Rosemary

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Rosemary

Postby Lou » Tue Oct 25, 2005 12:35 pm

On the Air: Oct. 2, 1944-March 23, 1945, NBC, 11:15 a.m. ET; March 26, 1945-June 21, 1946, CBS, 2:30 p.m.; June 24, 1946-July 1, 1955, CBS, 11:45 a.m.

Rosemary Dawson Roberts: Betty Winkler, Virginia Kaye ... Bill Roberts: George Keane, Robert Readick ... Mother Dawson: Marion Barney ... Audrey Roberts: Joan Alexander, Lesley Woods

Announcers: Fran Barber, Harry Clark, Bob Dixon, Gil Herbert, Ed Herlihy, Joe O'Brien

Theme Song: Original composition

Epigraph: Rosemary, written by Elaine Carrington, author of Pepper Young's Family and When a Girl Marries, is dedicated to all the women of today. Yes, Rosemary is your story -- this is you.

Premise: A better subtitle for this serial might have been: "Shall we move to New York or not?" If any question begged answering here, perhaps it was that one. Rosemary and Bill Roberts spent so much time shifting their residence back and forth between the small town of Springdale and New York City that the IRS, the people who hook up and disengage utilities and their creditors must have wondered what type of con game this couple had going on. Actually, Bill was the one who did most of the traveling; Rosemary stayed put much of the time. Although Bill, a practicing journalist, had good intentions, he was shiftless, unable to put down roots for very long anywhere. Like many a serial hero (although that term seems inappropriate in representing him), he had a roving eye that kept him in touch with a pretty skirt. Meanwhile, Rosemary was the stabilizing force in his life; her feet were planted securely on terra firma. Her goals and ideals and virtues were intact, and she deserved better than she got. Occasionally, though understandably, she showed a weakness for jealousy. Her fans empathized with her nonetheless, some probably hoping she'd wash that man right outta her hair. She never did -- he brought her pain and sorrow, yet she sustained an abiding faith in him. In the end Bill Roberts proved his mettle, choosing Rosemary over all other women. A unique postscript could be added. The principals on this show did something that most other heroes and heroines never did: they married each other in real life. Surely their own situation was a far cry from that of the wretched pair they portrayed on a daily basis.

Trivia question: Can you name at least 3 other male serial leads who left their spouses at home and spent inordinate amounts of time pursuing another life in New York City?

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