Rose Marie’s Daughter Remembers Mom’s Hollywood Dinner Parties and Moments of Heartbreak

In 1953, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz dropped by Rose Marie’s home while they were shooting their movie The Long, Long Trailer. “I think Desi brought some wine, and they did a scene in our living room,” Georgiana Rodrigues tells Closer. “It was my mother, father and me.”

The ultimate showbiz insider, Rose Marie, who was born Rose Marie Mazzetta in New York City in 1923, began singing on the vaudeville circuit as a child. That led to a whopping nine decades as a star on the Las Vegas stage and on beloved TV series, including The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Doris Day Show, Hollywood Squares and more. “The thing about my mother is that she loved to work,” Georgiana says.

But after Rose Marie left the set or the stage, she became a homemaker who cooked, knitted and collected serving plates. “The minute she walked in that house, she would ask what we wanted for dinner,” says Georgiana, who often ate meals with her parents.

Rose Marie and big band trumpeter Bobby Guy wed in 1946 and were among Hollywood’s favorite hosts. “They had a lot of dinner parties. One time they had a costume party to come dressed as your favorite song — and the costumes were outrageous!” says Georgiana, who recalls visits from Rosemary Clooney, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and more. “I was never a starstruck kid — outside of Frank Sinatra,” she admits.

In 1964, Rose Marie was playing feisty comedy writer Sally Rogers on The Dick Van Dyke Show when Bobby became ill. Comedian Jerry Lewis, who had doctors on speed dial due to his muscular dystrophy telethons, called in specialists, but it was no use. Georgiana’s father died at age 48 of a blood infection, leaving Rose Marie bereft. “She went into a major depression,” says Georgiana. “She didn’t even want to do the last year of The Dick Van Dyke Show. She said she couldn’t go out there and be funny.”

Rose Marie “never made a dime” on repeats of The Dick Van Dyke Show, says Georgiana, but she had a wealth of friends who urged her to return to performing. She made one of her first post-widowhood appearances on The Dean Martin Show. “She sang ‘Little Girl Blue,’ and Dean held her hand while she sang it,” says Georgiana, who adds that the song is included in a new collection of her mother’s music, Rose Marie Sings. “She and Dean cried, but it got her out and got her going.”

Rose Marie never remarried, but she kept busy. She and Doris Day became lifelong friends after she costarred on The Doris Day Show. “One day she was talking to Doris and said, ‘You’ve never had my [tomato] sauce. I’m going to ship it up to you,’” recalls Georgiana.

For 14 years, Rose Marie was a regular on Hollywood Squares where “Rose Marie for the block” became a show catchphrase. “Betty White and Allen Ludden, Paul Lynde and Peter Marshall became part of our family,” says Georgiana.

Her quick wit later translated to social media, where Rose Marie earned more than 100,000 followers on Twitter before her death in 2017 at age 94. “I was asked what I wanted my legacy to be,” she posted. “My answer, ‘That I was good at my job & loved every minute of it.’ I wish that for everyone.”