Thursday, December 28, 2017

Rose Marie RIP

Just got word that Rose Marie passed away at the age of 94.  She was in show business for 93 of those years.  I had the pleasure of getting lunch with her about five years ago.  She was truly a kick.  Funny, smart, and with a million stories.  For many she'll always be Sally Rogers, a role model for women getting into comedy and writing.    How eerie that both Rose Marie and Mary Tyler Moore died the same year. 

Just last weekend CBS ran two colorized episodes of THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW and they were a huge rating hit.   Rose Marie's work will be seen and appreciated hopefully another 94 years.  

18 comments :

Anthony Hoffman said...

She was active on Twitter!

VP81955 said...

And as a child, she sang on record with Fletcher Henderson's orchestra!

Thank you, Rose.

Unkystan said...

Sad. Just recently saw an excellent documentary on her called “Wait for Your Laugh”. Find it. And RIP

Johnny Walker said...

How sad. I watch the Dick Van Dyke Show every night at the moment. Sally Rogers was amazing and Rose Marie was never less than brilliant. I know everyone fancied Laura when they grew up watching TDVDS, but when I first watched it, Sally was the one who stuck out to me.

I don’t know too much about her career, but talent like hers deserved to have success. I hope she found it.

Breadbaker said...

As always, when I hear of someone's death the first thing I do is click on your blog and you're already there with a nice tribute.

It was interesting to learn from Wikipedia that she made a film as a kid with W.C. Fields. Not a lot of living people left who can say that!

Teri said...

If you get a chance, you should see... oh screw that, YOU SHOULD GO OUT OF YOUR WAY to see the new documentary about her life, "Wait for Your Laugh."

E. Yarber said...

I used to come home from school to watch The Three Stooges and The Dick Van Dyke Show. Obviously I was covering both sides.

Watched International House after I heard the news. As as child, she played an adult and kept the same level throughout her work.

If one could choose someone to complain to, who would be better than Rose Marie? You know she'd answer with an equal degree of unfiltered experience and compassion.

It's hard to believe that we'll have to settle for a hologram of our memories of her from now on. Rose Marie has always been a constant.

Stephen Taylor said...

Just read someplace that she was the last living musician to have charted before World War II. This leaves Dick Van Dyke, Carl Reiner and Larry Mathews as survivors of the "Dick Van Dyke Show".

Mike Bloodworth said...

I ran into Rose Marie in of all places, a supermarket here in the valley about a dozen or so years ago. Her health was already in decline. She was in a wheelchair. I couldn't see her at first, but I immediately recognized her VOICE. I said, "Hello" and told her what a big fan I was. She was very gracious. I wasn't the only one there that recognized her. There's the old saying, "The bigger they are, the nicer they are." In her case this was absolutely true. R.I.P.

Barry Traylor said...

Damn. This news truly sucks.

Pat Reeder said...

We were so sad to hear this. I've written here before about how much both my wife Laura and I were influenced by watching after-school reruns of the "Dick Van Dyke Show" as kids. But I think the person who most influenced Laura was Rose Marie, who made her want to be both a singer and a comedy writer, and she accomplished both. She may be named Laura and married to a tall, goofy comedy writer, but I'm sure she identifies even more with Sally Rogers. I bet countless other female comedy writers felt the same way. Between Keely Smith and Rose Marie, two of Laura's top five icons and role models have left us in one week.

My friend and "Hollywood Hi-Fi" co-author George Gimarc recently happened into a huge trove of inter-office memos from one of the top live talent booking agencies of the '60s and has been culling out gems for the Texas Musicians' Museum that he co-founded. One that he shared with us, knowing of our love for the DVD Show, was a note about Rose Marie. It said she was eagerly looking for bookings and needed work, and it spelled out her financial terms. But it said she was only available up to a certain date, when she would be starting a new TV show that she hoped would raise her profile. No kidding: it was the "Dick Van Dyke Show."

John Hammes said...

According to Carl Reiner, Sally Rogers was based on the real life Selma Diamond, another unique and unforgettable character. Rest in peace.

Terrence Moss said...

very. her last tweet went out an hour before she passed.

Brad Apling said...

Talk about 'troopers'. Some really know how to work hard at doing their job. Class act.

Todd McGee said...

Wow. I wonder if it was the same Rose Marie.

Mike Barer said...

I enjoy Carl Reiner on twitter. Let's be happy that Carl and Dick are still with us.

Kirk said...

Sorry to hear that.

The Bumble Bee Pendant said...

The new documentary about her is a must view as it tours the country. We got to see it in NY.

She had found new fans from the documentary and her surprising posts on Twitter