Rose Marie, a veteran actress and show business legend best known for her role on The Dick Van Dyke Show, died Thursday at her home in California.
She was 94 years old.
The late star’s publicist has confirmed the sad news.
Marie’s extensive career started as a child singing sensation in the 1920s and 1930s.
In an interesting note, she was the last surviving entertainer to have charted a hit before World War II. Pretty cool, right?
The artist and actress landed her first major TV role in 1960 on the CBS sitcom My Sister Eileen, prior to rising to prominence alongside Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore.
Marie portrayed Sally Rogers on all five seasons of The Dick Van Dyke Show; she was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1963, 1964 and 1966.
“We were a tight-knit, hard-working crew,” she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2004, adding at the time:
“I couldn’t wait to get to the set each day.”
Marie appeared on several television shows and films, and was also became active in animal welfare issues as the years went on.
Born Rose Marie Mazetta on August 15, 1923, the multi-talented star began acting and singing at age three, performing on stage at New York’s Mecca Theater.
She was dubbed “Baby Rose Marie the Child Wonder” and was often heard on the NBC Radio Network.
In the 1930s, Marie toured in vaudeville; and in the 1940s, she performed in nightclubs and theaters, even becoming a co-headliner on opening night of the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas.
Later in life, Marie gained new fans as a frequent celebrity on Hollywood Squares. How frequent?
Marie appeared on 629 episodes of the game show!
She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2001.
All in all, Marie’s amazing career spanned nine decades and was chronicled in the documentary “Wait for Your Laugh,” which was released earlier this year.
Tweeted Carl Reiner, who created The Dick Van Dyke Show, upon learning of Rose’s passing:
I was so sad to learn of the passing of Rosemarie. There’s never been a more engaging & multi-talented performer.
In a span of 90 years, since she was four, dear Rosie performed on radio, in vaudeville, night clubs, films, TV, & Vegas & always had audiences clamoring for “more!!”
May she rest in peace.
