Rose Marie

Rose Marie first tasted stardom at the age of three, and grew up to become a beloved and respected veteran of the entertainment industry. She launched her career as radio star and singing sensation Baby Rose Marie, captivating audiences with her cute-as-a-button charm and vocal talent. Marie soon starred in her own film and television specials, performing alongside the likes of W.C. Fields and George Burns. After dropping Baby from her stage name, Marie developed into a seasoned performer by the time she was a teenager, headlining nightclubs and performing at grand openings of five-star Las Vegas casino resorts. Marie enjoyed her second shot at stardom during her adult years, mostly for her portrayal of wisecracking writer Sally Rogers on "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (CBS, 1961-66). Playing an independent, determined and funny female character in a male-dominated work environment, Marie helped change how women were portrayed in Hollywood. After "The Dick Van Dyke Show" ended, Marie remained an industry staple, from acting on primetime comedies, to her regular stint as a celebrity panelist on the long-running game show "Hollywood Squares" (NBC, 1966-1980; syndicated, 1998-2004; GSN, 2002-03). With a passion and dedication to entertaining audiences, Marie carried out one of the most influential and remarkable careers in entertainment. Even at the very end of her life, Rose Marie remained engaged with her fans, being a late-life adopter of social media and starring in a career-spanning documentary, "Wait for Your Laugh" (2017), shortly before her death on December 28, 2017 at the age of 94.

Rose Marie Mazetta was born on Aug. 15, 1923 in New York City to an Italian-American father and Polish-American mother. She began performing at three, winning an amateur contest held at the Mecca Theatre in Manhattan. Billed as Baby Rose Marie, she had landed her own NBC radio show by the time she was five. The nationally syndicated radio show earned Marie the nickname the "Darling of the Airwaves." One of her first starring roles was in the short film "Baby Rose Marie the Child Wonder" (1929). The precocious young star also appeared in a number of variety specials, often wearing cute costumes, including a polka-dotted sailor suit, and belting out musical numbers. Even as a child, Marie displayed the finesse of a seasoned performer that would rival Shirley Temple several years later. Marie made her feature film debut in "International House" (1933) as a featured performer opposite W.C. Fields, George Burns, and Bela Lugosi. Even though Marie's father managed her, she revealed in her 2003 autobiography Hold the Roses that members of the Mafia, including Al Capone and Bugsy Siegel, had a hand in shaping her career. Years later, she was even invited as one of the headliners during the opening night of Siegel's Flamingo hotel and casino in Las Vegas, NV.

After dropping "Baby" from her stage name, Marie continued to perform at nightclubs and vaudeville shows across the country well into her teenage years. She married trumpeter Bobby Guy in 1946, with whom she had one child. Marie was cast in her first film as an actual actress opposite Phil Silvers in the 1954 musical comedy "Top Banana." Her acting debut led Marie to a career resurgence in the late 1950s as a television actress. Guest appearances on "Gunsmoke" (CBS, 1955-1975) and "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" (CBS, 1959-1963), and a recurring role on "My Sister Eileen" (CBS, 1960-61) allowed the actress to establish a larger television fan base. Marie became a household name in 1961 when she joined the cast of "The Dick Van Dyke Show," which starred Dick Van Dyke as Rob Petrie, a writer for the fictional program "The Alan Brady Show," and Mary Tyler Moore as his wife, Laura Petrie. Marie played Sally Rogers, a wisecracking and strong-willed writer who works with Rob on "The Alan Brady Show." Inspired by real-life television writers Selma Diamond and Lucille Kallen, Marie's character lives in an apartment with her cat, Mr. Henderson. She is set on finding a husband and entertains guests at dinner parties with philosophical quotes from her Aunt Agnes in Cleveland. Marie was also lauded for portraying a working woman, which was rarely seen on television during that time, and earned three Emmy Award nominations (1963, 1964, 1966) for Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role by an Actress.

Marie retained a strong presence in the television industry even after "The Dick Van Dyke Show" wrapped production. She played another working woman on "The Doris Day Show" (CBS, 1968-1973), which centered around Day's character as a widow who takes on a job at a San Francisco magazine. She returned to stage performing in 1977, co-starring with Rosemary Clooney, Helen O'Connell, and Margaret Whiting in the musical touring revue "4 Girls 4." She established an equally successful career outside of series acting with frequent guest appearances on game shows such as "Funny You Should Ask" (ABC, 1968-69) and "Stump the Stars" (CBS, 1949-1951, 1954-57; ABC, 1955). Yet it was on the long-running game show "Hollywood Squares" that gave Marie her second home in show business. She made her first appearance as a celebrity panelist in 1971 alongside her "Dick Van Dyke Show" co-star Morey Amsterdam on the tic-tac-toe inspired game show. Marie eventually became a regular on "Hollywood Squares," taking a semi-permanent spot in the panel's upper center square through the 1980s, and once again returning in 2003. Marie continued acting on television, often guest-starring as a central character's mother on shows such as "Murphy Brown" (CBS, 1988-1998) and "Wings" (NBC, 1990-97). In 2004, Marie reunited with her legendary co-stars Van Dyke and Moore on the CBS special, "The Dick Van Dyke Show Revisited." Although Rose Marie largely retired from film and television performances in her later years, she became an enthusiastic adopter of social media, posting frequently on her Twitter account; a family recipe for her Sunday gravy, a staple dish of Italian-American families, went viral in the mid-2010s. Rose Marie died at her home in Van Nuys on December 28, 2017. She was 94.