Rosie: The Rosemary Clooney Story (TV 1982)

The story of singer Rosemary Clooney's rise to fame, her marriage to Jose Ferrer, and her nervous breakdown.

Director:

Jackie Cooper

Writers:

Rosemary Clooney (autobiography), Katherine Coker,

Stars:

Sondra Locke, Tony Orlando, Penelope Milford

Won 1 Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sondra Locke	...	Rosemary Clooney
Tony Orlando	...	Jose Ferrer
Penelope Milford	...	Betty Clooney
John Karlen	...	Uncle George
Cheryl Anderson	...	Aunt Jean
Robert Ridgely	...	Mort Weiner
Joey Travolta	...	Dante DiPaulo
Katherine Helmond	...	Frances Clooney
Kevin McCarthy	...	Dr. Jones
Richard Balin	...	Bill Loeb
Christopher Thomas	...	Bob Lewine
Eli Rill	...	Mitch Miller
Jeb Stuart Adams	...	Nicky (as Jeb Adams)
Edson Stroll	...	Arthur Park
Chris DeRose	...	Charlie Trotta (as Christopher DeRose)

Storyline

The story of singer Rosemary Clooney's rise to fame, her marriage to Jose Ferrer, and her nervous breakdown.

---

Plot Keywords:

singer | character name in title

---

Genres:

Biography | Drama

---

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 December 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rosie

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alan Sacks Productions, Charles Fries Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Beverly D'Angelo was originally announced for the title role.

---

Goofs

Some months after her 1968 on-stage mental breakdown (at one point she is seen signing mental hospital documents dated October of that year), Rosemary reads an item in a Hollywood trade paper about her recovery - but immediately below it is an item about yet-to-filmed movie version of The Boston Strangler, which was already in theaters by autumn 1968.

User Reviews

Miscast lead but an interesting story

Jackie Cooper directed this 1982 biopic based on Rosemary Clooney's first memoir. It highlights her difficult upbringing and early sister act, her marriage to José Ferrer, her drug addiction and nervous breakdown, and her successful comeback. Star Sondra Locke lip-syncs many lovely songs but unfortunately she's all wrong for the part. She's too thin, her eyes are too prominent, and she's shrill and hysterical and over-the-top most of the time. A young and unrecognizable Tony Orlando is a little better as the worldly womanizer Ferrer but he never captures the man's arrogance or charisma. Katherine Helmond is good as Rosemary's enigmatic mother and Kevin McCarthy plays the psychiatrist who treats Rosemary after her breakdown.

The movie isn't great and looks cheap and rushed, but it is a good companion piece to Rosemary's autobiography if you're a fan. She led a remarkably dramatic life, full of emotional highs and lows, and lived to find happiness again.