Random Thoughts on Rose Marie and Life
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| Rose Marie, Morey Amsterdam, Dick Van Dyke: Circa 1961 |
-Rose Marie
ROSE MARIE GUY
Born Rose Marie Mazetta on August 15 1923 in New York City, NY, USA
Transitioned at 2:00pm on Dec 28th, Van Nuys, CA
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| On The Doris Day Show |
As I sit down to write my blog, I'm listening to my late great friend Janet Carroll.
Thank God for recordings, film, photographs. Those that have 'gone' before us. These moments of time are captured to evoke memories and most of the time, feelings of love and warmth.
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| Rosemary Clooney, Helen O'Connell, Margaret Whiting, Rose Marie: |
Earlier this week, Menzies-Urich passed away. She was the widow of actor Robert Urich and had been recently diagnosed with cancer, according to her son Ryan Urich.
Carpe Diem.
Take the time to tell those that you love what they mean to you. Don't put off to tomorrow what you can do today.
Remember, you can spend a lifetime collecting tomorrows only to find you have no yesterdays.
Whether you've arrived at the finish line fresh and invigorated for another trip around the sun, or are so exhausted you may wheeze out your actual soul, 2017 is (almost) OVER.
I'm ready to cash in my social life for a monastic one in order to find some peace and quiet in a noisy world today. I can’t turn back the clock, but I can tap dance through my memory bank to weave a thread of continuity to my story before moving on.
Last night after returning from a nice dinner with my producer and best friend, we settled in to watch a little innocuous television.
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| with co host and dear friend, Dick Van dyke |
It brought a tear to my eyes and a lump to my throat.
It warms my heart that in the last months of her life, she was celebrated in a way that few of us will ever seen.
Just over the course of the past few months, a documentary was released celebrating her life, Wait For The Laugh.
Her caricature was unveiled at Sardi's here in New York and Decades devoted 24 hours to her television career. I am so very, very sorry for this tragic news. However, I am so thankful that 'Wait For Your Laugh' has been released and will give us all the opportunity to know this amazingly talented individual and gifted entertainer.
When I think of Rose Marie, I'm reminded of an old Indian proverb. In the proverb, six blind men are encountering an elephant for the first time.
She began as a bobbed-hair child star named Baby Marie in vaudeville and worked for nearly a century in theater, radio, TV and movies.
She was the youngest star to have her own national radio program.
As a child, she headlined in Vaudeville. As an adult, she was a great nightclub entertainer. She starred on Broadway in Top Banana opposite Phil Silvers.
She was a regular on The Dick Van Dyke Show. When the series wrapped in 1966, she became a regular on the game show, The Hollywood Squares, essentially staying in character. She had been too depressed to pursue work as an actor and singer, she often said, after being widowed at 40. Marie stayed with the game show for 14 years. She would also go on to be a regular on Doris Day Show.
In the seventies, she returned to her nightclub roots touring the country in 4 Girls 4 with Rosemary Clooney, Helen O'Connell, and Margaret Whiting breaking box office records wherever they appeared. For twelve years, 4 Girls 4
was an unprecedented
sensation across the U.S.
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| January 18th, 2012 at The Paley Center Screening of Carol Channing: Larger Than Life. |
According to Matt Conner on Rosemary Clooney's website, It was one of the most surprising and unconventional show business successes of the 1970s and 80s. At a time when the biggest touring acts in the country were youth-driven pop acts like the Eagles, Abba and the Bee Gees, three middle aged female singers -- none of whom had had a chart hit in decades -- joined forces with the
It was called 4 Girls 4, and when it first appeared on the scene in 1977, it brought staggering new success to a quartet of show business veterans who were far from their commercial peak, and launched a completely new genre of entertainment that thrives to this day: The Oldies Nostalgia Tour. "They were like rock stars with an older audience," said Allen Sviridoff, who was road manager for the group at the time. "It was pretty phenomenal. The theaters that they played were all 2,500 or 3,000 seats and they were packing it for five to eight shows a week. There were a lot of people packing these shows, and it was several years of a phenomenon." more HERE
I was lucky enough to interview her on her 90th Birthday.
She had PERFECT RECALL. HERE is the result of that interview.
I was lucky enough to meet Rose Marie on January 18th, 2012 at The Paley Center Screening of Carol Channing: Larger Than Life.
I was lucky enough to sit and visit with her for quite some time at the after party. She was incredibly funny.
My husband, Danny, and I were on our honeymoon and she was incredibly open with both of us. He told her he wanted her black bow! She laughed and said there were many more where that came from!
In the documentary on her life, Just Wait For The Laugh, it was revealed that it was a mourning tribute to her dear departed husband.
For the rest of her life, while making public appearances, she invariably wore the black hair bow that had been her signature on the sitcom. One of her bows is in the Smithsonian.
She had been onstage for much of the 20th century after winning a New York City talent contest in the late 1920s. As a 3-year-old, she had belted out “What Can I Say After I Say I’m Sorry?” in a raspy voice mature beyond her years.
She was soon known professionally as Baby Rose Marie and became a sensation on the NBC radio network, which signed her to a seven-year contract. To prove to a doubting public that the singer who sounded like Sophie Tucker actually was a child, the network sent her on a yearlong tour.
She toured in vaudeville, was featured in a handful of movies and — after dropping “Baby” from her name as an adolescent — began headlining nightclubs. She also made her way to Broadway in the early 1950s in “Top Banana,” appearing with Phil Silvers in the musical revue and subsequent film.
Some people think my whole life started with ‘The Dick Van Dyke Show,’ which is not so,” Marie said in a 1999 interview with the Archive of American Television.
The following is from my friend Jamie Farrar:
I was at a Disney convention with my sister Sasha in the summer of 2011. Coming back from the bathroom, I spotted an elderly woman in a wheelchair off to the side in a long line of other convention attendees.
I was lucky enough to interview her on her 90th Birthday.
She had PERFECT RECALL. HERE is the result of that interview.
I was lucky enough to meet Rose Marie on January 18th, 2012 at The Paley Center Screening of Carol Channing: Larger Than Life.
I was lucky enough to sit and visit with her for quite some time at the after party. She was incredibly funny.
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| Thank you, Scott Clark, for sending this to me. |
In the documentary on her life, Just Wait For The Laugh, it was revealed that it was a mourning tribute to her dear departed husband.
For the rest of her life, while making public appearances, she invariably wore the black hair bow that had been her signature on the sitcom. One of her bows is in the Smithsonian.
She had been onstage for much of the 20th century after winning a New York City talent contest in the late 1920s. As a 3-year-old, she had belted out “What Can I Say After I Say I’m Sorry?” in a raspy voice mature beyond her years.
She was soon known professionally as Baby Rose Marie and became a sensation on the NBC radio network, which signed her to a seven-year contract. To prove to a doubting public that the singer who sounded like Sophie Tucker actually was a child, the network sent her on a yearlong tour.
She toured in vaudeville, was featured in a handful of movies and — after dropping “Baby” from her name as an adolescent — began headlining nightclubs. She also made her way to Broadway in the early 1950s in “Top Banana,” appearing with Phil Silvers in the musical revue and subsequent film.
Some people think my whole life started with ‘The Dick Van Dyke Show,’ which is not so,” Marie said in a 1999 interview with the Archive of American Television.
The following is from my friend Jamie Farrar:
I was at a Disney convention with my sister Sasha in the summer of 2011. Coming back from the bathroom, I spotted an elderly woman in a wheelchair off to the side in a long line of other convention attendees.
"Hello ma'am . How are you today. Enjoying the convention?"
Her eyes lit up, surprised that someone noticed.
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| Jamie and Rose Marie |
"Oh yes, I'm having a wonderful time These lines are something else".
I laughed. " Yes they can be something else.
"My friend is giving a concert tonight. I'm waiting to see him".
"That's wonderful! Would you like some company while you wait"?
The woman with the kind eyes smiled . "Love some! "
I had no inkling of a clue as to who she was.
I outstretched my hand. "Hi there, I'm Jamie. Pleasure to meet you!"
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| From Four Years Ago. You can make contribution in Rose Marie's honor HERE. |
"Hi Jamie. I'm Rose." Nice to meet ya!"
'I have always loved the name Rose". I said with a smile.
Her caregiver whispered to me. ' Her name is Rose Marie. She was on the Dick Van Dyke Show" .
We didn't talk about show business. We talked wheelchairs and our lives in them. She held tight to my hand, gingerly squeezing every now and then. I squeezed back.
Before I left, I asked her if I could take a picture with her to remember this sweet moment. Rose smiled. "Of course " Dolly! Us gals in chairs have to stick together don'tcha know?"
Rest in peace, Rose!
From Geoffrey Mark:
What can I say about Rose Marie? Uber-talented, a genius, really -- a star since she was three.
Others can wax poetic on the longest continuous career in show business history. Let me tell you about my friend.
I first met her at some show business function or other. She liked that I knew her history, and that we had many friends in common (Milton Berle, Peter Marshall and others). I was invited to her home, back when her mother was still alive.
Rosie insisted that I taste her mother's chicken soup -- and it was the best marriage of Jewish and Italian food I have ever tasted.
We spent hours talking "shop". She was really never comfortable in the company of those she referred to as "civilians" (non-show business people).
I sat and absorbed everything she said, because it was like taking an advanced, graduate master class course in show business history.
We would talk on the phone after every one of her TV appearances, and we discussed her book at great length as she was writing it. Afternoons were the best time to visit in person, so that's when I would come to her house in Van Nuys, with the dining room set that was built by George Montgomery. Most of her closest friends were either gone or no longer accessible, and she was making new friends with younger people.
I was thrilled and honored when she agreed to write the foreword for my book on Ethel Merman. She praised my research, wondering how I knew things that she thought Merman had only told her.
I am so proud of the film that was made about her career. Please go see it! It, and she in it, are wonderful -- and my dear friend Harlan Boll is one of the producers!
After awhile, new people were brought in to take care of her as she aged.
For whatever reasons, I was no longer allowed access. But I treasure my friendship with her -- and her generosity with me was enormous.
Thanks, Rosie. For the kindness, the laughs, the love, the food, the stories, the support and the great advice -- and for ninety years of incredible talent that you shared with your audiences. We will never see your kind again. Well done!!
From Debi Bush Whiting (Margaret Whiting's Daughter)
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| Margaret Whiting and Rose Marie |
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Debbi with Rose Marie Thank you, Harlan Boll for the Historical aspects of this blog. Thank you, Rose Marie, for the gifts you gave to the world and will continue to give.  Wait For The Laugh
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