R.I.P. Carol Duvall: HGTV’s “Queen of Crafts” Dead at 97

Carol Duvall, host of The Carol Duvall Show who ultimately became known as HGTV‘s “Queen of Crafts,” died on July 31 in Traverse City, Michigan. She was 97, The New York Times reports.

Duvall’s career of arts-and-crafts programs that ultimately launched her to primetime television began in 1951 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she landed a role on a children’s show called Jiffy Carnival.

An alum of Michigan State University, she went on to work for Detroit’s WWJ-TV, which is now called WDIV-TV, Local 4, in various roles — including her first craft show hosting gig — that spanned twenty years, per the Detroit Free Press.

She eventually joined ABC’s The Home Show in 1988, where she served as the show’s craft expert for six years. In 1994, the show’s host Robb Weller joined forces with Gary Grossman to create a production company that later spawned The Carol Duvall Show.

“We showed them a technique — how to make things, not just what to make,” she said of her show in an interview with the Traverse City Record Eagle. “We did all levels of artistic work. Everyone thought of ideas, but I had to OK every project that went on the air.”

The show ran from 1994 until 2005 on HGTV, and then moved to the DIY Network, where it aired until 2009.

According to Deadline, her work also transcended the TV and radio spaces, as she wrote Wanna Make Something Out of It? in 1972 and Paper Crafting with Carol Duvall, in which she provides instructions for over 50 paper projects.

HGTV honored Duvall on Instagram, writing that their “thoughts and prayers are with her family.”

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HGTV’s Houses with History designer Jenny Macdonald shared her condolences in the comments, writing, “Rest In Peace Carol ❤️.”

The Carol Duvall Show is streaming on Discovery+, and segments of the show can be viewed on HGTV.