From the New York Times obituary:
Baby Rose Marie belted her songs (some of them with very grown-up lyrics) in a mature, bluesy voice, and many listeners did not believe she was a child. To prove that she was indeed a young girl and not a petite adult, NBC organized a national tour for her. She sang at RKO movie theaters across the country, trying to dodge child labor laws as she went.
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Warner Bros. Entertainment has had the 1929 short removed from YouTube. But here are two gatherings of Rose Marie’s 78s, 1929–1938, courtesy of the Internet Archive: one and two. Baby Rose Marie singing with Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra: who knew!
comments: 4
I guess too many tried to view that video for free: Warner Brothers yanked permissions. That would have been great to see. I always loved the battles of wits she had with Mel Cooley (Richard Deacon). She was one funny broad! A great ensemble cast of funny people was the Dick Van Dyke Show.
...and Mary Tyler Moore's cry, "Oh, Rob!"
There are still clips of Baby Rose Marie on YouTube, though they might disappear as well. I added to the post links to her 78s at Archive.org — those won’t be going away any time soon.
To remove this piece of eighty-eight-year-old film only when people take notice and want to remember a performer — how stupid and ungenerous. Whose best interests are served by that move?
The Dick Van Dyke Show was a real treat. I was never a big fan of his style of comedy, but I loved the office scenes and the parties at the Petries’ house. And seeing Mary Tyler Moore do the Twizzle. :)
Wow! the pipes on that kid; amazing! I can see (hear) why listeners might think she was much older than her years. The clarity, breath control, her vocalization and mature sound...all impressive.
Thanks for the link to this archive, Michael. It's a valuable asset I knew nothing about before your post.
Yes, she was a fantastic singer.
The Internet Archive is a great resource. You can even find books there, at least for borrowing if not downloading.
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