta was counted with his widow mother in the Bronx at 1436 St. Lawrence Avenue. Carrabotta’s occupation was the armed forces. He was discharged in 1951.
Carrabotta talked about his comic book career, in an interview with Jim Amash, that appeared in Alter Ego, #58, May 2006. Carrabotta said his wife, Connie, was seven to eight months pregnant when, in 1952, he met Jack Kirby who sent him to Stan Lee. Lee gave Carrabotta his first comic book job, “The House on the Hill”, in Astonishing #13, May 1952. In 1952, Carrabotta married Constance Zeagler in the Bronx.
Zeagler was born on June 18, 1935, in Lone Star, South Carolina. She was sixteen or seventeen years old at the time of her marriage. Census records said Zeagler lived with her parents, Corbett and Julia, and sister, Emily, in Pine Grove, South Carolina. Apparently she met Carrabotta when he was a Marine. Zeagler passed away on April 14, 2020. On April 25, 2020, her granddaughter, Layla Carrabotta, lit a candle and said “I love you, grandma.” at the South Carolina Cremation website.
The Grand Comics Database has a checklist of Carrabotta’s work. His website has a Wikipedia link.
Carrabotta worked in advertising and talked about it with Daniel Best. Here is an advertising example: Carrabotta co-art directed a 30-second TV commercial that was recognized in The 62nd Art Directors Annual (1983).
Wikipedia said Carrabotta married twice. It’s not clear if the following grooms are him. The New Jersey Marriage Index, at Ancestry.com, said a Victor S. Carrabotta who married Alison P. Falby on February 11, 1986 in Cresskill, New Jersey. The New York, New York Marriage License Index recorded a Victor S. Carrabotta who married Shuying Fu on August 15, 2000 in Manhattan.
Carrabotta passed away on November 22, 2022 in South Carolina. Obituaries are at Comic Book Resources and The Daily Cartoonist.
(Next post on Monday: Claire S. Moe, Artist)
This is a great article. Very insightful. Thanks for the post.
ReplyDeleteVery helpful.
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