We think of fame in fifteen-minute intervals so that it is staggering to think of a performer who has been famous for eight decades. Many of us remember Rose Marie as the pioneering professional writer, Sally Rogers, on The Dick Van Dyke Show in the sixties, but her career began years before as a child singer when she was three. Over the years she conquered radio, the stage, Las Vegas, and most especially TV, always the consummate team player. As Rose Marie prepares to celebrate her 88^th birthday on August 15^th, we should recognize her as one of show business’s true originals.

I had the pleasure to chat with Rose Marie recently about her one-of-a kind journey. That interview is at the end of this blog and you will hear firsthand her humor, honesty, and amazing recall. As kids in their twenties parade on reality shows hoping to be stars, Rose Marie won her first talent contest as a toddler. No one could believe that a husky, adult voice was coming from someone so young. She was no angelic Jackie Evancho, but a jazzy hot mama. By the age of five, she had her own radio show, billed as Baby Rose Marie, signed to a seven-year contract with NBC. People were entranced by her mature voice; some doubters thought it was really a forty-five year old midget. To dispel the midget myth, NBC sent her out on the road and into the movies. Take a look at the child who fascinated Depression America:

While she performed at the vaudeville palaces across the country, Rose Marie was taught by such masters as Milton Berle and Dick Powell on how to win an audience. The Baby soon evolved into a “glamorous blonde doll” and in 1946 she opened the first luxury casino in Las Vegas, the Flamingo, financed by notorious mobster Bugsy Siegel. We have one of her earliest television appearances where she does an old song-and-dance routine with a pre-Honeymooners Jackie Gleason. Who could have imagined that savvy inheritor of show business tradition would become one of TV’s first modern women?

Sally Rogers is one of the key women characters in the history of television. Feisty and independent, Sally was an equal to her male coworkers, one of he boys in the writer’s room. Created by Carl Reiner, Rose gave the role fire and soul. She went well beyond the Reiner’s initial stereotype of a woman searching for a husband; she was a woman as quick-witted and sarcastic as her male counterparts, and offered suffered because of her smarts. Rose infused her character with comedy and pathos, a supporting player who was as multi-dimensional as the stars. Her romantic travails often left her alone, especially the heartbreaking episode on her birthday with former flame Leo Fassbinder; she survived with her cat, Mr. Henderson, and her wits.

As Rose Marie discovered, her Sally Rogers became a feminist hero to many, encouraging girls to become comedy writers and to live independently. After this seminal role, Rose continued entertaining, by being herself on Hollywood Squares and the theatrical revue 4 Girls 4.  Rose Marie has had one of the most remarkable careers in show business, and we wish her the happiest of birthdays and another great year ahead.