Where are they now?: February 2008 Archives

Since I spend so much time on this blog prattling on about "Gossip Girl" and "Brothers & Sisters," I don't know if I've ever made clear just how much I worship "The Dick Van Dyke Show." I have several seasons on DVD and that show is just as fresh as I'm sure it was during its original run. It's so sharp, so witty and it had one of the best casts in television history. One of those cast members was Rose Marie who I interviewed for this week's "Whatever Happened To..." profile which is in today's LA Daily News and other papers. I got the nicest note from the lady herself last week and I will treasure it always.

Here is my story:

Rose Marie may be 84 years old, but she is still never seen in public without a trademark bow on her head which she has worn since she was a child star.

And one of the stars of the classic sitcom "The Dick Van Dyke Show" still has a way with an anecdote: "I had one of the craziest compliments once. I did this lecture and a guy came over to me and said, 'You worked with my father!' And he was 80 years old. How do you think I felt?"

Once known as Baby Rose Marie, the comedy legend made her debut in short films when she was three years old and has countless credits on stage and screen dating back eight decades.

She became a radio star on NBC at the age of five and made a series of films. She dropped the "Baby" from her stage name at 15 when became a nightclub performer before becoming a comedian.

But Rose Marie is forever known for the five seasons (1961-66) she spent playing comedy writer Sally Rogers on "Van Dyke." Sally spent the workday coming up with gags for a fictional TV show along with Dick Van Dyke (Rob Petrie) and Buddy Sorrell (Morey Amsterdam). Also in the cast was Mary Tyler Moore as Rob's wife, Laura.

The series left the air after 158 episodes not because it was cancelled, but because creator Carl Reiner wanted to stop when the series was at its peak.

But it has lived on in syndication ever since.

"Everybody still says to me, 'It's still the best show on the air.' I think because it still fits today for some reason for another. It's never been off the air and we never even made a show in color."

Toward the end of the show's run, Rose Marie unexpectedly lost her husband of 20 years, Bobby Guy.
"I brought my daughter up because my husband died when he was 48 years old," she said. "So I had a double duty to take care of her, take care of me, take care of my mother and make sure I still went on with the career. I'm very grateful to my fans because they kept me going."

Post "Van Dyke," she was a regular on "The Doris Day Show" and later had a semi-regular seat in the upper center square on the original version of "Hollywood Squares."

Starting in 1977, she along with Rosemary Clooney, Helen O'Connell and Margaret Whiting toured for several years in the musical revue "4 Girls 4." The actress has remained in recent decades with TV guest spots on such shows as "Murphy Brown," "Suddenly Susan," "Andy Richter Controls the Universe," "Wings" and "The Hughleys," among others.

In 1996, she and Amsterdam appeared together in an episode of "Caroline in the City." Amsterdam died later that year. But the surviving cast members of "Van Dyke" got together in 2004 for a reunion television special (pictured, above).

"I started when I was three and I'll be 85 in August. I've been in the business all my life and I love it, I've loved every phase of it. I have good friends, I have a wonderful family. I'm very happy with my career and the way I've lived."

Imagine holding a master's degree and being a Fulbright Scholar, but everyone's image of you remains that of the big, blonde musclehead who was Sylvester Stallone's Russian boxing nightmare in 1985's "Rocky IV"?

Welcome to the career of Dolph Lundgren.

"I understand why," he admitted when we spoke Thursday. "They like to compartmentalize people. But I like to surprise the audience and people in Hollywood. Part of my life is trying to do as much as possible whether it be psychological, intellectual or emotional."

He had subsequent roles in such big studio films as the Bond feature "A View to a Kill," "Johnny Mnemonic," and "Universal Soldier" which all highlighted the Swedish-born Dolph's physical abilities.

Since he is so often typecast, the 50-year-old Dolph has taken things into his own hands and begun taking on directing jobs such as "Missionary Man," a western he also stars in which debuted on DVD a few weeks ago.

"It started out with just being interested in directing and trying to tell a story," he said. "It has evolved into people looking at me differently and it feels good, it feels fresh."

He has found directing and acting at the same time a real challenge: "It is tough. You really have to simplify your work as an actor and try to trust yourself and not fish around so much for the performance. You also you need people you can rely on."

But, he added, there are definitely upsides: "You can pick the best close up in editing and your star always comes out of the trailer on time."

Dolph, who also appears in "The Final Inquiry" out on DVD Feb. 19, has kept in touch with Stallone over the years but was never, as rumored, offered a part in 2006's "Rocky Balboa."

"I went to the opening, we're pretty good friends," he said. "He's one of the few people over the years who I stay in touch with."

Thought ya were!
The great star from MGM's golden era of musicals is the subject of my weekly "Whatever happened to..." feature which runs on Wednesdays in the LA Daily News and other papers. But Out In Hollywood readers get the first look...

Enjoy!

Esther Williams, who swam her way to movie history in such "aqua-musicals" as "Million Dollar Mermaid," "Dangerous When Wet" and "Jupiter's Darling," made a rare public appearance last week to donate her elaborate scrapbooks to the Smithsonian.

The woman known as "America's Mermaid" in the 40s and 50s is now 86-years-old and has not made a movie in more than four decades. But she has remained in the public eye with a line of swimsuits and swimming pools and with the release of her 1999 best-selling autobiography "Million Dollar Mermaid."

Williams lives in Beverly Hills with actor Edward Bell, her husband of 13 years: "Husbands take a lot of taking care of so when I'm taking care of him, I'm also thinking about writing \[another book\]," she said. "I've got a lot writing done and I have one book and it was a best seller. My husband was my editor...and it was a page-turner. That's how you make a best seller!"

Williams was able to become a one-of-kind swimming movie star because of her background as a competitive athlete and was a national champion in the 100 meter freestyle.
"The thing that's wonderful about swimming is it's the first thing you can do from your first bath to your last without hurting yourself."

She attracted the attention of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer talent scouts while appearing with swimming star and future "Tarzan" Johnny Weismuller in "Aquacade" during the San Francisco World's Fair.

"When you have a big, beautiful healthy body, you can probably do anything you decide to do. And the person who I got that wonderful piece of news from was Johnny Weismuller who swam everything and was a winner. He was wonderful, he was my coach."

Many of Williams' MGM movies featured elaborately-staged synchronized swimming scenes with her as the centerpiece. Always perfectly graceful on-screen, the actress shared in her autobiography that she had nearly drowned during some of the stunts.

She made her film debut with MGM in 1942's "Andy Hardy's Double Life" opposite Mickey Rooney. Her first swimming role came two years later in "Bathing Beauty." Other film credits included "Ziegfeld Follies," "Easy to Wed," "This Time for Keeps," and "Take Me Out to the Ball Game."

After the "aqua musical" genre faded, the actress took on dramatic roles in such films as "The Unguarded Moment" and "The Big Show." Her final film role came in 1963's "Magic Fountain." Williams' third husband, actor Fernando Lamas, did not want her to continued making movies. They were married from 1969 until his death in 1982.

She never revived her acting career although Williams was among the stars from Hollywood's Golden Age to appear in the 1994 film "That's Entertainment III."