Rose Marie Guy, best known for her role in TV’s The Dick Van Dyke Show, died today (Dec. 28) in Los Angeles. Her website announced her death. She was 94.
Rose Marie played Sally Rogers, the wise-cracking script writer–and only woman–for the fictitious The Alan Brady Show on the beloved TV comedy series, The Dick Van Dyke Show. Her fellow writers were head writer Van Dyke, who played Rob Petrie, and Morey Amsterdam, as “Buddy” Sorrell.
It’s the second 2017 loss in the series’ family: Mary Tyler Moore, who portrayed Laura Petrie, died on Jan. 25 at 80.
The Dick Van Dyke Show ran on CBS from October 3, 1961 through June 1, 1966. The series was created by Carl Reiner, who himself played the supporting character, Alan Brady. Rose Marie’s character was single, which was a frequent plot device on the series. Ever the bridesmaid, she received three Emmy Award nominations for her role, though she never won. (Rose Marie was married to trumpeter Bobby Guy for 18 years. He died in 1964 and she never remarried.)
The program was hugely successful, airing Wednesday evenings. In its second season, the series ranked ninth overall among primetime shows. It improved to #3 in its third year and held steady at #7 in its fourth, before falling to #16 in season five. It earned 15 Emmy Awards including Best Comedy Series for the 1965-1966 season. Van Dyke, 92, and Reiner, 95, are still alive. Amsterdam died in 1996.
I was so sad to learn of the passing of Rosemarie. There’s never been a more engaging & multi-talented performer. In a span of 90 years, since she was four, dear Rosie performed on radio, in vaudeville, night clubs, films, TV, & Vegas & always had audiences clamoring for “more!!”
— carl reiner (@carlreiner) December 29, 2017
Watch the full episode entitled “Dear Sally Rogers”
The comedienne was also a popular regular on TV’s Hollywood Squares.
Rose Marie Mazetta was born August 15, 1923 in New York City. Her official obituary from her website notes: “Born on the day that the Broadway musical Rose-Marie opened, Rose Marie had one of entertainment’s longest and most fascinating entertainment careers in history. She began at the age of 3 by winning an amateur contest that took her to Atlantic City where she was billed as Baby Rose Marie. She became a popular radio personality appearing on numerous top shows of the time. She eventually received her own program on NBC and recorded some of the most successful albums on the Mercury label.
“Rose Marie would sing for presidents Coolidge, Hoover and Roosevelt. She starred in several of the earliest talking films, beginning with a 1929 short, Baby Rose Marie the Child Wonder, which was screened in theaters before feature films such as The Jazz Singer.”
Also from the obituary: “She was the only original member of the hit game show Hollywood Squares to have worked on all of its reincarnations and hosts.”
Watch a 1972 episode the Hollywood Squares featuring Paul Lynde, Vincent Price, and others. Rose Marie’s segment is at 9:10…
Among the dozens of other TV series Rose Marie appeared on were The Doris Day Show, The Dean Martin Show, Murphy Brown and The Monkees (in a role that became known as the “Monkee Mother”).
It is with broken hearts that we share the terribly sad news that our beloved Rose Marie passed away this afternoon. https://t.co/boHpy71Fjx pic.twitter.com/qv9w8pNuOz
— Rose Marie-Official (@RoseMarie4Real) December 29, 2017
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