Rosemary Merrell

Rosemary Rice Merrell, 87, of Stamford, CT died on August 14, 2012, at home. She was the wife of the late John B. Merrell. She is survived by her daughter Marcie Merrell Schonborn and husband Alan Schonborn of Dallas, Texas, her son John R. Merrell and wife Shari Merrell of Shelton, Connecticut; her 3 grandchildren, Joshua Schonborn, Maggie and Alexandra Merrell; and her brother Rogers Rice of Brewster, MA. Born on May 3, 1925, in Montclair, NJ, she was the daughter of the late Albert and Laura Rogers Rice. Best known for her performance as daughter "Katrin" (as well as narra-tor) on CBS-TV's award winning "I Remember Mama" series, which ran for 9 years, 1949-1956. Rosemary Rice's career began while she was attending junior high school in Montclair, New Jersey. That's where she was discovered to perform in the first of twelve Broadway shows. Among her most notable appearances were in "Junior Miss" and "Dear Ruth", as well as "I Remember Mama". Rosemary was also known for her portrayal of Betty on the Archie Andrews radio program. She has also appeared on Playhouse 90, Studio One, Let's Pretend, Calvacade of America, My True Story, CBS Mystery Theater, When A Girl Marries, Young Doctor Malone, and the NBC Playhouse. Rosemary was a well established figure in the world of children's entertainment, having written, narrated and sung 9 albums for Columbia Records, where she won a "Grammy Award". She has also recorded 6 albums for RCA. Rosemary has recorded nine books for The American Girl Collection, and was the voice of Caedmon Records (books on tape). Rosemary's work with children has not been confined only to her albums. She has also recorded 20 text books for the Allyn and Bacon Publishing company in Boston, MA. With her warm voice and pleasing quality, Rosemary was without a doubt one of the finest and foremost children's artists of our time. Although she is best known for her nine years as Katrin on CBS-TV's "I Remember Mama", she also appeared in the "Edge of Night", "Search for Tomorrow", "One Life to Live", "Kraft Television Theatre", "As the World Turns", "AM Today", "The Mike Douglas Show", "The Today Show", "Dave Garroway Show", and other television shows. Rosemary appeared on and off camera in dozens of radio and television commercials. Most notably for the voice of Clairol "If I've only one life to live, let me live it as a blonde!", Johnson & Johnson products, and was the Voice for New York City's World Fair Exhibition for Bell Tele-phone. During her career, Rosemary was the recipient of three CLIO Awards, The Grammy Award, The Pulitzer Prize, three Peabody Awards, and an Emmy Award. A Memorial Service will be held at the Congregational Church of New Canaan, 23 Park Street, New Canaan, CT on September 8, 2012 at 10:00 AM. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Paley Center for Media, 25 West 52nd Street, NY, NY 10019. Words of comfort and sympathy may be sent to the family at www.leopgallagherstamford.com Leo P. Gallagher & Son Funeral Home 203-327-1313