It's been my pleasure/honor/thrill (pick one) to know and work with a grand lady of show business, Rose Marie. Her role on my favorite program, The Dick Van Dyke Show, alone would make that so but it only represented a small fraction of the longest career anyone has ever had in the field of entertainment.
She began performing around the age of three (some say four) and soon was world famous the child star, Baby Rose Marie. And unlike a lot of child stars, she remained a star when no longer a child. It's an amazing story and it is well-told in a documentary I saw Thursday Evening. It's called Wait For Your Laugh and at the moment, it has no distribution deal, no scheduled release date. But that will change because it's magnificent and when it does come out, rush to see it.
Don't want to take my word for it? The screening was followed by a panel discussion with Rose, filmmaker Jason Wise, Carl Reiner, Dick Van Dyke and Peter Marshall. Carl, Dick and Peter are in the film, though the first two had not seen it before we all did the other night. The first thing out of Carl's mouth when the panel convened — before moderator Alison Martino even had the chance to ask anyone a question — was that it was the finest documentary he'd ever seen…and Dick concurred. Carl even went so far as to pledge he'd work the phones, calling important folks in the film business he knows. He wants to get the doc out there so it can be seen by all and win, doubtlessly, many awards.
Now, granted: Mr. Wise had a great subject. Rose's story is one of romance and heartbreak, success and failure…but most of all, persistence. She never went away because she has always stubbornly refused to go away. Wise was also helped because Rose hoarded memorabilia of her life and even had home movies taken on the set of many of the shows she did. The audience Thursday night was stunned to see color silent footage of rehearsals of The Dick Van Dyke Show, among others. Beyond all that though, it's really a well-made film that sets a new "high bar" for documentaries about people like Rose Marie.
This is not to suggest there is or has ever been someone else like Rose Marie. And there sure never will be again.
I don't want to get you all hot and bothered to see this film because you can't…not right now, probably not in the next few months. But when you can, do. It's a wonderful movie about a wonderful lady. I loved seeing it and I especially loved seeing Rose, being cheered with standing ovation after standing ovation, having what may have been the best night of her very long life.