My favorite TV show of all time is The Dick Van Dyke Show, a fact I've probably mentioned a thousand times on this blog. There are many reasons for that but one of them is the lady you see above in the photo with me. That's, of course, Rose Marie — the talented singer and comedienne and show biz legend. I love people in the entertainment field who've done darn near everything and Rose is the best example I can find.
It's tough to talk about how much she's done without alluding to her age…so let's just say that today, she turns (mumble, mumble) years young. Despite what a high number (mumble, mumble) is, she's still sharp and if you ask her about working with W.C. Fields in the thirties or Milton Berle in the forties or Phil Silvers in the fifties or Dick Van Dyke in the sixties or Doris Day in the seventies (etc.), she has anecdotes she can tell you with crystal memory and, of course, expert delivery. It's fun to sit with her and just say "Jimmy Durante" or "Frank Sinatra" and hear what comes out.
I've met other people who've been entertaining audiences for a long time but she's the only one I believe I've met who starred in the one of the first "talking" (in this case, singing) pictures ever made. Happy birthday, Rosie! Here she is in — can you believe it? — 1929…
