Hold the Roses (25 page)

Bill Loeb had left MCA and went on his own with Gabbe, Lutz, Hiller and
Loeb. I signed with William Morris, but Bill was still my manager.

I was busy doing TV episodes and playing Tahoe, Reno, and Vegasthe Flamingo again. Sammy Lewis called and wanted me to play Billy
Gray's Bandbox, a little club on Fairfax Avenue. Lenny Kent, a comic, was
to be on the bill. It was home and the money was good, so I said, "Okay."
During rehearsal, Lenny and I decided to do a little finale-nothing great,
just something together. The reviews came out with raves and called us a
"Great New Team." Hell, I didn't want that. It was a date for four weeks
and that's that, but then Abe Lastfogel, head of William Morris, called and
wanted to talk to me. He asked for Lenny too.

Now, Lenny Kent had been in the biz for years and was also signed to
William Morris for eleven years. He had never met Lastfogel. This tickled
me, because I would just walk into his office a la Noopy with "Pheeel." I
went to see him and he said, "I want you both to follow through with this
team idea. It's not a marriage, but I think you two could get some mileage
out of it." I didn't like the idea, but I said to myself, What the hell!

So we played Reno, Boston, Florida, Vegas, and Ciro's and La Vie en
Rose in New York City. We were a smash. The hottest new team-but I
hated it. I was on the road again too much and now I was saddled with a
partner, so I broke it up after New York. Things were happening in California and I wanted to be home.

I had heard that I was up for a movie called Two Tickets to Broadway
at RKO with Durante, Tony Martin, Smith & Dale, and Janet Leigh. I called the office and they said, "Yes, you are up for the part." Well! It was at
RKO and Jimmy Kern was the director. He was one of the Yacht Club
Boys-a great nightclub act. When the act broke up, Jimmy became a
director. Hal Kanter, the great comedy writer, was one of the writers. Sid
Silvers was another writer. I was home free. I knew all of them.

I went to the studio, where they had called a meeting. As far as they
were concerned, the part was mine. Howard Hughes had just bought RKO,
and he wanted a test. So here we go again. The others all said they didn't
need a test, they knew my work, but Hughes insisted. I told them I didn't
mind. Hal Kanter said it would be one of the most expensive tests ever
made. It was to be made in color. I did five songs-and five little scenes to
go with each song. Jean Louis made a dress for me; Bobby knew the makeup
man, whose nickname was "Shotgun," and most of the crew, because he
had made about five Kay Kyser movies at RKO before he went into the
army. What more could I ask? I made the test... and waited... and
waited... for them to call.

Finally, Jerry Wald called and said that the test had been wonderful,
but they couldn't give me the part because I wasn't a movie name. If I did
the Durante bit with Jimmy, as we had planned, they would have had
trouble with the other girls in the movie complaining that I was getting
equal money and billing. I won't name the girls, but it was quite a blow to
me, to say the least!

Then, while I was playing Vegas, I heard that Mike Curtiz was scouting for the girlfriend role in The Helen Morgan Story with Ann Blyth, and
was seeing all the shows on the strip. I called Steve Trilling, head of Warner
Bros. at that time-I knew his brother Al from the song plugger in New
York. I really took a chance calling Steve, but I did get him on the phone.

I told him, "Curtiz is in town scouting for The Helen Morgan Story.
He's testing everybody and his brother. All I want is a crack at it, a test. I'll
get him to see the show, but please, Steve, all I want is to test for the part."

Steve was very nice and said, "Okay. I'll see him when he comes back
from Vegas."

I hung up and made arrangements to make sure Curtiz would come in
to see the show. I told everybody I knew to tell him to see the show. I told
Dennis, our maitre d' to let me know when he came in. One night he came
in. I did a helluva show. Dennis told me he loved the show and was applauding like crazy-so that was done. I finished the date, went home, and about
two weeks later I got a call from Warner Bros. to come in to see Mr. Curtiz!

I went with Jim Maloney, who didn't know I had arranged all this.
We went to Mr. Curtiz's office and Curtiz said to me, "Hello, I saw your
show in Vegas. You were terrific."

I said, "Thank you."

He said, "It's the part of the girlfriend."

I said, "Fine."

He said, "We make a test."

I said, "Again?"

"What do you mean?" he said.

I said, "You wanted to test me for The Jazz Singer and you never
called me."

Curtiz said, "Who did I use for that? Oh, Peggy Lee-big trouble."

So I said, "Do you really want to test me for this?"

He said, "Oh, yes. Do you mind dying your hair?"

I said, "For the picture or the test?"

He said, "For the picture."

I said, "Okay, sure. Thank you, Mr. Curtiz."

Jim and I walked out. I'm still waiting for that phone call too!

I got a call from the office to do a benefit for the 20th Century Fox
annual Christmas Party. They told me I should do it because everybody
from the gateman all the way up to the president of the company would be
there. So I said I would do it. I think Buddy Freed was out of town for
some reason, so I called Sammy Prager, who was Danny Kaye's piano player.
The Pragers were friends and we'd play bridge together every so often, so I
felt free to call Sammy to play for me. He said he'd love to and knew
everybody at 20th because Danny Kaye had just finished a picture there.
So I was set.

It was strange going into the Ambassador Hotel at Coconut Grove.
The place was packed. I sat at a front table with Debra Paget, Mitzi
Gaynor... all the starlets at that time. Nobody knew me-and I was going
to Chicago in a week to headline at the Chicago Theater! Jack Paar was the
MC and everybody he introduced had just finished a picture at 20theven the damn dance team had just finished a picture. Everybody knew
everybody-except me.

My introduction from Paar: "Here's a young lady I understand is
very good.... Ladies and gentlemen, Rose Marie." I went out and did one
helluva show and came back to the table. They whistled and applaudedand I milked it for all it was worth. I stood up from the table and bowed and sat down, got up and then sat down. They were still applauding and I
finally had to get up and do a thank-you speech. (I had nothing rehearsed!)
The mumbling and whispering was all over the room. Jack Paar didn't
know what to say. I teased him about this later-every time I did his show.

Frankie Laine followed me and did his first number. Everybody was
still talking, and Frankie said, "I don't blame you, ladies and gentlemen,
wasn't she just great? Baby, take another bow." They put the spotlight on
me and I got up from the table to take my bow. I never will be able to
thank Frankie enough for what he did; it just made it all the better. He
then said, "I'm going to do my two hit records and get off." Wow! That
really made it great for me.

About two weeks later, I got a call from 20th Century Fox for a picture called The Marriage Broker with Thelma Ritter, and George Cukor
directing. I went to see Mr. Cukor. The minute I walked in, he said, "That's
the way I want her dressed, just like that, little two-piece suit." He gave me
some pages of a script and said it was the part of the telephone operator.

I said, "How do you want her? Brooklyn accent, straight, hard/soft
voice?"

He looked at me for a minute and said, "Play it straight," which is
what I did.

He said, "Wonderful. Pick up a full script and be here tomorrow
morning at ten."

I thanked him and went home. I was so excited. Finally, to do a big
picture, with Cukor directing! I got home and read the script. The telephone operator was throughout the picture and it was a good comedic
part.

I went there the next day at ten and had to read for three other men.
Mr. Cukor said, "Okay, Rose Marie, do it like you did yesterday." I did and
they laughed and said, "Great. Be here tomorrow at 10:00 A.M. I thanked
them and went home.

The next day I was there at 10:00 A.M. Mr. Cukor said, "Okay, honey,
one more time!" So I read the part and they all said, "Wonderful."

Mr. Cukor said, "We'll call you. We start in a week." I thanked them
and couldn't wait to tell Bobby about the picture. I'm still waiting for that
call!

Don't think I didn't make any movies. I did The Big Beat at Universal
for Will Cowen. I did Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round with James
Coburn, as well as Man from Clover Grove and Fun with Dick and Jane with Jane Fonda and George Segal. None of which was ever nominated
by the Academy.

With Milton Berle

Bobby was doing The George Gobel Show, The Milton Berle Show, The
Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis Show, as well as The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show
and The Dinah Shore Show. He was doing just fine and finally wound up
on staff at NBC, where he did The Tonight Show. So things were going
beautifully.

One day, out of the blue, Bobby decided we should move. I said, "Why?"

"They're going to build a drive-in theater in back of us and it will be
annoying-the noise and everything."

I said, "I don't care, I know every nail in this house."

He said that the house would go down in value and that, in time, I
would come to hate the drive-in theater. I knew he was right, but I hated
the idea of selling our little dream house.

One day, Ginny Botkin called and said there was a house for sale in
Variety. She said it must be sold by now, because it sounded too good to be
true. She read me the ad and said, "Let's go see it-call the real estate
agent." I did and we made an appointment for the next day.

We met, and the location was beautiful-all very pretty houses and a
lot of land. It was three-quarters of an acre, with six gorgeous walnut
trees. The house was pretty from the outside: lots of used brick, which I
love. Then we walked inside and everything was beige, the walls and the
furniture.

There were three bedrooms, all done in wild flowers. There was a
maid's room and three baths. Quite a large house, but I really didn't like it.
However, it had some possibilities. It had a lot of shutters and high-beamed
ceilings, and all of the woodwork was done in a natural stain. It truly had
an Early American look. There were three fireplaces, including one in the
master bedroom, and also a built-in barbecue.

But still-I wasn't thrilled. Ginny said, "Once you get your furniture
in here, it will be beautiful. Let the boys see it," meaning Bobby and Perry
Botkin, and we left. I told Bobby about it and the four of us went the next
day. Bobby loved it from the minute he walked in, and Perry said, "This
house should be in Beverly Hills. Once you get your furniture in here, it
will be terrific."

I said, "What do you see that I don't see?"

Bobby said, "I love this house. I want it, and you can do whatever
you want to do fixing it up your way. You have carte blanche."