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With the holiday season in mind, the song and film White Christmas<\/strong> <\/em>is also ever-present. That and the fact that her nephew George is starring in a new film, the late Rosemary Clooney<\/strong> makes her presence know once again. In 1954, she starred, along with Bing Crosby<\/strong>,\u00a0Danny Kaye<\/strong>, and\u00a0Vera-Ellen<\/strong>, in that perennial hit.<\/p>\n Clooney became a pop star in the early ’50s with the song “Come On-a My House”, which was followed by hits such as “Botch-a-Me”, “Mambo Italiano”, “Tenderly”, “Half as Much”, “Hey There” and “This Ole House.” Although a successful jazz vocalist, Clooney’s career languished in the ’60s, partly due to depression and drug addiction, but in 1977, her\u00a0White Christmas<\/em>\u00a0co-star\u00a0Bing Crosby had her appear with him in a show marking his 50th anniversary in show business reviving her career.<\/p>\n Clooney often appeared with Bing on television, such as in the 1957 special\u00a0The Edsel Show, and the two friends made a concert tour of Ireland together. On November 21, 1957, she appeared on NBC’s\u00a0The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford, a frequent entry in the “Top 20” and featuring a musical group called “The Top Twenty.” In 1960, Clooney and Crosby co-starred in a\u00a020-minute CBS radio program\u00a0aired before the midday news each weekday.<\/p>\n Born in\u00a0Maysville, Kentucky, the daughter of Marie Frances (n\u00e9e Guilfoyle) and Andrew Joseph Clooney, was one of five. Raised a Catholic, with an Irish and German father and mother of English and Irish ancestry, these roots were deeply embedded in her. When Clooney was 15, her mother and brother\u00a0Nick\u00a0moved to California. She and sister\u00a0Betty\u00a0remained with their father.<\/p>\n Rosemary and\u00a0Betty\u00a0became entertainers, whereas\u00a0Nick\u00a0became a newsman and television broadcaster (some of her children, including\u00a0Miguel Ferrer\u00a0and Rafael Ferrer, and her nephew,\u00a0George, also became respected actors and entertainers).<\/p>\n In 1945, the Clooney sisters won a spot on\u00a0Cincinnati, Ohio’s radio station\u00a0WLW\u00a0as singers. Her sister Betty sang in a duo with Rosemary for much of the latter’s early career. She went on to star, in 1956, in her own half-hour\u00a0syndicated\u00a0television musical-variety series, The Rosemary Clooney Show<\/strong><\/em>. It featured\u00a0The Hi-Lo’s<\/strong>\u00a0singing group and\u00a0Nelson Riddle<\/strong>‘s orchestra. The following year, the show moved to\u00a0NBC\u00a0prime time as\u00a0The Lux Show Starring Rosemary Clooney, but lasted only one season. The new show featured the singing group\u00a0The Modernaires\u00a0and\u00a0Frank DeVol’s orchestra.<\/p>\n A longtime smoker, Clooney was diagnosed with lung cancer at the end of 2001. Around that time, she gave one of her last concerts in\u00a0Hawaii, backed by the\u00a0Honolulu Symphony Pops; her last song was “God Bless America.” Her final show was at\u00a0Red Bank, New Jersey’s\u00a0Count Basie Theatre\u00a0in December 2001. Despite\u00a0surgery\u00a0and a long period of care following, she died six months later on June 29th, 2002, at her\u00a0Beverly Hills\u00a0home. Nephew George was a\u00a0pallbearer\u00a0at her funeral, which was attended by numerous stars, including\u00a0Al Pacino. She is buried at\u00a0Saint Patrick’s Cemetery, Maysville.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/1__@__pastedGraphic-198x300.png\")
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