The best remain the best. However, life wasn’t always about fame and fortune for the woman behind hit songs, like “Mambo Italiano,” “Come On-A My House,” and “Botch-A-Me,” among others. In 1953, she married Academy Award-winning actor José Ferrer, who was 16 years her senior. Not wishing to be entirely dependent on their relatives, Rosemary and Betty started trying to earn their own money. To this day, Clooney's nephew, actor George Clooney (her brother, Nick's son), has stated his reluctance to take painkillers because of his family history of addiction, as noted by The Irish Examiner. On June 29, 2002, Clooney passed away in her home at the age of 74. ©2021 FOX News Network, LLC. Nick Clooney George Clooney Young Celebrities Celebs Classic Hollywood Old Hollywood Hollywood Actresses Actors & Actresses Debby Boone. In 1976, her career revival got the push it needed when Clooney's former White Christmas co-star, Bing Crosby, invited her to join his 50th Anniversary tour. But even with the obvious pressures of their high-powered careers, the pair have kept an united front. After her breakdown and subsequent treatment, Rosemary Clooney had to work hard to reestablish her career. George Clooney Daily. She would pick up her pen and write two autobiographies, one in 1977, This for Remembrance: The Autobiography of Rosemary Clooney, an Irish-American Singer, and the second in 1999, titled Girl Singer: An Autobiography. Clooney’s woes didn’t end there. Unfortunately, Betty Clooney would die rather young. A heavy smoker in her younger days, Clooney was facing a deadly diagnosis — she had lung cancer. The two had a very intense but highly unstable relationship. And he would continue to struggle with faithfulness for most of his life. Her zodiac sign is Gemini. Market data provided by Factset. Marie Frances Clooney would go on to meet someone else and have a fifth child — the Clooney siblings' half-sister, Gail Stone. According to The Washington Post, Jazz critic Don Heckman highly praised Clooney's album and commended her on how her singing had matured. Nick Clooney might be best remembered as the co-host, along with Bob Dorian, of cable channel American Movie Classics during the 1990s. During her very rich Concord years, which resulted in a renaissance for the veteran singer, Rosemary Clooney was generally featured singing swing standards with a jazz rhythm section, tenor saxophonist Scott Hamilton, and (in the early days) cornetist Warren Vaché.But by the early '90s, Clooney was being heard more often than not in orchestral settings. Rosemary Clooney was born to parents of Irish ancestry in Maysville, Kentucky in … (Reuters), “She adored her grandchildren,” he added. Rosemary and 13-year-old Betty were left behind with their father, who was often in and out of jail for public drunkenness. Together, the couple had five children: Miguel, Maria, Gabriel, Monsita, and Rafael. Columbia Records threatened to fire Clooney if she didn't perform the song, so she reluctantly agreed to go along with it. “She became less concerned about chasing fame and more interested in her children,” said Gabriel. That makes 11 kids. Singer Rosemary Clooney signed her first recording contract in 1949. As a 1950s pop star, Rosemary Clooney wasn’t just beloved by many across America — it turns out Hollywood’s top stars couldn’t get enough of the singer either. "Mama would take whatever job she could. You can't break up families with so many kids. According to The New York Times, Rosemary didn't have an easy time growing up. "I don't take painkillers because we've had members of our family who have become very fond of painkillers over the years," he said. Despite having five years of marriage under their belts, George and Amal Clooney have been plagued by divorce rumours in the past year. During the 60s, Clooney had taken up campaigning for the Democratic Party and was a major supporter of Robert Kennedy in his bid for the presidency. Back in 2011, her famous nephew, George, told Parade Magazine it was his aunt who taught him how to cope with living in the spotlight. Vera-Ellen ended up having her singing parts dubbed by a woman named Trudy Stevens. However, their busy work schedules forced them apart. The intense stress started piling up, and to help her cope, Clooney began taking prescription drugs and barbiturates. ", Then, Clooney had a stroke of good luck when her old friend, Merv Griffin, invited her onto his show. But this wasn't the end of Clooney and DiPaolo's love story. (Reuters). George Clooney got used to glamorous life since childhood. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. “She would find a recipe and make it over and over until she got it right, like for three nights we would have souffles… Our house became a center for the neighborhood kids who came from broken homes.”. George's cousin Miguel Ferrer was the actor son of George's aunt Rosemary Clooney and Jose Ferrer and died of throat cancer in 2017. Rosemary Clooney with her nephew, actor George Clooney, enjoying a night out in Beverly Hills in 1998. But she had a tough time of it. At one point, as noted by The Buffalo News, Clooney and Riddle were even living together in a house that Riddle's secretary found for them. Except Rosemary, the legendary cabaret singer, movie star and sister of Clooney's father, Nick Clooney, died from lung cancer, at age 74, in 2002. “She was carrying a heavy load for years and it caught up with her,” he admitted. At the age of 45, Rosemary's beloved sister and former singing partner died of a sudden brain aneurysm. All rights reserved. No votes. However, once she got older, she seemed to achieve a sort of peace and comfort in her life. Anyone who thinks that success is a permanent state, particularly in my line of work, is just an idiot. "Nobody could approach me. (Reuters) Boone also conceded that she is very protective of her relationship with George. "Come On-a My House" became an enormous hit, and Clooney's first royalty check came in at $130,000. As noted by CNN, the girls would often collect glass soda bottles for easy cash, but they managed to get their big break after auditioning for a spot at their local radio station for $20 a week. “My fondest memories are watching her dote on her grandchildren.”. This was Clooney's first marriage and Ferrer's third. They did remarry again, but after Clooney found out Ferrer hadn't changed his cheating ways (she caught him having an affair with Stella Magee, the woman who would become his fourth wife), she divorced him for good in 1967. Rosemary Clooney soon became more sought after for musical film roles, so she felt she needed more dance instruction and started taking lessons from professional dancer Dante DiPaolo. Due to her alcoholism and drug dependency, Clooney's behavior became erratic and paranoid. According to The New York Times, DiPaolo and Clooney fell madly in love during their time together and dated for some time — DiPaolo's pet name for her was apparently, "Rosella." HOME TOP-10 DIRECTORY PROFILE 1+1 VS. SIX-DEGREES Click to read comments. All rights reserved. George is also a nephew of a star Rosemary Clooney. In a 2000 interview with The Christian Science Monitor, Clooney remembered her time on the set of White Christmas, wryly remarking, "So, here you have a singer who can't dance and a dancer who can't sing!". or redistributed. Gabriel hasn’t been the only one to reminisce about Rosemary over the years. He was in … However, Rosemary — who was considered to have the stronger voice — was offered a solo contract with Columbia Records. Clooney was officially a massive star. The two girls were often shuttled between relatives. But Clooney was very serious about Riddle, despite the fact that — like her — he was still legally married and had several children. No longer about record sales, but it was not about pity either. In addition to his father Nick Clooney, the closest of George Clooney's famous kin would be singer and movie actress Rosemary Clooney who was his father's sister. Rosemary Clooney, Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan all performed successfully at premium venues and festivals - to rapturous fans, until the day they died or were unable. She and Crosby were the two main romantic leads and had perfect vocal chemistry, both of them being such huge singing powerhouses. He is the brother of singer Rosemary Clooney and the father of actor George Clooney . She paid tribute to all the jazz greats like Harold Arlen, Cole Porter, and Duke Ellington. Rosemary Clooney was in 2 on-screen matchups, including Bing Crosby in White Christmas (1954) and Bob Hope in Here Come the Girls (1953). American Actress Rosemary Clooney was born Rose Mary Clooney on 23rd May, 1928 in Maysville, Kentucky and passed away on 29th Jun 2002 Beverly Hills, California aged 74. When Rosemary was 15, her mother took her brother, Nick, and moved to California. Although she never considered herself a true jazz singer, Clooney recorded an entire album for Concord Jazz, called Everything's Coming Up Rosie. ", "I think it was a musically snobbish time in my life. According to Clooney, a … After the tragic death of her younger sister, Betty, in 1975, Clooney also founded the Betty Clooney Foundation in memory of her sister — a facility for survivors of cognitive disabilities. Her father was an alcoholic, and her mother was more interested in pursuing a job as a saleswoman. Legal Statement. Rosemary Clooney. Some of those names included Humphrey Bogart and his wife Lauren Bacall, along with Paul Newman and Billie Holiday, just to name a few. But beneath her bright smile and luminous eyes, many didn't realize the trials that Clooney was going through. TV Guide magazine covers featuring Rosemary Clooney in the 1950s and nephew George Clooney in 2000. Credit John Kiesewetter / WVXU Above a display case in the front room is a … Like father, like son! Despite her seemingly sunny disposition in her songs and films, life wasn't always a ray of sunshine. Her younger brother, Andy, died in a swimming accident. FamousKin.com About Me Then I … At this point, Clooney was aware that she needed help and agreed to receive treatment, which did help her get to a more stable place mentally and emotionally. George Clooney and Rosemary Clooney are related. Rosemary reportedly heard the screams at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles where he was assassinated that year. However, Sinatra (a three-time divorcé himself) was proven wrong later on — Riddle did ultimately divorce his wife and went on to marry his secretary, the same one that made the arrangements for Clooney and Riddle's house.