Biography

Rosemary Rice was born on May 2, 1925 in Montclair, New Jersey, USA. She was an actress, known for Mama (1949), The Edge of Night (1956) and Kraft Mystery Theatre (1947). She was married to John B. Merrell. She died on August 14, 2012 in Stamford, Connecticut, USA.

Donated her "Mama" Kinescope collection to the Paley Center on Media.

In addition to her success on television as Katrin on the popular MAMA series in the 1950s, Rosemary Rice was a busy radio actress during the 1940s and 1950s and was heard on such radio programs as Studio One, Archie Andrews (as Betty), The Cavalcade Of America and When A Girl Marries, to mention just a few. Rice was a regular performer on Himan Brown's CBS Radio Mystery Theater in the 1970s and had numerous successful children's recordings to her credit.

Between 1974 and 1977, she appeared in 22 episodes of the "CBS Radio Mystery Theater."

She is survived by her son, John Morrell and daughter, Marcie Morrell Schonborn; a brother Rogers Rice; and three grandchildren.

[on Mama] I literally grew up with the show. Since we spent five days a week together, we really were like a family to the day he died I always called papa, 'Papa.'