Rosemary Decamp - Turner Classic Movies

Rosemary Decamp


Actor
Rosemary Decamp

About

Birth Place
Prescott, Arizona, USA
Born
November 14, 1910
Died
February 20, 2001

Biography

Actress Rosemary deCamp studied at Mills College in Oakland, California, and worked on Broadway as an understudy before getting into radio -- voicing roles on "Dr. Christian" and "The Career of Alice Blair." She debuted on the big screen in 1941 with the film "Cheers for Miss Bishop" and over the next eight years made 25 movies for a variety of studios. She was often cast as the confidan...

Family & Companions

John A Shider
Husband
Died in 1977.

Biography

Actress Rosemary deCamp studied at Mills College in Oakland, California, and worked on Broadway as an understudy before getting into radio -- voicing roles on "Dr. Christian" and "The Career of Alice Blair." She debuted on the big screen in 1941 with the film "Cheers for Miss Bishop" and over the next eight years made 25 movies for a variety of studios. She was often cast as the confidant or close friend of the female lead in features like "Hold Back the Dawn," "Yankee Doodle Dandy," "Rhapsody in Blue," and "Night Unto Night." She played Peg Riley in the movie and TV versions of "The Life of Riley" opposite both William Bendix and Jackie Gleason. DeCamp was also a regular on "The Bob Cummings Show" throughout the '50s, worked with Marlo Thomas on "That Girl," and played Aunt Helen on "Petticoat Junction" in the '60s. Although her work in films had mostly subsided in the last two decades of her career, she continued to work steadily on television, with recurring roles on "The Partridge Family," "Lobo," "B.J. and the Bear," and "St. Elsewhere." Her last TV appearance was in the "Murder, She Wrote" episode "Dead Letter" in 1989. She died of pneumonia in 2001 at the age of 90.

Life Events

1941

Feature acting debut "Cheers for Miss Bishop"

1942

Portrayed the mother of George M Cohan (played by James Cagney) in "Yankee Doodle Dandy"

1942

Cast as the mother of Mowgli, the boy raised by wolves, in "The Jungle Book"

1943

Acted opposite Ronald Reagan in "This Is the Army"

1945

Again played the mother of a famous person, this time George Gershwin (portrayed by Robert Alda) in "Rhapsody in Blue"

1948

Co-starred opposite William Bendix in the film version of "The Life of Riley"

1949

Reprised screen role in the TV version of "The Life of Riley", opposite both Bendix and Jackie Gleason

1955

Last film for five years, "Strategic Air Command"

1960

Made one-shot return to films in "13 Ghosts"

1979

Was briefly seen as the mother of Maureen Dean in the CBS miniseries "Blind Ambition"

1981

Final film, the satirical "Friday the 14th", a spoof of horror movies

1989

Last TV acting role, a guest appearance on "Murder, She Wrote", starring Angela Lansbury

Photo Collections

Nora Prentiss - Lobby Card Set
Here is a set of Lobby Cards from Warner Bros' Nora Prentiss (1947), starring Ann Sheridan. Lobby Cards were 11" x 14" posters that came in sets of 8. As the name implies, they were most often displayed in movie theater lobbies, to advertise current or coming attractions.

Videos

Movie Clip

Nora Prentiss (1947) -- (Movie Clip) I Don't Have To Dance Before an evening out, mild Dr. Talbot (Kent Smith) expresses frustration to his wife (Rosemary DeCamp) then, working on the weekend, is surprised when singer Ann Sheridan (title character), whom he treated after a minor accident, stops by to consult, in Nora Prentiss,1947.
Scandal Sheet (1952) -- (Movie Clip) Thinking People Like It Too At their newspaper's "Lonely Hearts Ball," writer Julie (Donna Reed) sees boyfriend Steve (John Derek), photographer Biddle (Henry Morgan) and editor Chapman (Broderick Crawford) in Phil Karlson's Scandal Sheet, 1952.
Rhapsody In Blue (1945) -- (Movie Clip) A Fella's Gotta Start Somewhere First scene for Robert Alda as grown-up Bronxite George Gershwin, with brother Ira (Herbert Rudley) and parents (Rosemary DeCamp, Morris Carnovsky), when a message from Chico Marx leads to a meeting with an insulting Vaudevillian (Andrew Tombes), in Warner Bros.’ bio-pic Rhapsody In Blue, 1945.
This Is The Army (1943) -- (Movie Clip) Command Performance! New York, 1917, Broadway star Jerry Jones (George Murphy) is on stage when his draft notice arrives backstage in what will be his last dance number for a while, Rosemary DeCamp his wife, in the Irving Berlin musical mashup fundraiser This Is The Army, 1943.
This Is The Army (1943) -- (Movie Clip) We're On Our Way! George Murphy as impresario Jerry Jones is practically a stand-in for the real Irving Berlin, playing the composer of Berlin's own "Yip Yip Yaphank," from 1918, leading the cast of his all-soldier musical from Broadway to France, in a famous sequence from the fund-raiser musical This Is the Army, 1943.
13 Ghosts -- (Movie Clip) Opening Credits The unorthodox opening credit sequence for producer/director William Castle's 1960 family-oriented thriller 13 Ghosts.
13 Ghosts -- (Movie Clip) Ouija Board Ben (Martin Milner) joins the Zorba family (Donald Woods, Rosemary DeCamp, Jo Morrow and Charles Herbert) in an unsettling Ouija board experiment in director William Castle's 13 Ghosts, 1960.
13 Ghosts -- (Movie Clip) Telegram Having had their furniture repossessed, the improbably named Zorba family (Donald Woods, Rosemary DeCamp, Jo Morrow and Charles Herbert) gets an urgent message in spooky fashion in 13 Ghosts, 1960.

Trailer

Family

Margaret Shider
Daughter
Martha Shider
Daughter
Valerie Shider
Daughter
Anita Louise Shider
Daughter

Companions

John A Shider
Husband
Died in 1977.

Bibliography