Carole Ita White
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Carole Ita White (born August 24, 1949) is an American television and film actress.
[edit] Early life
Carole Ita White was born in New York City, to actors Jesse White and Celia (Simmy) Cohn White. Her father was a versatile character actor, appearing in dozens of movies and tv shows over a span of 50 years. He is best known for his portrayal of the lonely Maytag repairman in a series of television commercials. She has a sister, Janet Jonas.
[edit] Career
Carole Ita White started appearing in episodic TV and small film roles in the early 1970s. Her first TV job was a made-for-TV movie, a western comedy called Evil Roy Slade, starring John Astin, Mickey Rooney, and Milton Berle. The movie was written by famed producer and director Garry Marshall. Marshall cast her in a role on his series The Odd Couple. She is best known for her portrayal of Big Rosie Greenbaum on the sitcom Laverne & Shirley, also produced by Marshall and starring his sister Penny Marshall (along with Cindy Williams). White landed the recurring role of Rosie after a memorable appearance as "Raunchy Girl 1" in the first season episode "Dating Slump." Big Rosie was first seen as a nemesis to the title characters during the second season in the episode "Bachelor Mothers." She continued to make appearances as Big Rosie during the second and third seasons of the show. Carole Ita White did not appear again until the seventh season in an episode where Laverne and Shirley attend a high school reunion. White made guest starring appearances on such popular programs as The Love Boat, Beverly Hills 90210, The Wayans Bros. and Profiler. She appeared on several game shows, including The $20,000 Pyramid.
White has continued to appear in small roles in films over the years, including Falling Down, The Witches of Eastwick, Grand Canyon, and The Fabulous Baker Boys. She recently appeared in the 2006 independent film Wannabe.
