Rosemary Rice

Rosemary Rice (May 3, 1925 – August 14, 2012) was an American actress, singer, and voice-over artist born in Montclair, New Jersey, to Albert and Laura (née Rogers) Rice. She began performing during junior high school in Montclair, earning a role in her first Broadway production before enrolling at New York's Professional Children's School. Over the course of her career she appeared in twelve Broadway plays and musicals, worked extensively in radio and television, recorded children's albums, and narrated audiobooks.

Rice's Broadway work spanned 1943 to 1946 and included the comedy The Naked Genius, written by Gypsy Rose Lee; The Bees and the Flowers; the comedy Love on Leave; Dear Ruth; and Junior Miss. Her stage career established a foundation for the broader performing work that followed.

In radio, Rice's first appearance was on Grand Central Station, after which she built an active presence across mysteries, comedies, and soap operas. She was best known in the medium for playing Betty Cooper on the Archie Andrews series. Additional radio credits included Ma Perkins, in which she played Laura; The Right to Happiness, where she portrayed Susan Wakefield; When a Girl Marries, in which she played Kathy; Young Doctor Malone, where she appeared as Jill; CBS Radio Mystery Theater; NBC Playhouse; Cavalcade of America; Playhouse 90; My True Story; Westinghouse Studio One; and Let's Pretend.

Rice became most widely recognized for her role as Katrin Hansen, the eldest daughter in the CBS television series Mama, which ran from 1949 to 1957. The series, adapted from Kathryn Forbes's book Mama's Bank Account, centered on a Norwegian American family in early twentieth-century San Francisco and was broadcast live from a studio above the Oyster Bar in Manhattan's Grand Central Terminal. Rice opened each episode by narrating over a family photo album, closing the sequence with the line, "But most of all, I remember... Mama." Peggy Wood starred as the mother, Marta Hansen; Judson Laire played the father, Lars Hansen; Dick Van Patten appeared as the younger brother, Nels; and Robin Morgan portrayed the younger sister, Dagmar. Rice described the cast as exceptionally close, telling the New York Times that she continued to call Judson Laire "Papa" until his death in 1979. The series was recorded on kinescopes, and in 1985 Rice donated her personal collection of kinescopes to the Museum of Broadcasting, now known as the Paley Center for Media, to preserve surviving episodes. She participated in Mama reunions and fan gatherings throughout her life. Additional television credits included Kraft Television Theatre, The Mike Douglas Show, One Life to Live, Playhouse 90, Search for Tomorrow, The Edge of Night, and Dave Garroway.

Alongside her on-screen and on-air work, Rice wrote, sang, and narrated fifteen children's albums, releasing nine through Columbia Records and six on the RCA label. She won a Grammy Award for one of her Columbia Records albums. Her album Learning America the Fun Way appeared in Harmony Records' Hi-Fi Fun Series, which paired recordings with coloring kits and cutouts.

Rice also worked in radio and television commercials both on camera and through voice-over. She recorded the Clairol slogan "If I've only one life to live, let me live it as a blonde!" and worked on campaigns for Johnson & Johnson. Her advertising work earned her three Clio Awards. In 1964 and 1965 she provided the voice for the Bell Telephone exhibit at the New York World's Fair.

Later in her career, Rice narrated audiobooks for Caedmon Audio, recorded more than twenty textbooks for Allyn & Bacon of Boston, and narrated nine titles in the American Girl Collection series. Her total honors included one Grammy Award, one Emmy Award, three Peabody Awards, and three Clio Awards.

Rice married John B. Merrell on July 3, 1954, and the couple had two children. She lived for many years in New Canaan, Connecticut, before relocating to Stamford, where she died of a heart attack on August 14, 2012, at the age of 87.