The career of singer-actor Rosemary Clooney is actually two careers separated by a 20-year gulf of child-raising, marital troubles and substance abuse. Part 1 began in 1945 at the age of 16 when Cincinnati radio station WLW hired the Maysville, Kentucky native and her 13-year old sister Betty to sing duets for $20 apiece. Appearances with local bands brought them to the attention of bandleader Tony Pastor, and 'The Clooney Sisters' debuted with his big band at Atlantic City's Steel Pier in 1947. After Betty opted for the quiet life of Cincinnati, Rosemary struck out on her own for NYC, signing a recording contract with Columbia which yielded the star-making hit "Come On-a My House" in 1951. Hollywood beckoned and her appealing chirping style and cute personality made her an immediate screen star in movie musicals like "The Stars Are Singing" (her debut) opposite Anna Maria Alberghetti, "Here Come the Girls" (both 1953) with Bob Hope and "White Christmas" (1954), starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and Vera-Allen.
Clooney's 1953 marriage to Academy Award-winning actor Jose Ferrer capped her whirlwind storybook ride to the top, and she settled down to motherhood after a stint hosting a TV program of music and songs, first as a syndicated vehicle ("The Rosemary Clooney Show" 1956) with Nelson Riddle as her music director and later under the aegis of NBC and Lux (known as "The Lux Show Starring Rosemary Clooney" 1957-58). She then disappeared from sight, periodically surfacing for appearances on the shows of her good friends Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, as well as some specials. There was the negative publicity surrounding her two divorces from Ferrer and the drug addiction and nervous breakdown she described in her harrowing 1977 autobiography "This For Remembrance", adapted as the 1982 CBS movie "Rosie: The Rosemary Clooney Story". Many people in the music business considered her finished. "She was so ill," remembers longtime Clooney friend Michael Feinstein, "that it was doubtful that she would ever sing again. So the fact that she came back is almost unbelievable."
But come back she did. While touring with Bing Crosby in the last year of his life, the opportunity presented itself for Clooney to record with the fledgling Concord Jazz label. Her first Concord effort "Everything Coming Up Rosie" (1977) plus a series of releases devoted to the music of Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and Johnny Mercer, among others, established her as one of the most persuasive interpreters of a song lyric. Since her first nomination for "Girl Singer" (1992), she has been a perennial Grammy nominee, movie soundtracks like "Married to the Mob" (1988) and "Radioland Murders" (1994) have featured her as a song performer, and her first-ever appearance at Carnegie Hall in 1991 led to subsequent triumphs at that venue. She has also acted on TV, perhaps most memorably as a Bible-toting murderess in the CBS movie "Sister Margaret and the Saturday Night Ladies" (1987) and as a singing Alzheimer's patient on two episodes during the first season of the NBC drama series "ER", starring her nephew George Clooney, for which she received an Emmy nomination.
Family
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Brother: Nick Clooney. host for AMC cable network; younger
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Daughter: Maria Providencia Ferrer. born in 1957
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Daughter: Monsita Teresa Botwick. born in 1960
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Granddaughter: Dustin Ferrer. born c. 1983; twin of Gabrielle
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Granddaughter: Gabrielle Ferrer. born c. 1983; twin of Dustin
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Granddaughter: Tessa Ferrer. born c. 1986; father Gabriel Ferrer
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Grandson: Jordon Ferrer. born c. 1980; father, Gabriel Ferrer
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Grandson: Lucas Brandon Jose Ferrer. born in June 1993; father, Miguel Ferrer, mother, Leilani Sarelle
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Nephew: George Clooney. son of Nick Clooney; born on May 6, 1961
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Niece: Cathi Campo. daughter of Betty Clooney
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Sister: Betty Clooney. born c. 1931; died of a brain aneurysm in 1976; appeared as a regular on short-lived The Jack Parr Show (CBS, 1954)
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Sister: Gail Clooney.
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Son: Gabriel Vicente Ferrer. born in 1959; married to singer-actor Debby Boone
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Son: Miguel Ferrer. born on February 7, 1955
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Son: Rafael Francisco Ferrer. born in 1956
Milestones
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1945 At age 16, hired to sing duets with her 13-year old sister Betty on Cincinnati radio station WLW for $20 apiece
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1947 Debuted with Pastor s big band at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City
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1949 Fed up with touring, Betty decided she preferred a quiter life and returned to Cincinnati (date approximate)
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1949 Struck out on her own for New York, where she signed a recording contract with Columbia Records
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1951 Enormous success of Come On-a My House catapulted her to stardom
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1952 First appearance on The Bob Hope Show (NBC)
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1953 Acted opposite Bob Hope in Here Come the Girls
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1953 Film debut opposite Anna Maria Alberghetti, The Stars Are Shining , in which she sang Come On-a My House
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1954 Guest-starred in Deep in My Heart , starring husband Jose Ferrer; last film acting appearance to date
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1954 Starred along with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and Vera-Allen in White Christmas , a partial reworking of Holiday Inn (1942)
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1956 Hosted a short-lived synicated program of music and songs, The Rosemary Clooney Show
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1957 Moved to NBC to host a new The Rosemary Clooney Show
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1977 First release with Concord Jazz, Everything s Coming Up Rosie
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1977 Toured with Bing Crosby during last year of his life (date approximate)
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1982 CBS movie Rosie: The Rosemary Clooney Story , adapted from her autobiography, This For Remembrance ; also credited as song performer
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1987 Performed three songs for the feature Track 29
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1987 TV acting debut as a Bible-toting murderess in CBS movie Sister Margaret and the Saturday Night Ladies , although a guest-starring role on an episode of Hardcastle and McCormick (ABC) actually aired first
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1991 First-ever Carnegie Hall performance, In Concert: Rosemary Clooney and the Arrangers
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1993 A Tribute to Bing Crosby won her accolades at Carnegie Hall
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1993 Appeared as Gladys on Miracle on Third or Fourth Street episode of NBC sitcom Frazier
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1994 Guest-starred as Madame X, an Alzheimer patient prone to belting out songs without warning, on two episodes during the first season of NBC drama series ER , starring her nephew George Clooney; received Emmy nomination
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1995 Feted on A&E s The Rosemary Clooney Golden Anniversary Celebration ; brother Nick Clooney and his son George were among the guests
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1997 Sang Fools Rush In (Where Angels Fear to Tread) for soundtrack of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
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1998 Song performer ( I Wish You Love ), CBS movie Chance of a Lifetime
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Appearances with local bands brought The Clooney Sisters to attention of bandleader Tony Pastor
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Made one of earliest TV appearances on The Morey Amsterdam Show (CBS)
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Period of relative inactivity except for guest appearances on The Bob Hope Show (NBC) and The Bing Crosby Show (ABC & CBS), as well as some specials