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Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American popular singer and actress. She was most popular singing Traditional Pop music in the 1940s and 50s with songs like "Come On-a My House". She was the aunt of actor George Clooney, and the sister to former television personality Nick Clooney.
BiographyEarly lifeClooney was born in Maysville, Kentucky, about 45 miles up the Ohio River from Cincinnati, Ohio to Andrew Joseph Clooney and Frances Marie Guilfoyle, both of whom were Catholics with Irish ancestry. Her father was an alcoholic and she and her brother and sister were constantly moving back and forth between her parents. When Rosemary was fifteen, her mother and brother Nick moved to California. She and her sister Betty remained with their father. Career
Clooney's first recordings, in May 1946 were for Columbia Records as a singer with the big band of Tony Pastor. She continued working with the Pastor band until 1949, making her last recording with the band in May of that year and her first as a solo artist a month later, still for Columbia. In 1951 her record of "Come On-a My House" became a hit, her first of many singles to hit the charts — despite the fact that Clooney hated the song passionately. She had been told by Columbia to record the song, and that she would be in violation of her contract if she did not record it. In 1954, she, along with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, and Vera-Ellen, starred in the movie White Christmas. In later years, Clooney would often appear with Crosby on television, such as in the 1957 special The Edsel Show, and the two friends made a concert tour of Ireland together. Crosby opined that Clooney was "the best in the business." In 1956, she starred in a half hour syndicated television musical variety show "The Rosemary Clooney Show". The show featured the "Hi-Lo's" singing group and "Nelson Riddle's orchestra" The following year, the show moved to NBC prime time as "The Lux Show Starring Rosemary Clooney", but only lasted one season. The new show featured the "Modernaires" singing group and "Frank DeVol's orchestra".
Beginning in 1977, she recorded an album a year for Concord Records, which continued until her death. This made her something of an anomaly, because most of her generation of singers had long since stopped recording regularly by then. In the late-1970s and early-1980s, Clooney was also a pitch-person for Coronet paper towels, for which she sang a memorable jingle that goes, "Extra value is what you get, when you buy Coro-net." In 1994, Rosemary guest starred in the new NBC medical drama ER, for which she was nominated for an Emmy. Clooney received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002. Personal lifeImage:Clooneyhome augusta.jpg Rosemary Clooney's Riverfront Home, Augusta, Kentucky In 1968, Clooney was present at the assassination of her close friend Robert F. Kennedy. The event traumatized her for years afterward. She had a nervous breakdown onstage in Reno, Nevada, caused in part by serious drug problems. Many attribute some of Clooney’s extraordinary abilities to her being affected by bipolar disorder, commonly known as manic depression. Clooney was married three times, twice to José Ferrer (from 1953 until 1961 and again from 1964 to 1967). They had five children:
She married Dante DiPaolo in 1997. In 1980, she purchased a second home on 106 Riverside Drive in Augusta, Kentucky, near her childhood hometown of Maysville. Today, it houses collections of her personal items and memorabilia from many of her films and singing performances. George Clooney, her nephew, appeared on the Tonight Show (January 2, 2007) and discussed, among other things, how Rosemary Clooney had sheltered both Jay Leno and himself early in their careers. A longtime smoker, Clooney was diagnosed with lung cancer at the end of 2001 and despite surgery died six months later at her home in Beverly Hills, California. George Clooney served as a pall bearer at her funeral, which was attended by numerous stars including Al Pacino. Rosemary Clooney is buried at Saint Patricks Cemetery, Maysville, Mason County, Kentucky. Trivia
Best-known songs
Filmography
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