Rose Marie

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the actress. For other persons of the same name, see Rose Marie (disambiguation).
Rose Marie

Born Rose Marie Mazetta
August 15, 1923 (1923-08-15) (age 84)
New York City, New York, USA

Rose Marie (born August 15, 1923) is an American actress who had a successful singing career as Baby Rose Marie, but is perhaps best known for her adult role as Sally Rogers on CBS's The Dick Van Dyke Show.

Contents

[edit] Early Years

Rose Marie Mazetta was born on August 15, 1923 in New York City, New York to Italian-American Frank Mazzetta and Polish-American Stella Gluszcak. At the age of three, she starting performing under the name 'Baby Rose Marie'. At the age of five, Marie became a radio star on NBC and made a series of films. As a teenager she became a nightclub performer before becoming a comedian. She was known then as "The Darling of the Airwaves". According to her autobiography, Hold the Roses,[1] she was assisted in her career by many members of the Mafia, including Al Capone and Bugsy Siegel. She did perform at the opening night of the Flamingo Hotel which, at the time, was run by Siegel.[2]

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.

[edit] Television

In the 1960-1961 season, Rose Marie costarred with Elaine Stritch and Stubby Kaye in the CBS sitcom My Sister Eileen. After appearing for many years on The Dick Van Dyke Show (in the role originally played by Sylvia Miles in the pilot episode), Rose Marie co-starred on The Doris Day Show, and later had a semi-regular seat in the upper center square on the original version of Hollywood Squares, along with her friend and former co-star Morey Amsterdam.

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 mother 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 was especially close to actor Richard Deacon from that show, and offered him the suits left behind when her husband, musician Bobby Guy died in 1966, as the two men were of similar height and build. Internet Movie Database reports she was married to Bobby Guy from 1946 until his death in 1966.

[edit] Theater

From 1977-81, she costarred with Rosemary Clooney, 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 2007, she continues to perform.

[edit] Quotes

From Hollywood Squares:

Q. Did the great psychoanalyst Carl Jung believe that there were extreme differences between men and women?
Rose Marie: No, that's why he always went around with one black eye.

Q. If a door-to-door salesman won't leave your home, what should you do?
Rose Marie: Propose.

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Features

[edit] Short Subjects

  • Baby Rose Marie the Child Wonder (1929)
  • Rambling 'Round Radio Row #4 (1932)
  • Back in '23 (1933)
  • Sing, Babies, Sing (1933)
  • Rambling 'Round Radio Row (1934)
  • At the Mike (1934)
  • Surprising Suzie (1953)

[edit] Television Work

[edit] References

  1. ^ Hold the Roses, ISBN 0-8131-2264-3
  2. ^ Meyer Lansky: Mogul of the Mob, ISBN 0-7092-0151-6

[edit] External links

Languages