Sunday, February 24, 2002
Rosie's career rose with television
By John Kiesewetter
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Television came along just at the right time for Rosemary Clooney.
The Maysville native was just starting out on her own after sister Betty left their musical act, when she appeared on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts. It was in the early days of network TV.
That led to her breakthrough role as a regular on CBS' Songs for Sale in July 1950, two months after her 22nd birthday. She and Tony Bennett, both relatively unknown at the time, performed songs submitted by viewers.
In the spring of 1951, one of the Songs for Sale judges was Columbia Records producer Mitch Miller. He asked Ms. Clooney to record “Come On-a My House,” which became a No. 1 hit in July.
She also met her future husband, actor Jose Ferrer, through television in 1951. She was introduced to him on a New York TV show hosted by Robert Q. Lewis.
In the early 1950s, she appeared on numerous network shows starring Perry Como, Steve Allen and Ed Sullivan.
After starting a family with Mr. Ferrer, Ms. Clooney returned to TV for two seasons. The Rosemary Clooney Show, a weekly syndicated series with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra, debuted in May 1956. The next year, it moved to NBC as The Lux Show Starring Rosemary Clooney, with Paula Kelly and the Modernaires and Frank DeVol and His Orchestra.
TV also help relaunch her career after her late 1960s mental health and drug problems. She started her comeback in 1974 on Cincinnati's Nick Clooney Show, hosted by her brother.
Singing legend Rosemary Clooney dies
Special Enquirer Tribute to Rosemary Clooney
(First published Feb. 24, 2002)
Rosie's career rose with television
