Hold the Roses (30 page)

I was on the show for fourteen years. It kept me alive and brought
back my confidence, as far as working was concerned. It was an easy show
to do. I didn't have to sing, I didn't have to do my act, I just had to answer
some questions and maybe try to be clever and funny.

In any case, every once in a while, Harvey Korman would be a guest
on Squares and he would say to me, "What's with you and Tim? Why don't
you get together?" By this time, Tim had become a big star on The Carol
Burnett Show.

I said, "I'd like to talk to him, I'd love to see him. I'm so proud of
him, but I don't know where to reach him. I haven't seen him in years, and
I always thought it was so strange. I honestly felt he understood my reasons for no longer being able to manage his career, but now it begins to
appear to many other people and to me that we are angry with each other
and no longer on speaking terms. None of this is true. It was necessary at
the time for us to go our separate ways.

When they did his story on This is Your Life, Phil Weltman said that
Steve Allen discovered Tim. This made me furious, but I didn't say or do
anything. I figured that in the end, the truth would come out.

Then, in 1999, as fate would have it (as fate always does), I got a call
from the writers of Caroline in the City. I had done two shows for them.
We had become friends, and they liked my work. Caroline in the City had
been cancelled and they were now working on Suddenly Susan, starring
Brooke Shields. They called me for a guest shot. They had written a big
part, which they had to cut down because of time, but they still wanted me
to do it. They told me that Tim Conway and Harvey Korman would be on
the show as well. When I heard this, I said, "You bet! I'd love to do it." I
figured I finally would see Tim and get this misunderstanding straightened
out once and for all.

The day arrived. I drove to the studio, parked my car and went into
the soundstage. People were milling around, reading, drinking coffee and
in general just trying to look busy. I didn't stop to say hello to anyone.

I walked right over to Tim and said, "Have I ever done anything to
hurt you?"

He said, "No."

"Have I ever said anything bad about you to anyone?"

He said, "No."

I asked him, "What's all this talk about you and me not speaking to
each other? Why don't we get together and straighten out this bad feeling
between us? What's all that about?"

He said, "Phil Weltman did that! Let's forget it. Let's forget the last
twenty years!"

I said, "That's easier said than done. We had a wonderful friendship and I was so proud of you. All of a sudden I hear all these things about why
don't we get along."

He smiled and said, "Forget it. It's over." He hugged me.

I said, "Okay. You know damn well I only wanted the best for you. I
was thrilled with what you had accomplished and felt pride in the fact that
I had a little bit to do with it!" We laughed and hugged again.

By now everybody was listening to us and we laughed. Tim turned to
the group and said, "Yes, she discovered me! If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't
be here." More laughter from everyone. I realized that the problems were
over. After all these years of a friendship lost.

We went to work on the show. It was such a pleasure working with
Tim and Harvey. The set was always crowded. Everybody came to watch
the rehearsals. Even our cameraman was there every day. He wouldn't miss
a rehearsal, and he often said, "It was so wonderful to see professional
people who knew what they were doing and enjoyed working so beautifully together." Brooke Shields has said many times how much fun this
particular show was. Everybody enjoyed it.

The taping was good and went well. When it was over, I walked into
Tim's room to say good-bye to Tim and Harvey and thank them. A bunch
of kids ran in-they were all of Tim's kids-and Kelly, his firstborn, came
over to me and said, "Hi, I'm Kelly." God, what a beautiful young lady she
turned out to be. We hugged and I apologized for being such a lousy godmother. I told her I would try to make up for it.

The show was over, and I felt better knowing that so much had been
cleared up after so many years and that Tim and I were able to straighten
out the mess-whatever it was-and settle it once and for all.

Everyone raved about how great the three of us worked together and
how maybe we could do another show or two, but alas, Suddenly Susan ran
for one more season and then went off the air.

October 3, 2001, was a special day for me. (I've had a few of those
through the years!) I got my star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. I was so
proud of this accomplishment, but the most touching part of the day was
receiving a beautiful letter from Tim. It truly warmed my heart and told
me what I had known and felt all along... that Tim Conway is one wonderful guy.

October 3, 2001

Dear Rose Marie:

Congratulations on a Star for a Star. I'm sorry
I could not be there, but it is your fault. If
you hadn't discovered me in Cleveland, I wouldn't
be working in Vegas and I could have made the
ceremony.

I thank you so much and think often of how lucky
I was that you took an interest in a guy like me
and brought me to this wonderful world of magic.

Your kindness and generosity in and out of the
business has been a constant companion with me.
I love you for it.

TC:pd

Letter from Tim Conway

Lite Fs a T.n.ee- Legged Nain.

Have you ever thought that everything that happens to you in life has been
planned? In other words, that there's a book already written when you're
born saying all the things that will happen to you: good things, bad things,
big events like marriage and children. Everything has already been planned
for you in life, and there's nothing you can do to change it. And everything
is not always perfect, because if it were, you wouldn't strive to do better. So
you go on and you survive and you finally appreciate what you have.. .when
it's too late.

Look at my life-Bobby and I were very happily married-at this
point for nineteen years. We had a lovely home all paid for, and a beautiful
child. I was on a hit series and Bobby was top man in his profession. Everything was perfect-then one of the legs of the chair breaks and you have a
three-legged chair. And everything falls apart. This happened to me in
December of 1963.

I had a club date to do in Bakersfield. It was on a Saturday night.
Bobby was tired and said he wouldn't go with me, which was unusual. He
said, "You and Buddy Freed go. I'm going to try and get rid of this cold." I
knew that he must really not feel good, because a cold would never keep
him away. So he stayed home. On Monday, I called Bill Loeb for a good
doctor. Our doctor had lived on our street but moved away. Let's face it:
You don't look for a doctor when you're feeling good. I called this doctor
that Bill told me to call, who was in Beverly Hills (of course), and we made
an appointment for Wednesday. Bobby was feeling awful and I was worried because he was a healthy man. He didn't smoke, or drink-he drank milk. He was a meat and potatoes man. He played golf, went bowling, and
generally took good care of himself. But I was sure it wasn't just a cold-he
was tired all the time.

So Wednesday came. Bobby had a record date with Bing at one o'clock,
and I was due at the studio at eleven o'clock. I called Sheldon and said I
was taking Bobby to the doctor and that I might be a little late. He said,
"Not to worry, come in when you can." So we went to this doctor. I don't
even remember his name. We sat down in his office. Bobby told him he
was tired all the time, and that this cold was getting to him.

The doctor said, "Do you drink?"

Bobby said, "No."

The doctor asked him, "Do you smoke?"

Bobby said, "No."

So with my big mouth I said, "What, are you going to tell him to give
up?" The doctor said he would have to take blood and do some tests and so
on, and it would be a few hours.

Bobby said, "I have a record date at one."

The doctor said, "Cancel it." He told me to go to the studio, Bobby
would call me. Since we only had one car and I would have to pick him up,
I went over to the studio.

Morey, who knows me so well, said, "What's wrong?"

I said, "I don't know. Bobby is at the doctor's and he's going to call
me."

Bobby called about 1:30 and said, "I cancelled the record date... the
doctor is putting me in the hospital."

I said, "Why? What's wrong?"

Bobby said, "He thinks it's hepatitis."

I said, "Sure, that's the popular disease this season. Let me talk to
him."

The doctor got on the phone and said, "I think he has hepatitis and
you have to get a gamma globulin shot."

I said, "I'll be right over. I want to talk to you," and I hung up.

I told Morey, "I have to leave-they're putting Bobby in the hospital."

He said, "Why?"

I said, "The doctor thinks he has hepatitis."

Morey said, "I don't believe that, that's a liver disease."

I said, "I know, and I have to get a shot."

Morey said, "I'll tell them when they come back from lunch."

I said, "Thanks, Morey," and I was off to the hospital. It was a little
hospital on Beverly Glen and Santa Monica Boulevard-it's not there anymore. I think it was just a hospital for facelifts, nose jobs and so forth.

When I got there, Bobby was in a room with a hospital gown wrapped
around him and the doctor was there. I walked in loaded for bear-I was
so mad. I said to the doctor, "What makes you think he has hepatitis?"

He said, "His blood count is down and we have to try and bring it up."

I said, "He doesn't have yellow jaundice, which goes with hepatitis.
He seems fine."

The doctor said, "I want to keep him a few days and we'll try and
build up the blood. Meanwhile, you have to get a shot." So he gave me the
shot and I went back up to Bobby's room and stayed with him until six
o'clock. I went home and couldn't sleep all night. Somehow this all seemed
so wrong!