Rose Marie
Encyclopedia
Rose Marie is an American actress. As a child performer she had a successful singing career as Baby Rose Marie.
A veteran of vaudeville
, Rose Marie's career includes film, records, theater, night clubs, and television. Her most famous role was television comedy writer Sally Rogers
on the CBS
situation comedy The Dick Van Dyke Show
. She later portrayed Myrna Gibbons on CBS's The Doris Day Show
and was also a frequent panelist on the game show Hollywood Squares
.
Frank Mazzetta and Polish-American
Stella Gluszcak. At the age of three, she started performing under the name "Baby Rose Marie." At five, Marie became a radio
star on NBC
and made a series of films.
Rose Marie in her teenage years was a nightclub performer before becoming a radio comedian. She was billed then as "The Darling of the Airwaves." According to her autobiography, Hold the Roses, she was assisted in her career by many members of the Mafia, including Al Capone
and Bugsy Siegel
. She performed at the opening night of the Flamingo Hotel which was built by Siegel.
At her height of fame as a child singer (late 1929–1934), she had her own radio show, made numerous records, and was featured in a number of Paramount
films and shorts. In 1929, the five- or six-year-old singer made a Vitaphone
sound short titled "Baby Rose Marie the Child Wonder," (now restored and available in the Warner Brothers DVD set of The Jazz Singer
). For her first recording session, in 1932, she was accompanied by Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra. She continued to appear in films through the mid-1930s, making shorts and a feature, International House with W. C. Fields
, for Paramount
.
, Elaine Stritch
, Jack Weston, Raymond Bailey
, and Stubby Kaye
in the CBS sitcom My Sister Eileen
. She played Bertha, a friend of the Sherwood sisters, Ruth, a magazine
writer, played by Stritch, and Eileen, an aspiring actress, Bonne's role.
After starring for all five seasons of The Dick Van Dyke Show (in the role originally played by Sylvia Miles
in the pilot episode), Rose Marie co-starred on CBS's The Doris Day Show
as Doris Martin's friend and co-worker, Myrna Gibbons. She later had a semi-regular seat in the upper center square on the original version of Peter Marshall's Hollywood Squares
, alongside her friend and longtime Van Dyke co-star, Morey Amsterdam
. She also appeared on the 1986 syndicated revival.
In the early 1990s, she had a recurring role as Frank Fontana's mother on the CBS sitcom Murphy Brown
. She also played Roy Biggins's domineering mother, Eleanor "Bluto" Biggins in the TV series Wings.
Rose Marie and Morey Amsterdam
guest-starred together in a February 1996 episode of the NBC sitcom Caroline in the City
, shortly before Amsterdam's death in October of that same year. She appeared with the surviving Dick Van Dyke Show cast members in a 2004 reunion special. Rose Marie was especially close to actor Richard Deacon
from that show, and offered him the suits left behind when her husband died in 1964, as the two men were of similar height and build. She was married to trumpeter Bobby Guy from 1946 until his death in 1964.
She also appeared in two episodes of the NBC series The Monkees
in the mid 1960s
.
, Helen O'Connell
and Margaret Whiting
in the musical revue 4 Girls 4, which toured the U.S. and appeared on television several times.
As of 2011, she continues to occasionally perform.
A veteran of vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
, Rose Marie's career includes film, records, theater, night clubs, and television. Her most famous role was television comedy writer Sally Rogers
Sally Rogers (The Dick Van Dyke Show character)
Sally Rogers, played by Rose Marie, was a television character on the 1960s sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show. She was one third of the comedy writing team for the fictional TV variety show The Alan Brady Show, working with Rob Petrie and Buddy Sorrell. When not working, Sally spent much of her time...
on the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
situation comedy The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show
The Dick Van Dyke Show is an American television sitcom that initially aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from October 3, 1961, until June 1, 1966. The show was created by Carl Reiner and starred Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. It was produced by Reiner with Bill Persky and Sam Denoff....
. She later portrayed Myrna Gibbons on CBS's The Doris Day Show
The Doris Day Show
The Doris Day Show is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 1968 until September 1973. In addition to showcasing Doris Day, the show is remembered for its many abrupt format changes over the course of its five-year run...
and was also a frequent panelist on the game show Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares is an American panel game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The "board" for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants...
.
Early years
Rose Marie Mazetta was born in New York City, New York, to Italian-AmericanItalian American
An Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...
Frank Mazzetta and Polish-American
Polish American
A Polish American , is a citizen of the United States of Polish descent. There are an estimated 10 million Polish Americans, representing about 3.2% of the population of the United States...
Stella Gluszcak. At the age of three, she started performing under the name "Baby Rose Marie." At five, Marie became a radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
star on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
and made a series of films.
Rose Marie in her teenage years was a nightclub performer before becoming a radio comedian. She was billed then as "The Darling of the Airwaves." According to her autobiography, Hold the Roses, she was assisted in her career by many members of the Mafia, including Al Capone
Al Capone
Alphonse Gabriel "Al" Capone was an American gangster who led a Prohibition-era crime syndicate. The Chicago Outfit, which subsequently became known as the "Capones", was dedicated to smuggling and bootlegging liquor, and other illegal activities such as prostitution, in Chicago from the early...
and Bugsy Siegel
Bugsy Siegel
Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel was an American gangster who was involved with the Genovese crime family...
. She performed at the opening night of the Flamingo Hotel which was built by Siegel.
At her height of fame as a child singer (late 1929–1934), she had her own radio show, made numerous records, and was featured in a number of Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
films and shorts. In 1929, the five- or six-year-old singer made a Vitaphone
Vitaphone
Vitaphone was a sound film process used on feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects produced by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1930. Vitaphone was the last, but most successful, of the sound-on-disc processes...
sound short titled "Baby Rose Marie the Child Wonder," (now restored and available in the Warner Brothers DVD set of 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,...
). For her first recording session, in 1932, she was accompanied by Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra. She continued to appear in films through the mid-1930s, making shorts and a feature, International House with W. C. Fields
W. C. Fields
William Claude Dukenfield , better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler and writer...
, for Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
.
Television
In the 1960–1961 season, Rose Marie co-starred with Shirley BonneShirley Bonne
Shirley Bonne is a former actress who portrayed Eileen Sherwood in the CBS television situation comedy My Sister Eileen, which aired during the 1960-1961 season. Bonne played an aspiring actress in New York City sharing an apartment with her older sister, Ruth Sherwood, a magazine writer played by...
, Elaine Stritch
Elaine Stritch
Elaine Stritch is an American actress and vocalist. She has appeared in numerous stage plays and musicals, feature films, and many television programs...
, Jack Weston, Raymond Bailey
Raymond Bailey
Raymond Thomas Bailey was an American actor on the Broadway stage, movies, and television. He is best known for his role as wealthy banker, Milburn Drysdale, in the television series The Beverly Hillbillies....
, and Stubby Kaye
Stubby Kaye
Stubby Kaye was an American comic actor. He was born Bernard Kotzin in New York City on the last day of the First World War, at West 114th Street in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan to first generation Jewish-Americans originally from Russia and Austria...
in the CBS sitcom My Sister Eileen
My Sister Eileen (TV series)
My Sister Eileen is an American situation comedy based on a series of autobiographical short stories by Ruth McKenney originally published in The New Yorker, as well as the 1940 play and 1942 and 1955 film adaptations they inspired....
. She played Bertha, a friend of the Sherwood sisters, Ruth, a magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
writer, played by Stritch, and Eileen, an aspiring actress, Bonne's role.
After starring for all five seasons of The Dick Van Dyke Show (in the role originally played by Sylvia Miles
Sylvia Miles
-Early life and career:Miles was born Sylvia Reuben Lee in New York City, the daughter of Belle and Reuben Lee, a furniture maker....
in the pilot episode), Rose Marie co-starred on CBS's The Doris Day Show
The Doris Day Show
The Doris Day Show is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 1968 until September 1973. In addition to showcasing Doris Day, the show is remembered for its many abrupt format changes over the course of its five-year run...
as Doris Martin's friend and co-worker, Myrna Gibbons. She later had a semi-regular seat in the upper center square on the original version of Peter Marshall's Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares
Hollywood Squares is an American panel game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The "board" for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants...
, alongside her friend and longtime Van Dyke co-star, Morey Amsterdam
Morey Amsterdam
Morey Amsterdam was an American television actor and comedian, best known for the role of Buddy Sorrell on The Dick Van Dyke Show in the early 1960s.-Early life:...
. She also appeared on the 1986 syndicated revival.
In the early 1990s, she had a recurring role as Frank Fontana's mother on the CBS sitcom Murphy Brown
Murphy Brown
Murphy Brown is an American situation comedy which aired on CBS from November 14, 1988, to May 18, 1998, for a total of 247 episodes. The program starred Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for FYI, a fictional CBS television...
. She also played Roy Biggins's domineering mother, Eleanor "Bluto" Biggins in the TV series Wings.
Rose Marie and Morey Amsterdam
Morey Amsterdam
Morey Amsterdam was an American television actor and comedian, best known for the role of Buddy Sorrell on The Dick Van Dyke Show in the early 1960s.-Early life:...
guest-starred together in a February 1996 episode of the NBC sitcom Caroline in the City
Caroline in the City
Caroline in the City is an American situation comedy that ran from September 21, 1995 to April 26, 1999 on the NBC television network. It starred Lea Thompson as cartoonist Caroline Duffy. The series premiered in the two-hour Thursday night block led by Friends.-Premise:Caroline Duffy is a...
, shortly before Amsterdam's death in October of that same year. She appeared with the surviving Dick Van Dyke Show cast members in a 2004 reunion special. Rose Marie was especially close to actor Richard Deacon
Richard Deacon (actor)
Richard Deacon , born in Philadelphia, was an American television and motion picture actor.-Career:The bald and usually bespectacled character actor often portrayed pompous or imperious figures. He made appearances on The Jack Benny Show as a salesman and a barber, and on NBC's Happy as a hotel...
from that show, and offered him the suits left behind when her husband died in 1964, as the two men were of similar height and build. She was married to trumpeter Bobby Guy from 1946 until his death in 1964.
She also appeared in two episodes of the NBC series The Monkees
The Monkees (TV series)
The Monkees is an American situation comedy that aired on NBC from September 1966 to March 1968. The series follows the adventures of four young men trying to make a name for themselves as rock 'n roll singers. The show introduced a number of innovative new-wave film techniques to series...
in the mid 1960s
1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...
.
Theater
From 1977–81, she co-starred with Rosemary ClooneyRosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the novelty hit "Come On-a My House" written by William Saroyan and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian , which was followed by other pop numbers such as "Botch-a-Me" Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 –...
, Helen O'Connell
Helen O'Connell
Helen O'Connell was an American singer, actress, and dancer.Born in Lima, Ohio, O'Connell joined the Jimmy Dorsey band in 1939 and achieved her best selling records in the early 1940s with "Green Eyes", "Amapola," "Tangerine" and "Yours"...
and Margaret Whiting
Margaret Whiting
Margaret Whiting was a singer of American popular music and country music who first made her reputation during the 1940s and 1950s.-Youth:...
in the musical revue 4 Girls 4, which toured the U.S. and appeared on television several times.
As of 2011, she continues to occasionally perform.
Features
- International HouseInternational House (1933 film)International House is a comedy film, directed by A. Edward Sutherland and released by Paramount Pictures. The tagline of the film was "the Grand Hotel of comedy".-Actors:*Peggy Hopkins Joyce as herself*W. C. Fields as Prof. Henry R...
(19331933 in film-Events:* March 2 - King Kong premieres in New York City.* June 6 - The first drive-in theater opens, in Camden, New Jersey.* British Film Institute founded....
) - Top BananaTop Banana (film)Top Banana is a movie musical based on the musical of the same name starring Phil Silvers, and released by United Artists. It stars most of the original cast...
(19541954 in filmThe year 1954 in film involved some significant events and memorable ones.-Events:*May 12 - The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces wife Marion Benda...
) - The Big Beat (19581958 in filmThe year 1958 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 16- "In the Money" by William Beaudine is released on this date. It would be the last installment of The Bowery Boys series which began back in 1946....
) - Don't Worry, We'll Think of a Title (19661966 in filmThe year 1966 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Animation legend Walter Disney, well known for his creation of Mickey Mouse, died in 15 December 1966 of acute circulatory collapse following a diagnosis of, and surgery for, lung cancer...
) - Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-RoundDead Heat on a Merry-Go-RoundDead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round is a 1966 crime film written and directed by Bernard Girard, starring James Coburn and featuring Camilla Sparv, Aldo Ray, Nina Wayne, Todd Armstrong, Robert Webber and Rose Marie.-Plot:...
(19661966 in filmThe year 1966 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Animation legend Walter Disney, well known for his creation of Mickey Mouse, died in 15 December 1966 of acute circulatory collapse following a diagnosis of, and surgery for, lung cancer...
) - Memory of Us (19741974 in filmThe year 1974 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 7 - Blazing Saddles is released in the USA.*August 7 - Peter Wolf, lead singer of The J...
) - The Man from Clover Grove (19751975 in filmThe year 1975 in film involved some significant events, with Steven Spielberg's thriller Jaws topping the box office.-Events:*March 26 - The film version of The Who's Tommy premieres in London....
) - Bruce's Deadly Fingers (19761976 in filmThe year 1976 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*March 22 - Filming begins on George Lucas' Star Wars science fiction film...
) - Cheaper to Keep Her (19801980 in film- Events :* May 21 - Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back is released and is the biggest grosser of the year ....
) - Lunch WagonLunch WagonLunch Wagon is a 1981 sex comedy starring Pamela Jean Bryant, Rosanne Katon, and Candy Moore. The film was directed by Ernest Pintoff and written by Marshall Harvey and Leon Phillips.-Synopsis:...
(19811981 in film-Events:*January 19 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists. UA was humiliated by the astronomical losses on the $40,000,000 movie Heaven's Gate, a major factor in the decision of owner Transamerica to sell it....
) - WitchboardWitchboardWitchboard is a 1986 American horror film written and directed by Kevin S. Tenney, and starring Tawny Kitaen and Stephen Nichols. The film focuses on a female college student who is harassed and later possessed by an evil spirit after communicating with it through a friend's Ouija board...
(19861986 in film-Events:*April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Go's Belinda Carlisle.*April 26 - Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries television journalist Maria Shriver.*May - Actress Heather Locklear marries Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee....
) - Sandman (19931993 in filmThe year 1993 in film involved many significant films, including the blockbuster hits Jurassic Park, The Fugitive and The Firm. -Events:...
) - Lost & Found (19991999 in filmThe year 1999 in film involved several noteworthy events and has been called "The Year That Changed Movies". Several significant feature films, including Stanley Kubrick's final film Eyes Wide Shut, Pedro Almodóvar's first Oscar-winning film All About My Mother, science fiction The Matrix, Deep...
) - Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the ThirteenthShriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the ThirteenthShriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth is a 2000 American direct-to-video parody film directed by John Blanchard. Several mid and late '90s teen horror films are parodied, as are the slasher films of the '70s and '80s, including the Scream films , Friday the 13th , Halloween , A...
(20002000 in filmThe year 2000 in film involved some significant events.The top grosser worldwide was Mission: Impossible II. Domestically in North America, Gladiator won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor ....
) - Surge of Power: The Stuff of HeroesSurge of Power: The Stuff of Heroes-Plot:The plot concerns corporate attorney and comic fan Gavin Lucas being caught in a laboratory explosion engineered by embittered scientist Hector Harris. Lucas develops the power to channel energy into powerful blasts, sense approaching people and detect energy flows nearby. He uses these...
(20042004 in filmThe year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol...
)
Short subjects
- Baby Rose Marie the Child Wonder (19291929 in film-Events:The days of the silent film are numbered. A mad scramble to provide synchronized sound is on.*January 20 - The movie In Old Arizona is released. The film is the first full-length talking film to be filmed outdoors....
) - Rambling 'Round Radio Row #4 (19321932 in film-Events:*Cary Grant's film career begins*Katharine Hepburn's film career begins*Shirley Temple's film career begins*Disney released Flowers and Trees, the first cartoon in three-strip Technicolor film.*Santa, first sound film made in Mexico released....
) - Back in '23 (19331933 in film-Events:* March 2 - King Kong premieres in New York City.* June 6 - The first drive-in theater opens, in Camden, New Jersey.* British Film Institute founded....
) - Sing, Babies, Sing (19331933 in film-Events:* March 2 - King Kong premieres in New York City.* June 6 - The first drive-in theater opens, in Camden, New Jersey.* British Film Institute founded....
) - Rambling 'Round Radio Row (19341934 in film-Events:*January 26 - Samuel Goldwyn purchases the film rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the L. Frank Baum estate for $40,000.*February 19 - Bob Hope marries Dolores Reade...
) - At the Mike (19341934 in film-Events:*January 26 - Samuel Goldwyn purchases the film rights to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz from the L. Frank Baum estate for $40,000.*February 19 - Bob Hope marries Dolores Reade...
) - Surprising Suzie (19531953 in filmThe year 1953 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*September 16 — The Robe debuts as the first anamorphic, widescreen CinemaScope film.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:A...
)
Television work
- The Many Loves of Dobie GillisThe Many Loves of Dobie GillisThe Many Loves of Dobie Gillis is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1959 to 1963. The series and some episode scripts were adapted from a 1951 collection of short stories of the same name, written by Max Shulman, that also inspired the 1953 film The Affairs of Dobie Gillis with Debbie...
(1960) - The Dick Van Dyke ShowThe Dick Van Dyke ShowThe Dick Van Dyke Show is an American television sitcom that initially aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from October 3, 1961, until June 1, 1966. The show was created by Carl Reiner and starred Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. It was produced by Reiner with Bill Persky and Sam Denoff....
(1961–1966) - The Hollywood Squares (1966–1981) (regular panelist)
- Walter of the Jungle (1967) (unsold pilot)
- The VirginianThe Virginian (TV series)The Virginian is an American Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute western series...
(1967) - The Doris Day ShowThe Doris Day ShowThe Doris Day Show is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 1968 until September 1973. In addition to showcasing Doris Day, the show is remembered for its many abrupt format changes over the course of its five-year run...
(cast member from 1969–1971) - S.W.A.T.S.W.A.T. (TV series)----S.W.A.T. is a 1970s American television series about the adventures of the WCPD's Olympic Division Special Weapons And Tactics team operating in an unidentified California city....
(1975) (multiple cameos as Hilda, the sandwich delivery lady) - Bridge Across Time (1985)
- Remington Steele (1986) (Series 4 Episode 17 - Steele in the Spotlight)
- The Jackie Bison Show (1990) (unsold pilot) (voice)
- Scorch (1992) (canceled after 3 episodes)
- Hardball (1994) (canceled after 7 episodes)
- Cagney & Lacey: Together AgainCagney & LaceyCagney & Lacey is an American television series that originally aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from October 8, 1981 to May 16, 1988...
(1995) - Wings (1997)
- Suddenly SusanSuddenly SusanSuddenly Susan is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC from 1996 to 2000. The show takes place at The Gate, a fictitious magazine which is based in San Francisco. Among the magazine's employees is Susan Keane , who always has been cared for by someone else...
(1997) - The HughleysThe HughleysThe Hughleys is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 22, 1998 to April 28, 2000 and on the UPN network from September 11, 2000 to May 20, 2002. It starred comedian D. L...
(2001) - Tracey Ullman in the Trailer TalesTracey Ullman in the Trailer TalesTracey Ullman in the Trailer Tales is a 2003 HBO comedy special starring comedian Tracey Ullman, a spin-off of Ullman's sketch series, Tracey Takes On.......
(2003) - The Alan Brady Show (2003) (voice)
- The Dick Van Dyke Show RevisitedThe Dick Van Dyke ShowThe Dick Van Dyke Show is an American television sitcom that initially aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System from October 3, 1961, until June 1, 1966. The show was created by Carl Reiner and starred Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore. It was produced by Reiner with Bill Persky and Sam Denoff....
(2004)