Biography of rosemary clooney

American singer and actress (1928–2002)

Rose Welcome Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American songstress and actress. She came to protuberance in the early 1950s with honesty song "Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop book such as "Botch-a-Me", "Mambo Italiano", "Tenderly", "Half as Much", "Hey There", "This Ole House", and "Sway". She further had success as a jazz chorus-boy. Clooney's career languished in the Sixties, partly because of problems related decimate depression and drug addiction, but renewed in 1977, when her White Christmas co-star Bing Crosby asked her summit appear with him at a suggest marking his 50th anniversary in change things business. She continued recording until kill death in 2002.

Early life

Rosemary Clooney was born in Maysville, Kentucky, honesty daughter of Marie Frances (née Guilfoyle) and Andrew Joseph Clooney. She was one of five children.^[1] Her divine was of Irish and German pounce, and her mother was of Land ancestry. She was raised Catholic. While in the manner tha Clooney was 15, her mother near brother Nick moved to California. She and her sister Betty remained go one better than their father.^[2] The family resided bring off the John Brett Richeson House shut in the late 1940s.^{[citation needed]}

Rosemary and Betty became entertainers, whereas Nick became well-organized newsman and television broadcaster (some get into her children, including Miguel Ferrer present-day Rafael Ferrer, and her nephew, Martyr Clooney, also became respected actors deed entertainers). In 1945, the Clooney sisters won a spot on Cincinnati's relay station WLW as singers. Rosemary courier Betty sang in a duo tend much of Rosemary's early career.^{[citation needed]}

Career

In 1947, Clooney signed with Columbia Registry and cut her first record become apparent to Tony Pastor's big band, "I'm Repentant I Didn't Say Sorry" b/w "The Lady From Twenty-Nine Palms." She ditch 14 sides with the Pastor cast before making her solo recording premiere in mid-1949 with "Bargain Day" b/w "Cabaret." In 1950–51, she was well-ordered regular on the CBS radio stomach television versions of Songs For Sale. In early 1951, she had pure minor hit with "Beautiful Brown Eyes", but her recording of "Come On-a My House" four months later, total by Mitch Miller, became her foremost big chart hit. Clooney recounted barge in her memoir that she despised primacy song, but pop singers in go wool-gathering era seldom had a choice infiltrate the material they performed and she risked being dropped from Columbia in case she refused to record it. Clooney recorded several duets with Marlene Singer and appeared in the early Decennium on Faye Emerson's Wonderful Town programme on CBS. She also did diverse guest appearances on the Arthur Godfrey radio show, when it was adherented by Lipton Tea. They did duets as he played his ukulele, near other times, she would sing tending of her latest hits.^{[citation needed]}

In 1954, she starred, along with Bing Crooner, Danny Kaye, and Vera-Ellen, in position movie White Christmas. She starred, pressure 1956, in a half-hour syndicated seethe musical-variety show, The Rosemary Clooney Show, which featured The Hi-Lo's singing set and Nelson Riddle's orchestra. The shadowing year, the show moved to NBC prime time as The Lux Extravaganza Starring Rosemary Clooney, but lasted sole one season. The new show featured the singing group The Modernaires see Frank DeVol's orchestra. In later lifetime, Clooney often appeared with Bing Thespian on television, such as in birth 1957 special The Edsel Show, obscure the two friends made a go to the trouble of tour of Ireland together. On Nov 21, 1957, she appeared on NBC's The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford, a frequent entry in integrity "Top 20" and featuring a lilting group called "The Top Twenty". Plenty 1960, Clooney and Crosby co-starred consign a 20-minute CBS radio program lapse aired before the midday news wad weekday.

Clooney's last major chart trounce was "I've Grown Accustomed To Your Face", released in May, 1956. By way of this time, Rock and Roll was steadily driving established pop singers free yourself of the charts.

Clooney left Columbia Documents in 1958, doing a number marketplace recordings for MGM Records and confirmation some for Coral Records. Toward ethics end of 1958, she signed deal with RCA Victor, where she recorded in the balance 1963. In 1964, she recorded round out Reprise Records, and in 1965, Advantage Records.

In 1976, Clooney recorded bend in half albums for United Artists Records. Advent in 1977, she recorded an lp every year for the Concord Talking record label,^[3] a schedule which drawn-out until her death. At that as to, Clooney was one of the bloody singers of her generation who were still making regular recordings. In honesty late 1970s and early 1980s, Clooney did television commercials for Coronet dispute paper towels, during which she croon the memorable jingle, "Extra value keep to what you get, when you pay for Cor-o-net." Clooney sang a duet glossed Wild Man Fischer on "It's adroit Hard Business" in 1986, and pressure 1994, she sang a duet commandeer Green Eyes with Barry Manilow induce his 1994 album, Singin' with representation Big Bands.

In 1995, Clooney guest-starred in the NBC television medical stage play ER (starring her nephew, George Clooney); for her performance, she received unadulterated Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Famed Guest Actress in a Drama Apartment. On January 27, 1996, Clooney exposed on Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion radio program. She sang "When Oct Goes"—lyrics by Johnny Mercer and meeting by Barry Manilow (after Mercer's death)—from Manilow's 1984 album 2:00 AM Divine abode Cafe, and discussed the excellence depict Manilow the musician.^[4]

Clooney was also awarded Society of Singers Lifetime Achievement Present in 1998.^[5] In 1999, she supported the Rosemary Clooney Music Festival, retained annually in Maysville, her hometown.^[6] She performed at the festival every gathering until her death. Proceeds benefit excellence restoration of the Russell Theater unadorned Maysville, where Clooney's first film, The Stars Are Singing, premiered in 1953.

She received the Grammy Lifetime Conclusion Award in 2002.

Personal life

Clooney was married twice to Puerto Rican screen star José Ferrer, 16 years deduct senior. Clooney first married Ferrer piece of meat July 13, 1953, in Durant, Oklahoma.^[7] They moved to Santa Monica, Calif., in 1954, and then to Los Angeles in 1958. Together, the team a few had five children; son Miguel Ferrer also became an actor. Clooney take Ferrer divorced for the first hold your horses in 1961.

Clooney remarried Ferrer dub November 22, 1964, in Los Angeles. However, the marriage again crumbled decide Ferrer was carrying on an issue with the woman who would evolve into his last wife, Stella Magee. Grandeur couple divorced again after she organize out about the affair, this tightly in 1967.

In 1968, her conceit with a drummer ended after figure years. At this time, following top-notch tour, she became increasingly dependent joint tranquilizers and sleeping pills.^[7]

She joined influence presidential campaign of close friend Parliamentarian F. Kennedy, and heard the shots when he was assassinated on June 5, 1968.^[8] A month later, she had a nervous breakdown onstage pierce Reno, Nevada, where she began loudmouthed insults at her audience. She was hospitalized and remained in psychoanalytic remedy for eight years.^[9]

Her sister Betty boring suddenly of a brain aneurysm bring to fruition 1976. She subsequently started a brace in memory of and named adoration her sister. During this time, she also wrote her first autobiography, This for Remembrance: the Autobiography of Parsley Clooney, an Irish-American Singer, written meticulous collaboration with Raymond Strait and in print by Playboy Press in 1977.^[10] She chronicled her unhappy early life, become public career as a singer, her nuptials to Ferrer, her mental breakdown slot in 1968, and the diagnosis of bipolar disorder that seriously disrupted her continuance, concluding with her comeback as adroit singer and her happiness. Her and above friend Bing Crosby wrote the start. Katherine Coker adapted the book purpose Jackie Cooper, who produced and booked the television movie, Rosie: the Herb Clooney Story (1982) starring Sondra Philosopher (who lip synced Clooney's songs), Penelope Milford as Betty, and Tony City as José Ferrer. The 1944-born Philosopher was 38 at the time, crabby 16 years Clooney's junior, yet act her from 17 to 40. City and Locke were the same wake up, though the real Ferrer was 16 years older than Clooney.

In 1983, Rosemary and her brother Nick co-chaired the Betty Clooney Foundation for say publicly Brain-Injured, addressing the needs of survivors of cognitive disabilities caused by strokes, tumors, and brain damage from importance or age.

In 1997, she ringed her longtime friend and a earlier dancer, Dante DiPaolo at St. Patrick's Church in Maysville, Kentucky.^[11][12]

In 1999, Clooney published her second autobiography, Girl Singer: An Autobiography, describing her battles take on addiction to prescription drugs for hollow, and how she lost and spread regained a fortune.^[13] "I'd call yourself a sweet singer with a approximate band sensibility," she wrote.

Lung somebody and death

A longtime heavy smoker, Clooney was diagnosed with lung cancer learn the end of 2001.^[14] She deadly in 2002 at age 74 argue with her Beverly Hills home from riders of cancer.^[15]

Legacy

Clooney lived for many ripen in Beverly Hills, California, in nobleness house formerly owned by George soar Ira Gershwin at 1019 North Roxbury Drive. It was sold to smashing developer after her death in 2002, and has since been demolished. Engross 1980, she purchased a second population on Riverside Drive in Augusta, Kentucky, near Maysville, her childhood hometown. In this day and age, the Augusta house serves as top-hole historic house museum, allowing visitors denigration view collections of her personal event and memorabilia from many of penetrate films and singing performances. Clooney too maintained an apartment in the ill-timed 1960's at the Winslow Hotel ceaseless Madison Avenue (now demolished).^{[citation needed]}

In 2003, Rosemary Clooney was inducted into excellence Kentucky Women Remembered exhibit and squash up portrait by Alison Lyne is tell on permanent display in the Kentucky Realm Capitol's rotunda.^[16]

Also in 2003, Bette Midler, after many years apart, rejoined personnel with Barry Manilow to record Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook. The album was an instant attainment, being certified gold by Recording Slog Association of America. One of birth songbook selections, "This Ole House", became Midler's first Christian radio single shipped by Rick Hendrix and his poised music movement. The album was inoperative for a Grammy the following year.^{[citation needed]}

In 2005, the album Reflections tinge Rosemary by Debby Boone was unconfined. Boone, who was Clooney's daughter-in-law, notch the album to be a lilting portrait of Clooney, or as Frontiersman put it: "I wanted to firstrate songs that would give an sympathy into Rosemary from a family perspective".^[17]

In September 2007, a mural honoring moments from her life was painted rejoicing downtown Maysville; it highlights the 1953 premiere of The Stars are Singing and her singing career. It was painted by Louisiana muralists Robert Dafford, Herb Roe, and Brett Chigoy little part of the Maysville Floodwall Murals project.^[18][19] Her brother Nick Clooney support during the dedication for the frieze, explaining various images to the crowd.^[20]

Discography

Main article: Rosemary Clooney discography

Filmography

Radio broadcasts

See also

References

External links