A Few Memories with the Incredible Hollywood Legend, Rose Marie

There was no way I was going to pass up the chance to interview the incredible Rose Marie. I've loved her since she played Sally on The Dick Van Dyke Show, and like the rest of the civilized world, I always wanted to say "Rose Marie to block" if I were ever a contestant on The Hollywood Squares.

She's had the most incredible show business career that anyone could possibly imagine. Child star, teen star, adult star, icon. Everyone knows her by her famous hair bow she always wears, but don't bother asking what it means - she won't say.

I loved every minute of the time we spent together on the telephone. After eight decades performing before audiences, she still is a delightfully funny lady, with a remarkable memory and attention to detail. She regaled me for nearly an hour with countless stories of just about everyone I could mention in famed Hollywood.

"I have a wonderful memory," she said. "So many people have forgotten all the important details about Hollywood, but I remember them well."

She told me of an early performance with Al Jolson when she was a teenager, and funny memories of the fabulous Jack Benny. There is no question that Rose Marie is a pillar of entertainment world as well.

We had a wonderful chat about historical figures in American history such as Presidents Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt. We talked about Chicago mobster Al Capone and plenty of stories about the late Al Jolson, and the glorious days of Las Vegas. She has a remarkable memory, which is why her book Hold the Roses has received such critical acclaim by everyone who has read it.

Born Rose Marie Mazzetta, she began acting at age three under the name Baby Rose Marie. After a series of well-known performances, she continued acting on stage and screen, eventually dropping "Baby" from her name. She's been known as Rose Marie ever since. She headlined with the legendary Jimmy Durante and Xavier Cugat on the opening night of Las Vegas Flamingo Hotel back in 1946, forever engraving herself in the colorful history of one of America's largest and best-known entertainment centers.

In 1961 she took the hilarious role of a working woman Sally Rogers during the five-year run of The Dick Van Dyke Show.

"There weren't women cast in those kind of roles before that," she said. "Hollywood just didn't create powerful women characters who worked in the corporate world…It was the happiest time of my life working with them guys on that show."

After her husband, trumpeter Bobby Guy, died in 1964, she had an opportunity to guest as one of the famed celebrity "squares" on The Hollywood Squares television game show. Ultimately, she appeared in 14 different seasons of the popular game show, including every generation of the show and with every guest host.

"I always loved being on that show," she said. "It came at just the right time for me, and it was always a good time to be there."

"It was just great fun…They didn't give us the answers…it was all me."

In 2003, Rose Marie sat down to pen her memoirs, Hold the Roses. But, it turned out to be a much sought after tell-all book about her days in Hollywood and the people that she came in touch with during her career.

"I'm not a writer," she said. "I just sat down and wrote it…all long hand with pen and a legal pad of paper. I didn't make it a hard project to do, I just did it."

The book came together pretty easy for her, and she even took time to design the cover.

"Everything just started flowing for me, probably because I have such a wonderful memory. Everyone who reads it just loves it."

Whether it was singing for President Herbert Hoover, or sitting with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and playing poker chips, she has just become such a memorable part of Hollywood history and American history as well. In fact, the Smithsonian's American History Museum enshrined her baby shoes and dozens of other personal items into a display back in 2008.

Her book has captured the hearts of fans everywhere, and made new fans of a whole new generation of television viewers.

"I still get fan mail from people who watched The Dick Van Dyke Show," she said. "And I'm always hearing from young people who just now are discovering it too. It's really something great."

She's not one to sit back and watch the world go by. These days, Rose Marie stays busy writing and creating new projects. She is currently working on a second book (also an autobiography) and also staying busy behind the camera too.

"I'm working on some biographies too…nobody seems to remember the greats of Hollywood anymore, so I'm going to help tell their story."

She is an absolutely delightful lady and a personal favorite of mine for years. Thank you Rose Marie for sharing some of your memories so that they can become my memories too!