Customer Reviews

Hold the Roses

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I read a lot of autobiographies, and "Hold the Roses" is one of the most candid and well written I've read. Rose Marie has not only lived a very interesting life; she's written a very entertaining book. I knew her as part of the sentence "I'll take Rose Marie to block" from her regular appearances on Hollywood Squares. I knew she had been on "The Dick van Dyke Show" and knew very little else about her. I didn't know about Baby Rose Marie, the little girl born out of wedlock who became a star on radio and in vaudeville; whose father didn't marry her mother but supported his "real family" by managing her career until he tried to have her killed. She did more than rub elbows with the famous and infamous of her day. And as interesting as her show business recollections are, the book recounts a love story that is both funny and touching. Rose Marie has had an incredible career. And she's topped it off by writing a wonderful book. I'm so glad I read it.

Rose Marie's life spans the greatest years of vaudeville, radio, talkies, Broadway, nightclubs, Vegas, and TV. Incredibly Rose Marie rose to the top of each medium - not sure if anyone else can even make that claim. With this book you hear the entire history of twentieth century show business told by someone who lived it. Great stories about Capone, Bugsy Segal, Al Jolson, Phil Silvers, Dick Van Dyke and Milton Berle. I highly recommend this book.

From beginning to end this is one of those books that is difficult to put down. It was great to learn about Rose Marie's life and career before and after she played the part she is best known for (to me anyway), "Sally Rogers" on "The Dick Van Dyke Show". The love story between her and her beloved husband was magical and could she be any more proud of her daughter?! Reading and learning about the various celebrities (including the notorious ones) with whom she worked and was acquainted was quite interesting. Like some others have mentioned, I would have liked to read more about her time with the DVD show, but maybe she will favor us with a second book based on that experience!

What a fun, funny, touching, warm and wonderful celebrity bio. Most celebrities seem to have their interest quotient tied to their history of self-destructive antics, but Rose Marie really provides some great reading, especially if you are of her generation. I am not, I'm about 40 years younger, but I loved it. I gave it to my aunts and parents and they enjoyed it, too. We're from the same background and neighborhood, so maybe that prejudiced us a bit, bit Rose Marie is a class act.

I am an avid biography/autobiography reader. This book was a delight to read. Rose Marie tells about the many aspects of her life. Her childhood and her years as a nightclub singer were especially interesting. This book is a must for any Dick Van Dyke Show fan. I wish this book would be more heavily promoted and available to readers. It's the best autobiography I've read in a long time.

I am in love with Rose Marie, yet I had no idea what a long and fascinating career she had before the Dick Van Dyke Show. This book outlines her wonderful life as a child star, her life on the road and so many other things you never knew she was involved in. We knew her as a television icon. Now I've seen her as a life-long star in her own right! It's a great look at Hollywood growing up.

So much I didn't know! So much I learned.

Rose Marie is a fascinating person. She knew everybody and had a lot to tell, especially about the days of Vaudeville , radio and even Broadway.

What really impressed me is that she seldom said anything negative about anybody(one or two exceptions-most notably her father, who was something of a "rat"!).
I really enjoyed this book. And highly recommend it. The only other "show-biz" bio I enjoyed equally was Sam Irvin's recent of Kay Thompson. But Thompson wasn't nearly so likeable as is Rose Marie.

Thanks for the memories!

This book is great! I have read many books and this is one of the best! I highly recommend it to any Rose Marie fan! I had only seen her in "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and had no idea so many things had happened to her before that!! Rose Marie tells an entertaining story that always has a joke to keep you very entertained! Great Job Rose Marie!!!!

Rose Marie writes a wonderful account of her life. She tells some about her personal life, and a lot baout her career. It's funny, sad, and poignant as well. It's really a wonderful book and great for any fan of Rose Marie and her work. I especially found interesting, where she talks about working on "The Dick Van Dyke Show."

I cannot give this book 5 stars as towards the end of the book I was beginning to get very bored.Now that I think back from the start- she had the habit of referring to herself as the one who
was Super Woman.I really don't see how she had the time to do everything she claims to have done with this script and that arrangement.If she was trying to make the reader feel sorry for her she succeeded in the beginning. Seems the book went down hill in telling her story after her husband died-a shame it could have been a great book had she left out the names dropping etc.