Late Life Jazz: The Life and Career of Rosemary Clooney (51 page)

December 14
. Appears at Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis.

December 15
. Appears at the Count Basie Theater, Red Bank, New Jersey. Rosemary has recently been diagnosed with lung cancer but it is kept secret.

January 9
. Rosemary announces that a recent routine physical examination has revealed that she is suffering from lung cancer.

January 11
. Rosemary has the upper lobe of her left lung removed at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

February 27
. Rosemary Clooney’s oldest son, Miguel Ferrer, accepts her Lifetime Achievement Award at the Annual Grammy Awards.

Rosemary remains hospitalized at the Mayo Clinic until early May, at which time she is able to go home to Beverly Hills and share Mother’s Day and her birthday with her family, which includes five children, 10 grandchildren, brother and sister-in-law Nick and Nina Clooney, sister Gail Stone Darley, and their and Betty’s children

Singer Rosemary Clooney Suffers Cancer Relapse

Rosemary Clooney was briefly hospitalized this month and is undergoing treatment at home for a recurrence of lung cancer, her publicist said on Wednesday.

“She’s comfortable and she’s surrounded by her family,” spokeswoman Linda Dozoretz said of the 74-year-old entertainer, who also is the aunt of actor George Clooney. She declined to discuss the singer’s prognosis but added, “She’s an eternal optimist, she really is.”

(
Reuters
, June 26, 2002)

June 29
. About 6
P.M
. Rosemary Clooney dies at her Beverly Hills home.

July 3
. Family members and celebrities from the entertainment world attend a funeral Mass at Good Shepherd Catholic Church, Beverly Hills.

July 5
. A funeral Mass is held at a packed St. Patrick Church, Maysville, Kentucky. Among those attending are her husband Dante DiPaolo, Rosemary’s children, her grandchildren, her brother Nick and his wife Nina, Rosemary’s sister Gail, her nephew George Clooney, Kathryn Crosby, and Al Pacino. A reception to celebrate Rosemary’s life is held at the riverside home of Nick and Nina Clooney in Augusta following graveside rites at the cemetery.

1
.
Fresh Air
, interview with Terry Gross, National Public Radio, January 18, 1997.

2
.
Rosemary Clooney—Demi-Centennial
, Concord CCF-4633, sleeve note.

3
. Paul A. Tenkotte and James C. Claypool, eds.,
The Encyclopedia of Northern Kentucky
, University of Kentucky Press, Lexington, 2010.

4
. Nick Clooney, author interview, May 16, 2011.

5
. Nick Clooney, author interview.

6
. Virginia Bird, “Hollywood’s Favorite Songbird,”
Saturday Evening Post
, January 1955.

7
. Rosemary Clooney with Joan Barthel,
Girl Singer
, Doubleday, New York, 1999.

8
.
Fresh Air
, National Public Radio, January 18, 1997.

9
. In a newspaper interview in 1953, Rosemary indicated that her Christian names came from the operetta
Rose Marie
, that her parents had seen shortly before her birth; Kirtley Baskette, “What Makes Rosie Glow?”
Redbook
, September 1953.

10
. Rosemary Clooney with Raymond Strait,
This for Remembrance
, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1977.

11
. Nick Clooney, author interview.

12
. Whitney Balliett, “The Heart, the Head, and the Pipes,”
The New Yorker
, August 3, 1992.

13
.
Up Close with Tom Cottle
, syndicated TV, 1982.

14
. Gene Cipriano, author interview 2, May 10, 2011.

15
. Nick Clooney, author interview.

16
. Uncredited article from
Middlesboro Daily News
, August 19, 1933.

17
. Extracted from St. Patrick’s High School Alumni News, 2002, and quoted by Nick Clooney,
Cincinnati Post
, December 4, 2002.

18
. Nick Clooney, author interview.

19
. The State of Ohio required children to stay in school until age 18. In other states it was 16.

20
. Frances Kish, “Her Life Is a Song,”
TVRadio Mirror
, August 1955.

1
. Quoted by George T. Simon in
The Big Bands
, Macmillan, New York, 1967.

2
. Rosemary Clooney, with Joan Barthel,
Girl Singer
, Doubleday, New York, 1999.

3
. Evelyn Harvey, “Everything’s Rosy for Clooney,”
Collier’s
, November 15, 1952.

4
. George T. Simon,
The Big Bands
, Macmillan, New York, 1967.

5
. Christopher Popa, Big Band Library,
http://www.bigbandlibrary.com/
, April 2009.

6
. Rosemary Clooney, with Raymond Strait,
This for Remembrance
, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1977.

7
. Henry Riggs, author interview, November 4, 2010.

8
. Gene Cipriano, author interview 1, April 30, 2011.

9
. Quoted by Denis Norden,
Clips for a Life
, Harper Perennial, London, 2008.

10
. Rosemary said in
Girl Singer
that the Sister’s opening number was the Peggy Lee-Dave Barbour song “It’s a Good Day,” although it was not published until 1947, the year after the Clooneys joined the Pastor band.

11
. Kirtley Baskette, “What Makes Rosie Glow?”
Redbook
, September, 1953.

12
. “Song of the South—Tony Pastor,”
Billboard
, January 18, 1947.

13
. Rosemary often quoted this comment and in
This For Remembrance
, attributed it to
Downbeat
. Search of the
Downbeat
archives, however, does not reveal the relevant article and it may be that it originates from another, unidentified journal.

14
. “Bread and Butter Woman,”
Billboard
, September 16, 1950,

15
. Alan Fischter, “Tony Pastor,”
Billboard
, May 31, 1947,

16
. Lubbock’s anonymity ended of course with the rise to stardom and immortality of Buddy Holly, who was born there in 1936.

17
. Henry Riggs, author interview.

18
. “Grieving for You”
Billboard
, January 15, 1949.

19
. Interview by Johnny Green,
World of Music
, KRHM, June 1961.

20
. Clooney with Barthel,
Girl Singer
.

21
. Tony Bennett in concert at Birmingham Symphony Hall, July 3, 2010.

22
. Henry Riggs, author interview.

23
.
Billboard
news item, November 27, 1948.

24
. Malcolm Macfarlane and Ken Crossland,
Perry Como, A Biography and Complete Career Chronicle
, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2009.

25
. Russell Sanjek,
American Popular Music and Its Business: The First Four Hundred Years
, Oxford University Press, New York, 1988.

26
. Nick Clooney, author interview, May 16, 2011.

27
.
The Hour Magazine
, syndicated TV, March 1986.

28
. Nick Clooney, author interview.

29
. Nick Clooney, author interview.

30
.
Fresh Air
, interview with Terry Gross, National Public Radio, January 18, 1997.

1
. Joel Whitburn,
Billboard Pop Hits 1940–54
, Record Research, Menomonee Falls, WI, 1994.

2
. There are various spellings of his name. “Manny” is not uncommon, nor “Sacks.”

3
. Sachs was reportedly offered a salary of between $50,000 and $75,000 to join RCA, more than double his take at Columbia.

4
. Quoted by Albin J. Zak III,
I Don’t Sound Like Nobody: Remaking Music in 1950s America
, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 2010.

5
. Will Friedwald, “They Sang Along with Mitch,”
Wall Street Journal
, August 4, 2010.

6
. Archive of American Television,
http://www.emmytvlegends.org/
. Mitch Miller interviewed by Karen Herman, July 24, 2004.

7
. John S. Wilson,
New York Times Magazine
, December 8, 1957, quoted by Albin J. Zak,
I Don’t Sound Like Nobody: Remaking Music in 1950s America
, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor, 2010.

8
. Mark Myers, All About Jazz,
http://www.allaboutjazz.com/
, August 8, 2010.

9
. Richard Severo, “Mitch Miller, Maestro of the Singalong, Dies at 99,”
New York Times
, August 2, 2010.

10
. “Rosemary Clooney—Why Fight the Feeling,”
Billboard
, August 12, 1950.

11
. John Crosby,
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
, July 11, 1950.

12
. Tony Bennett,
The Good Life: The Autobiography of Tony Bennett
, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1998.

13
. Nick Clooney, “Hanging out with Rosie on Early TV,”
Cincinnati Post
, January 8, 2003.

14
. Virginia Bird, “Hollywood’s Favorite Songbird,”
Saturday Evening Post
, January 1955.

15
. Ibid.

16
. Rosemary Clooney, with Joan Barthel,
Girl Singer
, Doubleday, New York, 1999.

17
. Quoted in
Fresh Air
, interview with Terry Gross, National Public Radio, January 18, 1997.

18
. James Kaplan,
Frank: The Voice
, Doubleday, New York, 2010.

19
. Russell Nype and Ethel Merman sang the song together in the Broadway production of the show.

20
. Bird, “Hollywood’s Favorite Songbird.”

21
. Peter Reilly, “You’ve Got to Learn to Take Care of Yourself,”
Stereo Review
, October 1981.

22
.
Prime Time Live
interview, ABC, January 16, 1992.

23
. Michael Feinstein, author interview, April 9, 2011.

24
. Allen Sviridoff by email, March 21, 2012.

25
. Deborah Grace Winer,
Come On-a My House
, Bear Family Records, Hambergen, Germany, 1997.

26
. Ibid.

27
. “Rosemary Clooney—Come On-a My House,”
Billboard
, June 23 and 30, 1951.

28
. Quoted by Matt Schudel,
Washington Post
, August 3, 2010.

29
. Michael Feinstein’s 2009 series for PBS-TV featured an interesting anecdote about the writing of the song. Lyricist Jack Lawrence said “the tune haunted me and the lyric practically wrote itself during my waking and sleeping hours. Words came so easily that I decided to wait a while before calling Walter (Gross) for fear that he might think I’d written an off-the-cuff lyric. Literally, I waited about ten days. Then feigning great excitement, I called Walter and said, “I’ve got it, Walter! I’ve got it!” In a rather deadpan tone, he asked, “What’s the title?” I took a deep breath and practically sang out, “TEN-der-LY!” There was a long pause at his end. Then he sneered, “That’s no title! That’s what you put at the top of the sheet music: Play Tenderly!”

30
. Rosemary Clooney, with Raymond Strait,
This for Remembrance
, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1977.

31
. “Rosemary Clooney—Percy Faith Ork—Tenderly,”
Billboard
, February 9, 1952.

32
. Whitburn,
Billboard Pop Hits 1940–54
.

33
. Clooney with Barthel,
Girl Singer
.

1
. Bing Crosby to Pat Duggan, Paramount Studios, August 20, 1951.

2
. Tony Bennett with Will Friedwald,
The Good Life: The Autobiography of Tony Bennett
, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1998.

3
. Alistair Cooke,
Letter from America
, BBC, December 23, 1977.

4
. Bing Crosby with Pete Martin,
Call Me Lucky
, Simon & Schuster, New York, 1953.

5
. “There’s Only One Bing,”
TV Radio Mirror
, October 1954.

6
. Ibid.

7
. Ibid.

8
. Virginia Bird, “Hollywood’s Favorite Songbird,”
Saturday Evening Post
, January, 1955.

9
. “Girl in the Groove,” unattributed,
Time
, February 23, 1953.

10
. Kirtley Baskette, “What Makes Rosie Glow?”
Redbook
, September 1953.

11
. Bird, “Hollywood’s Favorite Songbird.”

12
. Ibid.

13
. “Girl in the Groove.”

14
. “Clooney Smash – Botch-a-Me,”
Billboard
, June 21, 1952.

15
. “Columbia Pop-Disk Primacy apparent in Billboard Charts,”
Billboard
, April 19, 1952.

16
. Deborah Grace Winer,
Come On-A My House
, Bear Family Records, Hambergen, Germany, 1997.

17
. “The Wholesome Type,”
Time
, September 8, 1952.

18
.
Fresh Air
, interview with Terry Gross, National Public Radio, January 18, 1997.

19
. Louella Parsons syndicated column, September 27, 1952.

20
. Gilbert Millstein, “Fabulous Joe Ferrer,”
Collier’s
, December 25, 1953.

21
. Ibid.

22
.
Up Close with Tom Cottle
, syndicated TV, December 1982.