Many uneducated laymen may think that Rose Marie’s career began with her role as wisecracking Sally Rogers in The Dick Van Dyke Show, but in fact her original moniker was Baby Rose Marie, performing in vaudeville, radio, and short and feature films. One short bore the eponymous title Baby Rose Marie the Child Wonder. She even starred in the W.C. Fields vehicle International House.
Naturally though, her biggest claim to fame was as the lovelorn Sally Rogers, part of the incredible ensemble cast of The Dick Van Dyke Show. She has never been able to replicate the success of that series, but was a staple panelist for nearly 25 years on Hollywood Squares, and often exhibited her brilliant, ascerbic wit. In the 1990s, she made infrequent appearances as guests on modern day TV classics such as Wings, Suddenly Susan, Caroline and the City, and Murphy Brown.
I purchased the photo seen at the top of the posting and mailed it to Rose Marie in November of 1997. She not only signed that and two notecards, but sent along an extra signed photo. Such a nice lady. Such a legend.
I got the chance to meet Rose Marie at the Hollywood Show on April 24, 2010. Because she was 86 years old at the time, I respectfully dealt with her handler Russel to try to get a picture with her. There was a charge for this so we worked out a deal that if I bought a photo for $20, I’d get the picture for free. So I gladly added another signed photo – this one actually from The Dick Van Dyke show – and got my picture with a legend.
Autographs of 1997 will continue…
Celebrities of the Spring 2010 Hollywood Show will continue…
I’m going to be seeing her on Monday, at a luncheon being given for Kay Starr. I’ve met her a few times before. The first time, Rob and I had recently seen her great Vitaphone short at UCLA and we talked about it with her. She hadn’t realized that it had come out on laserdisc a few years ago and was really anxious to have a video copy. I sent her a tape of it, along with a couple of other shorts and “International House,” and she sent back a very nice thank-you card. She’s just amazing in that short. Only six years old and belts out songs like Sophie Tucker! And she doesn’t seem to be doing them by rote, she actually understands what the lyrics are about, even if they’re a little saucy! I always have the feeling that as soon as the cameras stopped turning, little six year old Baby Rose Marie turned to the stagehands and said, “Okay, boys, pour me three fingers and deal me in!”
Randy Skretvedt
March 27th, 2009