Late Life Jazz: The Life and Career of Rosemary Clooney (23 page)

As Rosemary’s recovery progressed, Crosby had discovered that he had problems of his own. Early in 1974, he was admitted to hospital with speculation rife that he had lung cancer. Doctors eventually diagnosed a rare fungal infection in one of his lungs, still life-threatening and necessitating the removal of part of a lung and a long period of convalescence. Most commentators thought the illness would bring down the final curtain on the career of the man who had practically invented the art of popular singing. To everyone’s surprise, Crosby’s illness had precisely the opposite effect. Once his recovery was complete, he traveled to England to record three new record albums and make a host of TV appearances, singing better than at any time in the past 20 years. Once back in the states, he joined the Mills Brothers on stage at Los Angeles’ Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in September 1975 for a concert to mark their 50th anniversary in show business. It planted a seed in his mind about his own “demi-centennial.” Crosby’s career had begun when he journeyed from his native Spokane, Washington, to Los Angeles in November 1925, breaking into show business the following year. Having rediscovered the joy of singing, he was eager to mark his own golden anniversary with a major event, which he set up in Los Angeles in March 1976. It would be his first major theater appearance, incredibly, since 1939 and it would also give him the opportunity he had been waiting for to offer his friend, Rosemary, a lifeline.

Rosemary was largely unaware of Crosby’s renewed interest in performing. Out of the blue, he telephoned and mentioned that he was doing “a benefit” in March and would she join him? Over dinner at their favorite Beverly Hills restaurant during December 1975, Rosemary told Betty that Bing had called. “He asked me to do a benefit with him next March. No big deal, just a St. Patrick’s Day bash. It will be good to be on stage with him again. It will give me some confidence,”
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she said. It would be some time before Rosemary realized that the “benefit” was intended to mark the beginning of a year of anniversary celebrations for Bing that would eventually take him—and her—to Broadway and London’s West End. Even when that penny dropped, there was nothing to suggest that the Crosby show would open the door to a new recording contract and a chance to sing, once more, from her heart. Rosemary’s second coming was just around the corner.

C
rosby’s “little show” was set for March 17, 1976. The venue was the prestigious Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, a 3,000-seat theater that formed part of the Los Angeles Music Center. Rosemary had 10 weeks to prepare for the show, but only one other confirmed booking between Christmas and the date when she would once again join forces with her musical mentor. As the date grew nearer, Rosemary started to have doubts. The first issue in her head was what would she wear? “I couldn’t wear the same tacky dress that I’d worn for the Holiday Inns, that’s for sure,” she said later.
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There was also the question of what material she would use. The show was her biggest engagement for eight years but more than that, it was a landmark event for someone who meant so much to her. Something more than a couple of choruses of “Come On-a My House” was needed. True, there were other guests on the show including impressionist Rich Little and legendary jazz pianist Joe Bushkin, but other than Bing, Rosemary was the only other featured singer. The idea that she might sing a couple of songs and then slip in and out unnoticed among a parade of guest stars was a long way from the mark.

By the time Rosemary arrived for rehearsals, her nerves were truly jangling. Learning lyrics had never been something that had come easily to her, her memory needing to have the words cut out in large letters and set out around a room so that she could commit the scene into her brain. But no end of preparation could remove the fear in her mind that when her time came to walk out on stage, the words would not come with her. As Rosemary stood in the wings, nervously clutching her sheet music, she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Bing. “I don’t know this,” she told him. “Then
take it out there with you,” said Crosby. “They’re not gonna form a posse and come and get you.”
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His message that the audience was on her side was a reminder of what Rosemary had learned on her opening night for Tony Pastor. It was reassurance enough to allow her to trust her professional instincts. As Crosby strolled out into the spotlight to introduce one of his “all-time favorite leading ladies,” Rosemary took a deep breath and walked out without her music and sang. She was word perfect. She joined Crosby on a reprise of “Slow Boat to China” from their
Fancy Meeting You Here
album, before blending old with new on a rendition of “Tenderly,” closely followed by a lift of Paul Simon’s “Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover.”
Variety
said that Rosemary “handled a short, well-done set backed by ever-helpful, excellent arrangements from [Nelson] Riddle and the orchestra.”
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Leonard Feather in the
Los Angeles Times
said that Rosemary looked “fresh and joyful.”
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A corner had been turned.

There was more to come. Rosemary had barely put the excitement of the Chandler event behind her when Bing was on the phone again. He was taking the show to London for a two-week season at the London Palladium and he wanted Rosemary alongside him. “Come and have some fun,” he told her. Rosemary still had some Holiday Inn commitments to fulfill, but on June 2, 1976, she lined up with Crosby once more, this time at the Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco for what would be a dry run for the Palladium opening, scheduled for three weeks later. Adding another duet with Bing and solos on “Just One of Those Things” and Leon Russell’s “A Song for You,” Rosemary began to turn the clock back and anticipate the venue where she had headlined some 21 years before. With Dante and four of the kids in tow, the Clooneys joined the Crosbys on a Boeing 747 and headed for Europe. They spent over a month in the United Kingdom, a trip that daughter Maria recalled as a very happy family gathering. She and her siblings shared their mother’s ease with the Crosby family, even to the point that when Rosemary was late for a final rehearsal with Bing—almost a hanging offense—Crosby pulled Maria up on stage to sing her mother’s part. With son Miguel playing drums behind her in the Pete Moore Orchestra, it was unquestionably a return to the good times. Crosby was scheduled to do 13 shows at the Palladium, culminating in a July 4 special that would mark the American Bicentenary. From London, the cast traveled to Ireland for two shows in Dublin (“We did well in Ireland,” Rosemary told an audience 20 years later. “Crosby & Clooney? Good”) and then to Edinburgh for two more performances at the Usher Hall. The stay in London included a reception at Buckingham Palace, hosted by the Duke of Edinburgh. When Queen Elizabeth made an impromptu appearance, Rosemary and Kathryn Crosby, Bing’s wife,
found themselves chatting amiably with the monarch, three mothers sharing stories about their respective children.

The Crosby shows were unorthodox in that Bing eschewed the idea of top billing, preferring to open and close the show himself as both master of ceremonies and main attraction. Rosemary’s contribution had by now grown to six solos, spread over two visits to the stage, plus the “Slow Boat to China” duet that they had done at the Chandler Pavilion. During the first half, she offered what one British reviewer called a “strongly felt” performance of “By Myself,” the Arthur Schwartz-Howard Dietz classic from 1937.
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Then came “Tenderly” and “Fifty Ways” before a return during the second act which included the inevitable offering of “Come On-a My House.” The British press, unaware of the trauma of Rosemary’s last few years, welcomed her as a returning friend. James Green, writing in the London
Evening News
, said that she was “singing better than ever,”
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while John Gibson in the
Edinburgh Evening News
summarized her as “Miss Clooney. Delectable. Distinctive.”
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The only surprise, both to members of the press and to the fans who gathered around her, was Rosemary’s appearance. She had last been seen on British television in 1968, breaking down in the aftermath of Martin Luther King’s assassination. The gaunt, fading star had now become a plump figure in a flowing gown. “A large lady in red,” was the
Daily Telegraph’s
to the point summation of her appearance.
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But to those who knew her, Rosemary’s acceptance of her weight was now another symbol of her recovery. The diets of 1974 were a thing of the past. Rosemary, said brother Nick, was now ready to say, “This is who I am.”
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Daughter Maria saw her mother’s weight as part of her “honesty,” a statement on her part that she sought respect from her audience for her voice, not how she looked.
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From now on, the long, flowing gown would be a part of the Clooney onstage persona.

Rosemary flew back to California shortly after the final concert of the Crosby tour on July 16, 1976, not realizing for a second that she was about to confront the biggest potential setback to her recovery. After appearing at Wolf Trap Farm Park, Virginia, she headed for Virginia Beach where she was due to open at the Moonraker club on August 1. Four days into the engagement, a call came from Las Vegas. Her sister Betty had collapsed in the garden of her home, two days ahead of her eldest daughter’s wedding. First thoughts were that Betty’s seizure had been brought on by the stress of the upcoming event, but as the hours passed, the news worsened. Betty was unconscious and in the operating room. Rosemary contemplated canceling her show and flying straight to Vegas to be at her stricken sister’s side. When another call came, this time from half-sister Gail, Rosemary realized there was nothing she could do. Betty had suffered two brain aneurysms
and surgery was futile. She died in the early hours of August 5 at the age of 45. Two days later, Rosemary did fly to Vegas for the funeral. When she arrived, brother Nick was already there. The realization dawned on both of them that the three siblings had drifted away from each other. It was something they could never recover with Betty, but Nick and Rosemary resolved to take a regular vacation together from then on, a commitment they maintained until Rosemary’s death. Viewing her sister’s body in the open casket was, said Rosemary, “the hardest thing I ever went through.” She came through, suffering what she described as “normal grief” but nothing worse. The hallucinations that had followed Bobby Kennedy’s death were a dragon slayed. She was back to work within days of Betty’s funeral and a month later, the
Cincinnati Enquirer
reported that Rosemary was “singing again” and through her work, “learning how to cope.”
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Meanwhile, Bing Crosby seemed to have rediscovered the joy of live performing for the first time in over 40 years, and he had plans to take the show on tour through the states. Rosemary was now an integral part of the extravaganza. First stop was a poignant return to Vegas in November 1976, less than four months after she had buried her sister there. Next, Rosemary headed to Dallas, headlining in
An Evening with Rosemary Clooney
, before meeting up with the Crosbys again in New York for a two-week season at Broadway’s Uris Theater. It was Crosby’s first appearance on Broadway since 1933. The show was largely a rerun of the Palladium, although Rosemary was troubled throughout by a throat ailment that she had picked up in Dallas. It meant that her reviews, while still welcoming, were less fulsome than those she had received in London.
Variety
said that she sang well, but “her remembered old excitement didn’t project at the Uris.”
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Jazz critic Gary Giddins, who was later to become a close friend, thought “her high notes were strained”
¹³
while Douglas Watt in the
New York News
thought that “her once velvety voice [was] somewhat eroded.” Her solos, he said, “had notes carefully transposed to keep them within a limited range.”
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Into 1977, the Crosby bandwagon continued to gather pace. In February, the show played six nights at the Deauville Star Theater in Miami Beach, followed by a one-nighter at the San José Centre for the Performing Arts. Rosemary once again offered her two solo spots and now in better voice, had reviewers calling for more. “It would have been nice to hear the golden-throated Clooney perform some of the many hits she made during her long career,”
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Sara Lane said in
Billboard
, oblivious to the fact that Rosemary hated most of that material. With the stage show doing so well, it was a natural consequence for one of the major television networks to build on it. On March 3, 1977, Rosemary lined up with Bob Hope, Pearl Bailey, the Mills Brothers, Paul Anka, and Bette Midler for
Bing—A 50th
Anniversary Gala
at the newly opened Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena, California. The show ran for three hours, with the network planning to edit it down to a 90-minute special for transmission by CBS on March 20. Rosemary sang just one song—“Tenderly”—but was content to be part of something that offered her the biggest exposure she had enjoyed in years. As with the stage show, Crosby was at the center of everything, opening and closing the show and popping up incessantly throughout the three hours. Despite his 73 years, his energy level was high and he was clearly enjoying his return to the show business spotlight.

Rosemary and Dante had arranged to meet the Crosby family for an after-show dinner at Patsy d’Amore’s restaurant in Beverly Hills and had left the theater once her own spot was taped. The three teenage Crosby children were traveling with her when they heard a newsflash on the car radio that Bing had been seriously injured in an accident at the Ambassador Theater. After returning to the front of the stage to thank the audience at the conclusion of the show, Crosby had been expected to exit stage left. A central portion of the stage, immediately behind him, had been lowered. It had been used throughout the show, enabling acts to assemble below and be lifted onto the main stage. When Crosby unexpectedly turned to retrace his steps, he stepped into the void, falling almost 20 feet and just missing the open spikes on Jake Hanna’s drums. He landed on the concrete floor. As he fell, Crosby had managed to grab at some scenery that slowed the rate of descent, but for a man of his years, it was a life-threatening accident. As Rosemary turned her car around and headed back to the theater, Crosby was whisked off to hospital where x-rays revealed a ruptured disc at the base of his spine.
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With her friend spending two weeks in hospital and even longer recuperating, the plans to take the show back to Europe and onto Australia and Japan were inevitably shelved. The hiatus disrupted Rosemary’s plans, although she was already benefiting from the wave of publicity that the shows had brought. “The exposure with Crosby definitely made it easier to get more upper scale jobs,” her manager at the time, Bill Loeb, said.
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Rosemary later described the period as “a breakthrough, both personal and professional, like an apostolic blessing. Once I appeared with him, under his imprimatur, the world began to open up to me again.”
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