Carlton Carl passed away on March 25, 2025, in Austin.
Born on September 20, 1945, in Houston, Carlton was the younger of the two Carl Boys, born to Claudia Phyllis (Richardson) and Urbane Smith Carl. Both Carlton and his older brother Colin attended the Kinkaid school and excelled academically, graduating at the top of their respective classes. By this early age, Carlton had already established his love of journalism and started a lifelong relationship with Molly Ivins, the future famed columnist who would be his trusted friend and collaborator for decades to come.
Carlton continued his education in New York City, earning a bachelor’s degree at Columbia, then his master’s from the university’s prestigious journalism school. In 1968, he was awarded a Ford Foundation scholarship, serving first as an intern at the Texas Legislature, then in Democratic Governor Preston Smith’s office. These jobs melded his passion for truth-telling and journalism with an appreciation of the necessity for political action—specifically, capital “D” Democratic action—and soon enough he found himself as Governor Smith’s assistant press secretary, quickly ascending to the role of press secretary in his mid-twenties, becoming the youngest such public servant in the country. He then worked on, and sometimes ran, campaigns for multiple legends in the party, including Price Daniel Jr., Bob Bullock, and a young drinking buddy in Austin by the name of Ann Richards.
