The Exhibitor (1953)

SS-2 STUDIO SURVEY Everything's Rosy At Paramount The rapid rise of Rosemary Clooney to the top heights in the film world only duplicates her radio, record, and other successes. The gal with the most — and the greatest! That is the consensus among movie¬ goers on Rosemary Clooney, one of Para¬ mount’s bright new stars and the best bet for singing stardom in pictures that has appeared on the horizon in many moons. Another Doris Day, you ask? Well, Rosy took ’em by storm because her voice has a different quality, a personality, verve, and fire that is rare in these days of freak vocalists. When she sings, whether on radio, on records, in person, or on the screen, the nation listens, captivated by the magnetism. Only seen in one picture to date, “The Stars Are Singing”, she is already high on the exhibitors’ list of boxoffice bets. And soon in “Here Come The Girls”, with Bob Hope, Tony Martin, and Arlene Dahl, she’ll be a marquee sizzler. Another goodie is the offbeat musical western, “Red Garters”, her third picture, which has received rare audience reaction in previews. The gal is unique in many respects, but one in particular. Unlike most singers who skyrocketed to fame in a short time and then were grabbed by Hollywood and spotted in musicals singing a number or The popular singer accepts her Laurel Award from EXHIBITOR'S Paul Manning, officially mak¬ ing her the Top New Female Screen Personality. two, the Clooney thrush held down a real acting job in her debut film, “The Stars Are Singing.” TV, with all its ad-libbing, proved a good showcase for her talents. Her effort¬ less style and competent stage presence proved to Paramount that she can handle more than a pretty ballad. When she made good, 4000 godfathers passed out cigars — their baby had made good. The happy guardians are approxi¬ mately all the disc jockeys in these USA, who just love this honey-haired high priestess of popular music. The disc jockeys are her particular pets. She keeps in constant touch with them from her dressing room at Paramount studio, and, as a result, Clooney music fills the air¬ ways constantly, with, of course, the proper plugs for her pictures. Salesman¬ ship is one of her showmanship facets. She has been the darling of the platter spinners for several years. They became enamored long before her hit record, “Come On-A My House”, hit the turn¬ tables. When they finally did get their hands on the disc, they helped to make history in the recording business. Never did a single record from a popular artist get such a ride. It was their way of saying “thanks” to a gal who somehow managed to find time to correspond with all of them, from the big cities to the tiniest hamlets with a single station, a gal who is really interested in their problems and who would and has gone out of her way time and again to do the jocks favors. Now she is sharing this affection with the exhibitors of the nation, whom she considers her best friends along with the spinners of the airwaves. She sings because she loves it, and she’s been doing it since she could talk. She’s been in show business since she was 13, when she began singing on the radio, first in Kentucky and then in Cincinnati. Here she and her sister, Betty, became a vocal team. Bandleader Tony Pastor heard them sing on WLW, and signed them as featured singers with his orcheshtra. After three years with Pastor, Rosy decided to branch out as a single. She was lucky enough to have a personal manager, Joseph Shribman, of the New England and New York show business Shribmans, who had com¬ plete faith in her talent and good enough connections to land her a contract re¬ cording for Columbia records. The team of Clooney and Shribman is still together. Rosemary Clooney, starring with Bob Hope in Paramount's "Here Come the Girls," is rated as one of Hollywood's fastest rising musical stars. One unusual facet of her career is her recordings of childrens albums, one in particular, “Me And My Teddy Bear”, getting the same enthusiastic response from the moppets as her more adult re¬ cordings from their parents. The Clooney thrush is high on the list of Paramount’s outstanding talent. That studio executives had the utmost confi¬ dence in her abilities was proved when, before her first picture was released, she was cast in a headline role in the musical biggie, “Here Come The Girls”, and then given top billing with Jack Carson, Guy Mitchell, Pat Crowley, Gine Barry, and -Joanne Gilbert in “Red Garters.” Still another picture was destined for her in one-two-three fashion, the super-musical, Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas”, now shooting on the Paramount lot, and in which she stars with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, and Vera-Ellen. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, everything’s Rosy at Paramount now. — P.M. Miss Clooney chats on the set of the film with cameraman Lionel Linden and Hope. She came to the movies via fame as a recording star. EXHIBITOR September 30, 1953