Rosa Rio
Encyclopedia
Rosa Rio born Elizabeth Raub, was an American organist who began her career as a silent film
accompanist. She became a leading organist on network radio and continued to perform until age 107. With a 100-year career, she was one of the oldest performers in the music industry, along with the late Swiss-born tenor Hugues Cuénod
and 107-year-old Johannes Heesters
.
's The Jazz Singer
was released, signaling the end of the silent film era.
, Ethel and Albert
, Front Page Farrell, Lorenzo Jones
, My True Story, The Shadow
and When a Girl Marries
.
During World War II, she had her own radio show, Rosa Rio Rhythms. On some occasions, she went right from one program into another, as when Lorenzo Jones and Bob and Ray were both adjacent in NBC's schedule during the early 1950s. Sometimes she had less than 50 seconds to run from one NBC studio to another.
and The Today Show. However, television offered fewer opportunities for work in comparison with radio, so Rosa Rio moved to Connecticut, where she opened a school of music, teaching organ, piano and voice.
During the 1980s, she provided scores and Hammond organ
accompaniment for more than 370 silent films released on video by Video Yesteryear
.
. It was from the stage of the Tampa Theatre in 2007 that she first publicly gave her real age, which she kept to herself for decades due to age discrimination dating back to her network radio years. Because Rio never celebrated birthdays, some family members weren't aware of her age until the night before her Tampa Theatre "confession". She celebrated her 107th birthday in June 2009. Her organ arrangements are still in print and available from Michael's Music Service.
Rio died on May 13, 2010, just three weeks short of her 108th birthday.
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
accompanist. She became a leading organist on network radio and continued to perform until age 107. With a 100-year career, she was one of the oldest performers in the music industry, along with the late Swiss-born tenor Hugues Cuénod
Hugues Cuénod
Hugues-Adhémar Cuénod was a Swiss tenor known for his performances in opera, operetta, both traditional and musical theatre, and on the concert stage, where he was particularly known for his light, romantic and expressive interpretation of mélodie...
and 107-year-old Johannes Heesters
Johannes Heesters
Johan Marius Nicolaas "Johannes" Heesters is a Dutch actor, singer and entertainer with a -year career, almost exclusively in the German-speaking world. In Germany and Austria, Heesters is mainly known for his acting career...
.
Film
Rio was raised in New Orleans. At age four, she started playing the piano, followed by lessons when she was eight years old. She was nine when she first played the piano at a silent movie theatre. After music education at Oberlin College, she studied at the Eastman School of Music. As a theatre organist, she performed at theaters in Syracuse, the Loew's theaters in New York, plus Saenger's Southeastern theater chain, the Scranton Paramount, Brooklyn Fox Theatre, RKO Albee and the Brooklyn Paramount. She was working at the Saenger Theatre in her hometown of New Orleans when Al JolsonAl Jolson
Al Jolson was an American singer, comedian and actor. In his heyday, he was dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer"....
's The Jazz Singer
The Jazz Singer (1927 film)
The Jazz Singer is a 1927 American musical film. The first feature-length motion picture with synchronized dialogue sequences, its release heralded the commercial ascendance of the "talkies" and the decline of the silent film era. Produced by Warner Bros. with its Vitaphone sound-on-disc system,...
was released, signaling the end of the silent film era.
Radio
During her 22 years in radio, she became known as "Queen of the Soaps", providing the organ background music for 24 soap operas and radio dramas, and playing an average of five to seven shows per day. Some of the programs she played for included Bob and RayBob and Ray
Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding were an American comedy team whose career spanned five decades. Their format was typically to satirize the medium in which they were performing, such as conducting radio or television interviews, with off-the-wall dialogue presented in a generally deadpan style as...
, Ethel and Albert
Ethel and Albert
Ethel and Albert was a radio and television comedy series about a married couple, Ethel and Albert Arbuckle, living in the small town of Sandy Harbor...
, Front Page Farrell, Lorenzo Jones
Lorenzo Jones
Lorenzo Jones was a daytime radio series which aired on NBC in different timeslots over an 18-year span.Produced by Frank and Anne Hummert, the series could be classified with its own unique category of "comedy soap opera," highlighted by organist Rosa Rio's rollicking rendition of the opening...
, My True Story, The Shadow
The Shadow
The Shadow is a collection of serialized dramas, originally in pulp magazines, then on 1930s radio and then in a wide variety of media, that follow the exploits of the title character, a crime-fighting vigilante in the pulps, which carried over to the airwaves as a "wealthy, young man about town"...
and When a Girl Marries
When a Girl Marries
When a Girl Marries was a daytime radio drama which was broadcast on three major radio networks from 1939 to 1957. Created by Elaine Sterne Carrington , it was the highest rated soap opera during the mid-1940s.The series premiered May 29, 1939 on CBS, moving to NBC on September 29, 1941 and then to...
.
During World War II, she had her own radio show, Rosa Rio Rhythms. On some occasions, she went right from one program into another, as when Lorenzo Jones and Bob and Ray were both adjacent in NBC's schedule during the early 1950s. Sometimes she had less than 50 seconds to run from one NBC studio to another.
Television and videos
She made a smooth transition into television, playing for such shows as As the World TurnsAs the World Turns
As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light...
and The Today Show. However, television offered fewer opportunities for work in comparison with radio, so Rosa Rio moved to Connecticut, where she opened a school of music, teaching organ, piano and voice.
During the 1980s, she provided scores and Hammond organ
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
accompaniment for more than 370 silent films released on video by Video Yesteryear
Video Yesteryear
Video Yesteryear of Sandy Hook, Connecticut was the largest catalog retailer of public domain films on VHS, Betamax, and 8mm film beginning in 1977. Originally known as Radiola from 1967, the company distributed old radio shows on LP records and audio cassettes....
.
Tampa tempo
In 1993, she moved to Florida where she provided accompaniment for silent films at the Tampa TheatreTampa Theatre
The Tampa Theatre and Office Building is a historic U.S. theater and city landmark in the Uptown District of downtown Tampa, Florida. On January 3, 1978, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places....
. It was from the stage of the Tampa Theatre in 2007 that she first publicly gave her real age, which she kept to herself for decades due to age discrimination dating back to her network radio years. Because Rio never celebrated birthdays, some family members weren't aware of her age until the night before her Tampa Theatre "confession". She celebrated her 107th birthday in June 2009. Her organ arrangements are still in print and available from Michael's Music Service.
Rio died on May 13, 2010, just three weeks short of her 108th birthday.