Rosemary Clooney

Rosemary Clooney was born in Maysville, Kentucky on May 23, 1928. In her mid-teens she and her younger sister Betty would sing as the “Clooney sisters” on WLW radio in Cincinnati, Ohio.

At 18 years of age Rosemary was singing with the Tony Pastor band and recording for Columbia Records. In 1951 Rosemary Clooney landed on the Hit Parade with her first chart topper, “Come On-a MyHouse”. A year later her second #1 hit, “Half as Much” and in 1954 “Hey There” reached the top of the charts. That same year, “This Ole’ House” would also peak at #1.

Among other hits, “Sisters”, “Mambo Italiano”, “Tenderly”, “Beautiful Brown Eyes”, “Count Your Blessings”, “Mangos” and “In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening”.

In 1954, Rosemary Clooney starred with her friend Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye in the motion picture White Christmas.

In 1956, she starred in a half-hour syndicated television musical variety show. The Rosemary Clooney Show featured the Hi-Lo's singing group and Nelson Riddle's orchestra. The following year the show moved to prime time at NBC, featuring the Modernaires and Frank De Vol’s orchestra.

Rosemary Clooney’s nephew is actor and liberal activist George Clooney, and her son Gabriel Ferrer is married to Debby Boone, daughter of Pat Boone.

On June 29, 2002, surrounded by her family, Rosemary Clooney, 74 years of age, died at her home in Beverly Hills, California. A few months earlier she had been awarded a lifetime Grammy for her career.