Rosemary Clooney (1928–2002)
Author of Girl Singer: An Autobiography
About the Author
Works by Rosemary Clooney
This for remembrance: The autobiography of Rosemary Clooney, an Irish-American singer (1977) 14 copies
Love 5 copies
Love Songs 3 copies
Christmas Kind of Season 3 copies
Tenderly 2 copies
Everything's Coming Up Rosie 2 copies
Tonight 1 copy
1954 1 copy
At long last 1 copy
Some of the best 1 copy
This Ole House 1 copy
Hey There 1 copy
Red Garters / Irving Berlin's White Christmas by Rosemary Clooney, Various Artists (2001) Audio CD 1 copy
A Touch of Tabasco 1 copy
Clap Hands!Here Comes Rosie 1 copy
Rosie Sings Bing 1 copy
The Voice of Your Choice 1 copy
Clooney Tunes & Others 1 copy
Milestones of a Pop Legend 1 copy
Let It Snow 1 copy
Mothers & Daughters 1 copy
This Ole House/Hey There 1 copy
"Rosemary Clooney Show" 1 copy
For the Duration 1 copy
Associated Works
Bella Luna — Contributor — 2 copies
30 All-Time Christmas Favorites (Toys for Tots) — Contributor — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1928-05-23
- Date of death
- 2002-06-29
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Maysville, Kentucky, USA
- Place of death
- Beverly Hills, California, USA
- Occupations
- singer
actor - Relationships
- Clooney, Nick (brother)
Clooney, George (nephew)
Ferrer, Jose (husband)
Ferrer, Miguel (son)
Members
Reviews
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 95
- Also by
- 10
- Members
- 294
- Popularity
- #79,674
- Rating
- 3.7
- Reviews
- 1
- ISBNs
- 22
- Languages
- 1
As with most autobiographies, Rosemary pulls no punches and starts with her darkest days, when she suffered a mental breakdown in 1968, just after the assassination of Robert Kennedy (she was there at the Ambassador Hotel, supporting his campaign, and refused to believe he was dead). She was addicted to barbiturates, had a gruelling international tour schedule, and was dumped by her younger boyfriend - years of internalising her personal and professional insecurities, including her husband Jose Ferrer's infidelities, finally brought her to breaking point and she was committed. Thankfully, she recovered her health and broke her addiction, continuing to perform until her death in 2002, but what an intense introduction to her life!
When Rosemary finally starts to detail the rest of her story, starting in Kentucky with toxic and often absent parents, dependable grandparents and her sister Betty, her early days reveal where she found her inner strength and independence. Like Betty and Judy in White Christmas, she started as a (very young) sister act at the end of the big band era, touring with Tony Pastor before recording her solo debut in 1949 and having her first hit with 'Come On-a My House' in 1951. She married actor Jose Ferrer two years later - choosing him over lifelong friend and partner Dante DiPaolo, whom she later married in 1997 - and balanced a successful career with raising five children! Rosemary was also a strong supporter of both Kennedy brothers, and was invited to the White House, where JFK offered to make scrambled eggs for his guests!
I really enjoyed Rosemary's open and engaging account of her life, from her nomadic childhood up until the death of Bing Crosby and her sister Betty in the late 1970s. There is a lot of name dropping, but then she was famous in her own right and did live in Hollywood! ('Besides, if you start out with friends like Crosby and Dietrich, where are you going to go from there and be awed?') It's a shame that more people don't remember her now, apart from being George's aunt, because she had a beautiful voice and face and lived a fascinating life at the heart of America's golden age. Onto her second book!… (more)