Rosemary Clooney was born on this day in 1928. She's famous for her roles in a number of films including, notably, 1954’s “White Christmas,” along with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, and Vera-Ellen, as well as a stellar recording career, for which she won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2002—the year of her death. Among her television guest spots, she appeared on the long-running series “ER” in 1995, opposite her nephew, George Clooney, for which she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award—40 years after her chart-topping hit, “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Your Face,” one of the last gasps of 30s- and 40s-era crooner ballads before the post-Elvis era of rock-and-roll radio dominance. The song was written by Clooney’s friend, Alan Jay Lerner, who, along with his co-writer Frederick Loewe, created the 1958 blockbuster musical “Gigi,” which set a record as the first film to win all of the Oscars for which it was nominated—a total of nine. Pictured (L-R): Clooney with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis in 1952 (public domain).
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