Hold the Roses (10 page)

Street Sixteev>,... on. 24tem?

The next day I took the bus to New York. As I told you, we lived five minutes
from the George Washington Bridge and the bus took me right into the city.
I walked a few blocks to Sardi's and went inside. Naturally, they were at a
front table, Mr. Rodgers and Mr. Hart. I tried to act cool. I said hello and sat
down. They introduced themselves-as if I didn't know!

I said, "What can I do for you gentlemen?" Boy, that's really clever.

Mr. Rodgers did the talking. He told me about the show, my part
and the songs I would sing. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Special
billing, everything.

I said, "I would love to do it!"

They said, "Fine."

I told them my father was my manager and they would have to talk
to him about the money.

They said, "Fine."

We had lunch and I was dizzy with happiness. I couldn't believe it. A
Rodgers and Hart show! A starring part on Broadway! This was it! I went
home and told my mother. I started to cry. My father was not home. He
never was during the day and sometimes he wasn't there at night either. I
didn't care. Nothing could spoil my happiness.

The next day, my father came home around 4:00 P.M. I told him
about the show. He showed no emotion at all. He just said, "Good, I'll talk
to them." Mr. Rodgers called and I heard my father make an appointment
to meet with them. He went into New York the next day and came home
around 6:00 P.M.

Miss Rose Marie at sweet sixteen

He said, "It's all off. The Gerry Society won't let you do it. You're
fourteen, ya gotta be sixteen to work in New York."

I said, "No, I can't lose that show because I'm fourteen! Damn, damn,
damn!" But it was no use. They couldn't work anything out. The part went
to another girl and they called her Baby Rosalie. Sounds close, but no
cigar. They did the same in the movie too! Damn, damn, damn.

I hit fifteen and the people at the Roxy Theater called. They wanted
me to do my act, plus work with a bunch of kids dancing the Big Apple the dance craze of the day. Okay... the Roxy
Broadway. (It was 7th Avenue-one street over.)

I had made up my mind not to lose it. I had signed with the theatrical agency Music Corporation of America (or MCA). Joe Sully and Bill
Loeb were the agents taking care of me. I went up to see them and I told
them that I didn't want to lose the Roxy gig, but that we might have trouble
with the child labor law. I told them to say I was seventeen and push my
birthday up two years. There was no way I was going to lose that date. So
the contracts were signed and I played the date. It was wonderful. An honest-to-God theater again. We did four shows a day, five on Saturday and
Sunday.

My real sixteenth birthday was coming up. My mother decided to
have a big party for me at the Glen Island Casino in New Rochelle, New
York. Glenn Miller was playing there. It was my favorite orchestra. My
mother said I could have sixteen couples-formal. Well, my dears .... It
was to die!

I had made a lot of friends in Palisades, even though we didn't go to
the same school. I had spent a great deal of time with them when I was
home and I went to many of their school functions. It was hard to choose
just sixteen people from my group of friends. For sure Dottie Schoenenbaum,
who lived down the street and was my best friend. We still keep in touch.
She just had to be there. We planned everything. The best part was that we
got to invite the guys we wanted.

We went shopping for gowns.... Deanna Durbin time again. Of
course, it was a little more grown-up this time. We told the boys what kind
of flowers to get us-wrist corsages, of course. I even called my friend jean
Okun (her nickname was "Petey"). I was really disappointed that she
couldn't come to the party. I asked her if I could wear her white fox jacket.
She said, "Sure." I'll never forget the feeling of that white fox jacket.

I was really excited about the party. It was going to be wonderful... until
my father decided to make it a big publicity stunt. He notified all the newspapers and he sent me about thirty telegrams from different stars-to make
it look like they had all remembered my birthday!

Earlier in the day, WMCA threw a big birthday party-on the air!
They read all the telegrams and some local celebrities sang and said a few
words.

After the show, I went home and got dressed for the big affair. I wore
a pink off-the-shoulder dress with satin high heels dyed to match-and Petey's white fox jacket. Growing up was kind of nice! Dottie came over
with her date and they brought Frank Ciarleglio, my date. Nice boy. After
the boys gave us our corsages, we got into the car and drove to the casino.
They had set up a big table for us covered with flowers, right in front of the
Glenn Miller Orchestra. One of the new, young, handsome, "hot" singers
of the day was there; his name was Tony Martin. He came over to wish me
a happy birthday and danced three dances with me! Glenn Miller announced
my birthday and they all sang "Happy Birthday." It was thrilling for a
sixteen-year-old.

Toward the end of the evening, a boy came over to me and introduced himself. His name was Chadwick Garoni, and he had come to the
party with Helen Peterson.

He said, "You know my uncle, Al Pianodosi."

I said, "Oh yes."

He said, "My mother is his sister."

I said, "That's nice."

He asked, "May I call you?"

I said, "Sure."

I gave him my phone number. I didn't think anything about it, but
the next day he called and asked for a date for Saturday night. I said, "Okay,
we'll go to a movie and have pizza."

Saturday night arrived. When I let him in, he went to my mother
and father (who was home that night) and asked them if he could take me
out.

My mother said, "Fine, but she's to be home by twelve midnight."

My father said, "No later than twelve midnight, understand?"

So Chaddy and I went out on our first date (I always called him
"Chaddy"). We had a delightful time and started going out together. We
went out for about a year. He even taught me to drive a car. No, no sex! I
guess it was sort of understood we would get married some day.

The war started, Chaddy was drafted and stationed in Chicago. We'd
call one another from time to time. I saw a lot of his mother and father.
They were wonderful to me. I was still doing gigs here and there. I went to
Boston to play the Bradford Hotel roof. The owner, Ralph Snider, said
he wanted me to meet his daughter. I said I would love to. I was thinking, What do I want with that? A rich kid whose father owned the hotel I
was working. Then I met her. Her name was Ruth. I guess we were about
the same age. We hit it off immediately and became so close that we were like sisters. I went to her wedding when she married Irving Shapiro. She
had two little girls and is now a grandmother. We never lost the closeness. We would talk to one another almost every week, and whenever I
play Boston, Ruthie is there with me. She loves showbiz and now handles
a very talented comedienne, Bobbi Baker, who has also become a good
friend.

I played the Bradford Hotel many times and during one of those
times, I was awakened at 8:00 A.M. by a phone call. It was a shock to hear
the phone ring at that hour since I am a late sleeper. It was Chaddy's
mother... and she was crying. I thought, My God, something has happened.
It had, all right.

His mother said, in between sobs, that Chaddy had met a girl and
that they were going to get married. Talk about a shock.

I said, "What do you want me to do?"

She said, "Call him and talk some sense into him. Tell him to get an
emergency furlough."

I called and tried to reach him in Chicago. He wasn't there, so I left a
message. He called me about 7:00 P.M., just as I was getting ready to do the
show.

I said, "Your mother called, what's going on?"

He said, "My wife just had an abortion."

I said, "Fine. The only good thing about it is she didn't bring another
bastard like you into this world," and hung up.

I don't know how I did the shows that night, but I did. I cried for two
days. Ruthie was with me the whole time, and she kept reminding me that
"everything happens for the best."

I said, "Oh, sure."

Little did I know how right she was. Chaddy and his wife always
come to see me whenever I'm playing in their vicinity. In fact, we still
exchange Christmas cards. I'm glad we remained friends.

I was now seventeen years old. MCA got me my first real nightclub
date. It was at the Versailles in New York City. Carl Brisson was the star.
He sang-nice accent, but no act! I opened for him and was a smash...
new nose, new pictures, new gowns, and good arrangements. It was a great
date for me. MCA really kept me busy.

The Martinique, also in New York, with Zero Mostel followed. While
I was there, Joey Jacobson, who ran the Chez Paree in Chicago, came to see
the show. He came over to talk to me after the show to tell me he wanted me to play the Chez Paree. The Chez was one of the best places to play. If
you played there, you were set as far as the nightclub circuit was concerned. He wanted me to play with Joe E. Lewis for sixteen weeks. He
doubled the salary I was making at the Martinique. (I knew my salary, but
I never saw the money. My father always got the check.) Great! Wonderful!

Except I was to open December 16th. I said, "I don't want to be away
for Christmas. It's very important to me. Besides, sixteen weeks is a long
time."

He offered, "Bring your mother with you. I'll pay for it."

I said, "My father travels with me."

He said, "Fine, bring him too."

"What about my dog, Snowball?"

"Him too," he said.

I knew it was the right thing to do as far as my career was concerned,
but I hated the thought of being away for Christmas. That's where that
famous piece of advice comes in handy: "You can always put a Christmas
tree in the hotel room."

Ruthie Shapiro was in town and came down to see the midnight
show. After the show, I told her how upset I was, but I knew it was the best
thing to do.

She agreed with me and said, "The Bernard Brothers are playing at
the Park Central Hotel, let's go see them."

I said, "Okay ....I think I'll get drunk." She laughed and we walked
up 57th Street to the Park Central. We saw the Bernard Brothers and said
hello. I ordered a scotch and soda. Ruthie almost died.

I said, "I want four of `em."

Ruthie said, "You don't drink.... You don't like the stuff."

I said, "Tonight is different."

I proceeded to get drunk.

Ruthie said, "We've got to get back to the Martinique. You have a
2:20 A.M. show. Oh my God, your father is going to kill me and you."

So we left and walked back to the Martinique, went into the dressing
room. I started to throw up...in a champagne bucket, no less. I was never
so sick in my life. Ruthie took her lynx jacket, rolled it into a ball behind
my head, and I fell asleep. The show was about forty minutes away. Ruthie
did everything she could do to sober me up. My father came around and
knocked on the door.

I said, "I'm fine."

He went away. I did the show that night and Ruthie swears she doesn't
know how I did it. Me neither! But I do know it's another reason for me
not to drink.

I played the Chez Paree. It was a wonderful date and I played it many
more times after that! "The boys" ran the Chez and they took very good
care of me. I'd sit with them between shows, and always the same questions:

"Ya wanna drink?"

"Want something to eat?"

"Everything okay?"

"Got any problem?"

I'd always say, "I'm fine, thank you."

My next date was the Loews State Theater in New York and then the
Ohio Villa in Cleveland, where we met the rest of "the boys": "Doc" Magine,
Jerry Mallone, "Black Jack"-from the Cleveland Mob. How wonderful
they were to me! Big parties in the club every night. I met their wives, ate
in their homes. In fact, after this date, they came to our house in Jersey,
bringing all kinds of wines, meat and butter, which were rationed at that
time. We had steaks three inches thick!

Then I went to Detroit and played the Bowery. Another A-1 place.
"The boys" all came down to Detroit and it was Cleveland all over again!
They couldn't do enough for us. It was great to have them around because
everybody knew not to mess with them.

Back to New York to play the Martinique again. Danny Thomas was
the star and I opened for him. He was the hottest thing to come out of
Chicago, from the 5100 Club. Everybody was raving about him and everyone was waiting to see the new hot comic out of Chicago. Danny was a
smash. His style was different, something new. All the Mob guys were
there-Frank Garbo, Tommy Brown, all "the boys" from Chicago.

My mother was sitting in front of Frankie Garbo, who was drunk
and making lots of noise. My mother said, "Be quiet, there's a show going
on." He laughed out loud and continued to be very boisterous. My mother
started to say something again and Tommy Brown said to my mother,
"Leave it to me, I'll quiet him down." He said something to him and Garbo
never uttered another sound. God only knows what he told him!