Rosemary Clooney

Weirdly, OP, I was just wondering about her myself and swear I was about to start a thread.

Maybe it was White Christmas that brought her to mind...

Her gay nephew George was born and sucked up all the oxygen.

Her nephew stole her career and stardom.

Rosemary Clooney was NEVER pretty.

She was addicted to pills for depression (later diagnosed as bipolar).

Her decades of smoking didn't so her voice (or lungs) any favors, but I still enjoyed some of her later work, where she speaks as much as she sings.

Her second husband was her longtime friend, dancer Dante DiPaolo, quite cute and he aged well.

Dot's nice....donna fight...

Drink and weight gain and a messy divorce (Mel Ferrer). Trifecta!

Nervous Breakdown

Some years ago she published an autobiography (with a co-writer) called THIS FOR REMEMBRANCE, in which she was pretty frank about her drug problems and her marriage to Ferrer. You may still be able to find a second-hand copy somewhere?

Yes, I read that book R9, though she is well before my time. She had major drug problems and hospitalizations for quite a long time. Mental breakdown, back in the day.

When she came back, heavier and old before her time - she was still an exquisite singer. Taste beyond belief. Less voice but great artistry.

By the time she was much older, her lungs were not really up to much challenge or phrasing - but she managed to make it work. Mostly. She's very underrated.

She got fat.

Also her style of music became passé.

Yes, she got fat. But she was loved and deeply respected. A great vocalist. Nelson Riddle hated working with Garland and Linda Ronstadt, but he loved Rosie Clooney. She was the real deal.

After her four Paramount movies in 1953-54, jealous husband Jose Ferrer kept her pregnant with five kids in quick succession. That took care of her movie career. She did a successful TV variety series in 1955-56 and TV guest appearances plus records during that period. BY the time she could have done movies again, her screen momentum had died. Changing popular music tastes and mental problems took care of her career until she re-emerged in the 70s as an earth-mother type. Think she got an acting Emmy in the 90s for a guest role on her nephew's ER show. I also remember an interview with Alec Baldwin where he suggested her as a musical guest on an episode on SNL in 1984 and Lorne Michaels looked at him as if he had rocks in his head.

Peggy Lee also gained a shit ton of weight.

I'm not aware of any of her films besides White Christmas and one with "garters" in the title. What were her other films? Were they successes? Worth checking out?

Jose Ferrer's success and popularity are totally elusive to audiences today. Can anyone explain why he was so adored in the 1950s?

Rosemary was very talented and underrated.

R13 Lorne Michaels was one to talk. His overrated show is still shitting out parodies of fucking 70s style game shows.

[quote]I know her marriage to José Ferrer collapsed because he cheated on her, but what was the rest of the story?

His former wife, Uta Hagen, kept pushing her daughter ahead of Rosemary's five.

Uta: Pfffft, Rosemary your five can't equal my Lettie. And you're a bad actress. Read my book and learn something.

[quote] Jose Ferrer's success and popularity are totally elusive to audiences today. Can anyone explain why he was so adored in the 1950s?

He was considered a great stage actor, and one of the few male ones who could also pull off leading roles in the movies. Cyrano de Beregerac was a big deal in the early 50s--it was considered extremely high class by American audiences. His powerful and resonant voice was considered unusual and thrilling.

Rosie actually did five films -

The Stars Are Singing (1953) as Terry Brennan Here Come the Girls (1953) as Daisy Crockett Red Garters (1954) as Calaveras Kate White Christmas (1954) as Betty Haynes Deep in My Heart (1954; cameo appearance) as Performer in 'That Midnight Girl'

As mentioned, DEEP IN MY HEART only featured her in one number (with Jose) and THE STARS ARE SINGING & HERE COME THE GIRLS are kinda rickety vehicles - STARS for Lauritz Melchior and Anna Maria Alberghetti (though Rosie sings "Come On-A My House") and GIRLS for Bob Hope. Not films for the ages.

Jose Ferrer's stardom on screen was due entirely to talent. He was almost awesomely homely.

His success was all the more remarkable given that the fact that he was Puerto Rican at a time when very few Latino actors could play anything but stereotyped fiery-tempered South of the Border types. But Ferrer played nearly everything in his career: Latinos, WASPs (he was very funny as Julia Duffy's rich father on "Newhart"), Jews, Italians. I always think it was nice that a time when few people could make it in entertainment by the dint of sheer talent, he got ahead.

But, he could not keep his dick in his pants, and he cheated on all his wives.

Go on-a her house...

Weirdly, OP, I was just wondering about her myself and swear I was about to start a thread.

Maybe it was White Christmas that brought her to mind...

Me too; she was lovely in WC, but even at that time a bit hefty by Hollywood actress standards. I recall her candor about depression & mental illness were considered rare at the time.

It was weird so much of her 50s success depended on her singing novelty songs in a fake Italian accent when she was so solidly Irish and German.

From 1968. Shortly before her breakdown. Amazing.

Being bipolar can get in the way of having a career.

And if her life wasn't difficult enough, Bette Midler came along and did a tribute album to her, singing all her songs.

Alcohol, drugs, divorce, mental breakdown..... none of these are excuses for her getting FAT.

I think, in a funny way, her not being Italian was what made those novelty songs so much fun. It allowed for everyone to sing along in a silly Italian accent.

Her 1950s novelty songs were hits but she hated doing them. Mitch Miller, who was the head of A&R, dictated what songs got recorded. She and another amazing singer, Jo Stafford, had to perform fluff like "Come On-A My House" and "Suzy Snowflake" (Clooney) and "Jambalaya" and "Shrimp Boats" (Stafford). Miller knew what he was doing -- those dumb novelties sold like crazy and made a lot of money for Columbia. But it frustrated many singers under contract who wanted to be taken seriously as artists.

On the other hand, Perry Como, at RCA Victor, had no qualms about singing some of the most inane songs in the world, and they all sold well.

^^Miller was hear of A&R at Columbia Records.

The weird thing is that the first and most successful of those songs, "Come On-a My House," is actually supposed to be Armenian (the songwriter was Armenian-American, and wanted it to be about how when you visit Armenian houses you're given this huge spread of fruits and nuts and candies).

But when she was trying to code “angry” onscreen (White Xmas”) she looked just like Elsie the (Bordens) Cow. So I always thought that’s what happened to her.

"Her second husband was her longtime friend, dancer Dante DiPaolo, quite cute and he aged well."

Her second husband was her longtime GAY friend, dancer Dante DiPaolo...

R16: Ferrer played thecourt-martial lawyer in The Caine Mutiny. He gave at least two very powerful and memorable speeches: condemning Caine during the trial, and expressing his contempt for the officers who conspired against him. Stuff like that sticks with people. I’m just going from memory, so that’s what I can recall.

Ferrer’s character expresses his contempt for the Mutineers after the trial.

Somebody must have been responsible on the set of WHITE CHRISTMAS to separate her spatially as much as possible from slim-hipped Vera Ellen (usually Bing and Danny in full shots). When that fails, poor Rosie looks like a hippo.

Rosie's collaborations with Nelson Riddle ("Love" and Rosie Sings the Swinging Riddle") are two of her best LPs--early 60s. When they were also fucking.

To be fair, Darfur Orphan would look chunky next to Vera Ellen. And Rosemary *was* the more talented Haynes sister!

Self-correction: "Rosie Solves the Swingin' Riddle".

"separate her spatially as much as possible from slim-hipped Vera Ellen (usually Bing and Danny in full shots)"

separate her spatially as much as possible from slim-hipped ANOREXIC Vera Ellen (usually Bing and Danny in full shots)

She's meltingly lovely to listen to. So beautifully evocative, impeccable.

Rose Marie, Rosie Clooney, Margaret Whiting and Helen O Connell

I guess they toured together as a group called 4 girls 4

[quote] Somebody must have been responsible on the set of WHITE CHRISTMAS to separate her spatially as much as possible from slim-hipped Vera Ellen (usually Bing and Danny in full shots). When that fails, poor Rosie looks like a hippo.

"Slim-hipped"?? That's one way of putting it.

Another way would be to say that Vera-Ellen looks like she's a concentration camp survivor.

Rock and roll killed many singers' careers, or certainly decreased their demand. Also, she had a shit load of kids to raise, which took up her time. And then there is the combination of ageism and sexism. There are a lot of female stars who could write a book about that topic.

"Also, she had a shit load of kids to raise, which took up her time. "

Do you not understand that celebrities do not raise their own children?

Forgot -

"Rock and roll killed many singers' careers, or certainly decreased their demand."

Not on the nightclub circuit, which was where singers - vocalists - worked for a drinking age adult audience who wanted nothing to do with rock and roll.

r48 - From the Encyclopedia Britannica: "With the rise of rock music in the late 1950s and the subsequent decline of interest in jazz singers, Clooney’s career seemed to be more or less over."

Rosemary Clooney could have taken over for Bacall in "Applause", or done a national tour. Why not?

Vera-Ellen was pretty chunky herself in the 1940s. She became anorexic and that compromised her health. She wore high necked blouses in WC because her drastic weight loss made her neck scrawny. I thought Rosie looked great in the black velvet at the Carousel Club.

Love her. Sexy voice, Dynamic personality. Great sense of humor. Truly a star in every way. They don’t make em like her anymore.

She never aged out of her talent. Though she sounds older, her beautifully-recorded CDs in the 80s and 90s require no accommodation for enjoyment of her voice and style.

R49, Encyclopedia Britannica is ignorant.

Rosemary Clooney was considered a pop singer, not a jazz singer, in the 50s. She did not play jazz clubs, neither did Vikki Carr, Barbara McNair, Robert Goulet, Tony Bennett, Jack Jones, Bobby Darin, Shirley Bassey and numerous others in the 50s, 60s and 70s. The audience for these performers was not the same as those who bought rock records. This audience later dwindled because people stopped going out as much, and other than places like Las Vegas, the night club business suffered and died out. What Encyclopedia Britannica is probably referring to is that record companies threw these performers under the bus in the 70s to concentrate on rock and roll/folk rock.

Extra value is what you get...

[quote] Ferrer played the court-martial lawyer in The Caine Mutiny. He gave at least two very powerful and memorable speeches: condemning Caine during the trial, and expressing his contempt for the officers who conspired against him. Stuff like that sticks with people.

R35, Caine was the name of the ship commanded by paranoid Capt. Queeg (played by Humphrey Bogart), against whom a mutiny was mounted by officers who doubted his sanity and fitness. Ferrer played the Navy lawyer appointed to defend one of the mutineers (Maryck, played by Van Johnson).

She actively campaigned for Robert Kennedy and was in the room when he was shot. That led to the breakdown, the pills, and the booze. She had a lovely voice and great beauty that could not outpace her problems. I was glad that she had a successful comeback.

By the way, those early 50s novelty songs were forced on her and Sinatra during the postwar craze for anything Italian. Funny to think how quickly we forgave them. Mitch Miller was the head of Columbia and made them sing those dumb songs. I think Sinatra left Columbia because of that.

An English actor named Maurice Micklewhite saw the theater marque for The Caine Mutiny and immediately renamed himself Michael Caine!

Pop music in the 50s had a strong influence from jazz. Clooney and Sinatra were key examples. By the same token, Ella Fitzgerald's songbook LPs showed how things could go in the other direction.

Jose Ferrer's look-alike son by Rosemary was actor MIguel Ferrer who died in 2017 at age 61. Miguel and his cousin George Clooney were childhood pals who started out on their Hollywood careers at the same time.

You mean like Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo, r30?

Perry Como is forgotten today, but was a huge star in his era.

Like Edith Head, you queens are too harsh. I remember two of my straight male relatives drooling over Rosie in WC. One was just a couple of years ago.

Boobs, hips, and bedroom eyes win out over the ability to squeeze into couture every time with heterosexual men.

There's a sweet and jarring suprise near the end of this video. First Rosie sings. Such warmth and resonance and texture to her voice. Just the right vibrato. Ease and beauty to her style. She learned from the best. She was one of the best. Enjoy!

Rosie and Mel's son Gabriel has been married to Debby Boone for 40 years. I think he's an episcopal priest, whatever that is. He lights up her life.

I was in a movie with Debby, r65. Fine....I was an extra.

Most of the big night clubs in NYC, Chicago, LA and San Francisco were gone by the early 70s except for the few that were converted into discos. Where was Rosie going to perform live except Las Vegas? And Vegas is not a good place for someone with a weakness for alcohol and drugs.

She liked the booze and the dope!

Singers of Clooney's generation continued to sell albums and get good gigs throughout the 60s, in spite of rock music taking over pop culture, but by the 70s it was pretty much over.

Patti Page's How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?, Perry Como's Papa Loves Mambo and Hot-Diggity! Dog-Diggity!, Teresa Brewer's Music, Music, Music (Put Another Nickel In) and Ricochet Romance, Dean Martin's That's Amore and Kay Starr's The Rock and Roll Waltz were all HUGE silly gimmick hits that people loved. It was all just part of wacky Eisenhower Era.

Did I forget any?

Rosemary and Betty

Ridiculous. Rosemary Clooney, Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan all performed successfully at premium venues and festivals - to rapturous fans, until the day they died or were unable. The best remain the best. No longer about record sales, but it was not about pity either. They weren't fucking Liza Minnelli. Begging old fags to love her. Yuck.

Great artists & wonderful singers - that's who they were. Beloved for their musicianship, fine talents and for the most part, good taste as they aged. Listen to Rosie Clooney sing "Don't Fence Me In" at the Rainbow Room. She hasn't much control or range left - but she doesn't fuck it up. This level of singers were musicians. They didn't go for notes they could no longer reach and always found a new way or better song to suit their mature voice and style. Artists.

[quote] [R49], Encyclopedia Britannica is ignorant.

Mary!

Read her second autobiography Girl Singer from a few years before she died, comparitively young, at just 74.

Haven't read the most recent book on her, called Late Life Jazz.

Speaking of, those Concord albums that comprise her late career...the early ones are good but man, the later ones get really lazy: re-records of songs she'd done before. The thing that rankles me about them is to buy a Clooney album with just ten tunes on it, and you'll have a song that's 4 or 5 minutes long and Rosemary sings 32 bars at the beginning for about a minute, then there are 2-3 minutes of jazz solos, then Rosie comes in again for the last 8.

But then there'll be something perfect like her version of "Where Do You Start" and you forgive everything.

Where did Nelson Riddle say he hated working with Judy Garland? Rosie says Nelson's arrangement of "Come Rain or Come Shine" with bongos predates the one he wrote for Judy, which became one of her big ones.

But r72 there weren't as many venues to play in.

Clooney's DVD commentary about her experiences working on White Christmas is interesting.

If you hear between her words, she basically says that Kaye wanted to be, and thought he Crosby were going to be, friends, but Crosby wasn't having it.

Crosby was cold, hard business and didn't want to be around anybody if he didn't have to be.

Iirc correctly I think she says "Kaye was hurt by that".

Bing Crosby was a legendary prick. He was disliked by many. Even his own family couldn't stand him.

[quote]Drink and weight gain and a messy divorce (Mel Ferrer). Trifecta!

Mel Ferrer = Mr. Audrey Hepburn

José Ferrer = Mr. Rosemary Clooney (twice)

Rosie's Ira Gershwin and Cole Porter albums are perfection.

I had this 78. One of her hits was on the flip side, but I preferred this tune...

Red Garters!!!!

"I Concentrate on You."

This video is a perfect example of a real singer (Rosemary Clooney) and someone who produces sound (Linda Ronstadt).

R56: Thanks, I remembered the whole thing wrong but I remembered Ferrer’s character; I think he was a powerful actor. Itmay have been 20 years since I saw it since I cut the cable so long ago.

More Red Garters...

Bette Midler and Linda Ronstadt did the Datalounge anthem "Sisters"? THAT I'd like to hear.

We have a fabulous mural of her in Cincinnati. It’s brought to life when the Blink light people come to town.

I went to an evening with Stanley Donen at Lincoln Center and he was asked how Jose got the lead in a big Metro musical like Deep In My Heart and Donen said that Ferrer was about the biggest thing around then and they were happy to get him. I highly recommend the bluray as it's got some sensational numbers and Oberon is fabulously beautiful. Avedon's wife though is a pretty but charmless stick in the mud. No wonder he was banging Mike Nichols.

It’s been a long time since I read her book - but she told this funny story: In the late 1960’s she had a pretty spectacular nervous breakdown and was hospitalized in the same hospital that she had given birth to all of her children. One day shortly after she was checked in a huge floral arrangement arrived at her bedside - the card read “Was it a Boy or a Girl? Love, Bing” .... She said that the flowers and the joke were the first things to to “lighten” her up and see some humor in her predicament...... in the late 70s or early 80’s there was. TV movie about Rosemary starring Sondra Locke - I’ll check IMDb but for some odd memory I think that Tony Orlando played Jose Ferrer.

Wasn’t there a few years of bad blood between Rosemary and nephew George, back when he first moved to LA?

[quote] and someone who produces sound (Linda Ronstadt).

**chuckles** You're such a BITCH!

Ronstadt is not a real singer. At least not of the American Songbook. One or two ancient trolls get upset when we say that, but it's true. She BLARES music and can't sustain a phrase. Very pretty voice. In pieces. Girl never learned how to do it right. Not even a good rocker really - she had a strong voice for sure. A pretty soprano. But all disconnected and not well trained. Her vocal purity (didn't) hide her many vocal mistakes. She's was not a great singer at all.

Nobody is being a bitch for saying so. Like it or move on. Linda Ronstadt was dead before I was born. Her musical history is more impressive than her legacy. RIP.

Pop/rock singers are never "perfect" singers. Ronstadt was definitely above average, and I'm not even a fan. She was before my time. She sounded like a musical genius compared to singers today.

[Quote] Wasn’t there a few years of bad blood between Rosemary and nephew George, back when he first moved to LA?

George drove for 4 Girls 4. When one of them had to take a leak on the roadside, George was advised not to look in the rearview mirror as he "would learn too much about the ageing process."

I never heard of any disagreements between George and his aunt. He lived with her when he first moved to LA.

[quote] Nobody is being a bitch for saying so. Like it or move on.

**chuckles** You're such a CUNT!

[quote] Linda Ronstadt was dead before I was born. Her musical history is more impressive than her legacy. RIP.

I'm still alive, you dipshit.

The above poster is Datalounge's resident music critic, who apparently has some mental issues and is usually wrong about everything.

I know she's not dead you ancient moron @r98. But her musical career is dead for 30 years now. Almost as long as your sex life. We are talking about real singers and vocalists. Not your bad taste in music when you were 30 years old - back in the 1970s. Hasten down the Wind. How come Linda couldn't sustain a note? Shaky girl.

r99 I'm probably younger than you. And you're just a cunt. We have plenty of other posters who are knowledgeable about music, thanks.

Really. r100. Happy Birthday. I guarantee you that you are decades older than me fool. Don't go on about nothing. This thread is about Rosemary Clooney. If Ronstadt was your imaginary girlfriend, I hope you're over it by 78 years old.

I'm quite knowledgeable about music. It's my passion, my training, my expertise - my excellence and my profession. My awards and reward. You're that racist Cinesnatch, right? You seem to stalk me on this site. I can speak to Tony at Mediopolis about it again, if necessary.

Who said they're aren't others? You seem very cranky gramps. The lockdown is hard in the homes I hear. Not even BINGO is allowed. Listen to ABBA. That's about your speed. Queen.

I always loved her version of Suzy Snowflake.

I used to see her at the Ohio River regatta bear Covington (nearbCincinnati, Ohio) Kentucky in the 80s

[Quote]I think that Tony Orlando played Jose Ferrer.

You're right. I looked it up after LOLing. Surely there were other Hispanic/Latino actors who were actually actors.

Tony Orlando fucked Linda Ronstadt when she was researching her album of polka songs. Who did not? Small world.

And Dawn pegged the fuck out of Tony.

Oh, goody! Another fucking Loon on the DL!!!!

Or, is the "Anti-Ronstadt Loon" the same loon who shows up everywhere? Aka the Mary Poppins Loon?

The tone is different though...meaner and stupider.

There aren't any "young" people posting on a Rosemary Clooney thread.

I'm young. By DL standards, at any rate.

r101 is off her meds...again! Who's going to do the welfare check?

Ronstadt was dreadful--her Motown covers especially. Clooney knew how to maximize her range not exceed it.

I love Rosemary doing those novelty songs -- they were fun, and she got to do some lovely ballads as well, such "Tenderly" and "Hey There". But "Botch-a-Me (Baciami)", another Italian novlety, is a hoot, and she performed it on tv, too.

So, r110...you won't permit me to love both?

[quote]I'm quite knowledgeable about music. It's my passion, my training, my expertise - my excellence and my profession. My awards and reward. You're that racist Cinesnatch, right? You seem to stalk me on this site. I can speak to Tony at Mediopolis about it again, if necessary.

Cuckoo! Cuckoo! Cuckoo!

[quote] I can speak to Tony at Mediopolis about it again, if necessary.

HE WILL SPEAK TO THE MANAGEMENT!!!

Another hit song...

She must have become very sick of all the novelty songs.

She paired well with siblings Parsley Clooney, Sage Clooney, and Thyme Clooney.

I doubt she was sick of the many millions they brought her.

I remember Bette Midler being asked about the Rosemary Clooney Songbook album she recorded. Midler mentioned that she knew Clooney and had been invited to the latter's home and served pasta. How would Clooney have reacted to Midler's album if she had been alive? Did Midler butcher the songs or was it an acceptable effort?

Rosemary Clooney was a beloved figure in the music industry because she had the pipes, knew how to sing a phrase and was, as they used to say, a man’s gal. She could hang out with the guys and dish it out just as well as they could.

Unfortunately, Clooney was like many of the women of the 1950s and 1960s who relied on diet pills to maintain their figure. Granted, some of the silhouette of the Edith Head gowns in White Christmas was achieved by the use of a Merry Widow (an undergarment similar to a corset), but those diet pills ruined their body’s natural metabolism to such a degree that when they went off them they lost that hourglass shape and were never able to recover. This happened to two of my aunts. Their daughters say their mothers were addicted to diet pills and both speak candidly about the depression their mom’s experienced when they went off them and became heavy. Living on cigarettes and coffee (stimulants) didn’t help either.

Even in her later years Clooney could “fill a room”, which was why she was getting bookings so close to her death.

A previous poster mentioned the Concord albums. One that was released a year or two before her death was remarkable if only for the lineup of musicians who accompanied her. They were all the greats.

Here is a 57 year-old Rosemary Clooney singing with Benny Goodman and his orchestra. Not many women could compete with a group of talented musicians like this led by the taskmaster of the ages.

What ever happened to nutcase Lettie Ferrer? Did she ever amount to anything? Is she still alive?

Why do you suppose Rosemary joined forces with those other less-talented ladies for 4 Girls 4? It sounds from all the raves about her later work here, she could have filled a room without depending on Rose Marie, Margaret Whiting and Helen O'Connell for support

Bette Midler's a great performer and a very good actress, especially in comedy and "The Rose", but her voice, while very effective at times, is not a great instrument like Streisand's or Clooney's.

Rose Marie wasn't a great singer but she was arguably the most famous of the 4 Girls just because of television work. Margaret Whiting was a huge musical star of her time and much beloved. Helen O'Connell was probably the least known/beloved but she certainly had fans and was very well known for co-hosting pageants and parades for years.

The "Big Band"/ Pop Classics ladies (and gents) didn't all disappear when rock took over. They had healthy careers playing supper clubs, theaters, cabarets, casinos, music festivals, etc for many decades. I mean, until very recently Tony Bennett was still packing them in.

Why wouldn't Rosie tour with those other ladies? I bet they had a blast. Clooney wasn't a snob and they all were extremely legit performers. What she was a superb singer and musician, as mentioned many times. She had the best musicians and bands and trios in the biz. When you're talent is the calibre of Rosie Clooney, Sinatra, Peggy, Sarah or Ella - you just stand still and play man. Draw them in. Get a little excited if you're feeling it. Watch how Rosemary holds the mike in the Carson clip at R12. Down in front of her. She's not a mike singer. She's a singer. She has the resonance and the texture to her voice that must breathe. Gorgeous, a little weathered. She bites her lip and gives a little smile at the end. This is her only satisfaction. But for 4 minutes, she was BLISS. She knows it. It's a gorgeous performance of that song - that Nancy Wilson sang all the time too. But Rosie holds back the histrionics - the emotion is all in how she shades her vocal to the lyrics and explores lyric with the beat. A superb singer. Artist.

*When your talent....

but those diet pills ruined their body’s natural metabolism to such a degree that when they went off them they lost that hourglass shape and were never able to recover.

Giving birth to 5 kids will do that too...

With Feinstein. I know some think he's a vulture. Maybe, but he's more than that. His attachment to Liza is weird - but his connection to Ira Gershwin and Rosie Clooney was deep. He was so cute and a good singer and great accompanist. Rosie has lost a lot of her range and power by this time- but she never fucks it up. We hear her lung problems. She charms. Natalie Cole was impeccable this way too - late in her life and career. Less is more. Don't go for things you no longer do well. But you need a voice and presence with this much intrigue and style to pull it off. Rosie's at home here. On Roxbury Drive.

Linda was the one who should have done an album of Rosemary Clooney songs. Rosemary and Linda became good friends after Nelson Riddle passed away. Linda went to Clooney's house to tell her that Nelson loved her more than anyone else. It was really quite sweet and the two became inseparable up until her passing.

Linda joked that Clooney was her sponsor in Girl Singers Anonymous

Linda did enough damage to the American Songbook, New Wave music, MOTOWN, Gilbert and Sullivan, Bacharach and to all Mexicans in her career. She didn't get to destroy Rosemary Clooney songs too. Leave it the fuck alone.

R128 Michael Feinstein has a nice voice and was cute, and he knows a lot about the classic songbook. What drove me nuts was him looking all doe-eyed at Nancy Reagan when he sang them right to her adoringly at the White House when her husband was in office. Yuck.

We get it, r130, you detest Linda with the heat of a thousand suns. Are you capable of moving on?

Stop mentioning Linda fucking Ronstadt in the same sentence as Rosemary Clooney, you tone deaf musical heathen. Then we can both move on. ☮️

Clooney was no Betsy Gay.

Linda Ronstadt is an American treasure!

And, not nearly as fat as Rosemary Clooney.

Linda single handedly revived the great American songbook and brought it to a new generation of music goers.

Whatever your opinions of her talent may be, you cannot deny that she deserves gratitude and respect for that.

[quote] And, not nearly as fat as Rosemary Clooney.

So Mariah is the Rosemary Clooney for this century?

Have you seen Linda lately? She's past Rosemary's dimensions.

[quote] Rose Marie wasn't a great singer but she was arguably the most famous of the 4 Girls just because of television work.

Rose Marie WAS a great singer, despite her increasingly gravelly tone. She was phenomenally expressive and had great musicality.

Wow, Rose Marie's voice is actually rather youthful and pretty. I did not know she'd been a singer.

r140, she'd been a singer....

You beat me to it, R141, I've just been down a Baby Rose Marie rabbit hole. The lil' gal had some pipes!

Rosemary and Bing Crosby maintained through the decades both a friendship and mutual admiration for each other's talent. The records they cut together in the 1950's are pure gold. In the mid-70's, Crosby was touring quite a bit in England and he wanted Rosemary to be a part of that. Her career was basically no longer existent. Working with Bing at that point gave her a new lease on her career and helped her tremendously with her confidence after many years of mental health struggles. One of the albums of those shows has Bing introducing Rosemary onstage by saying "She has charm, she has talent...and she's a hell of a singer... Miss Rosemary Clooney!" Neither of them lost their talented voices with age.

Shilling for Coronet paper products.

𝄆 𝄞 ¾ ♬ Extra value is what you get, when you buy Coronet ♬𝄇

Rose Marie even worked with Betty Boop!

R12 wrote; t. Nelson Riddle hated working with Garland...

He did? I just found a youtube recording in which he spoke only well of her. Am too lazy to go back and get link but just type in Nelson Riddle and Judy Garland.

For the Rose Marie fans, check out her documentary, completed just before she died: WAIT FOR YOUR LAUGH on Netflix (or was it Prime?). There's quite a bit about it on the last Theatre Gossip thread.

Lots of clips going back to her radio and vaudeville days as Baby Rose Marie in the 1920s, her career in Las Vegas where she was one of the first stars to headline at The Flamingo (Vegas' first hotel) under the auspices of Bugsy Siegel and the Mob, her happy if short-lived marriage to trumpeter Bobby Guy, the Dick Van Dyke Show and her contretemps with MTM, 4 Girls $ with Clooney, Margaret Whiting and the dreaded Helen O'Connell, and onward and onward.....