Rosemarie Bowe

Rosemarie Bowe Stack (born Rose Marie Bowe; September 17, 1932 – January 20, 2019) was an American model, best known for her appearances in several films in the 1950s.

Rosemarie Bowe
Bowe in 1952
Born
Rose Marie Bowe[1]

(1932-09-17)September 17, 1932
Butte, Montana, U.S.
DiedJanuary 20, 2019(2019-01-20) (aged 86)
Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
Other names
  • Laura Bowe
  • Rosemarie Stack
Occupation(s)Actress, model
Years active1952–1986
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1956; died 2003)​
Children2
RelativesTaran Killam (great-nephew)
David Bowe (nephew)

Born in Butte, Montana, Bowe was primarily raised in Tacoma, Washington. She began her career modeling in Los Angeles, California, before being cast in uncredited bit parts. Her first major role was a supporting part in the 1954 adventure film The Adventures of Hajji Baba. She would have several lead roles before officially retiring from acting following her appearance in John Cassavetes' Big Trouble (1986).

She was married to actor Robert Stack from 1956 until his death in 2003.

Early life

Bowe was born Rose Marie Bowe on September 17, 1932, in Butte, Montana, the youngest child of Dennis and Ruby Bowe.[2] Bowe's father was a building contractor and her mother was a dress designer.[2] She had an older sister, Claire (maternal grandmother of actor Taran Killam),[3] and a brother, Sidney.[2] The family moved to Tacoma, Washington, when Bowe was a child. She was raised Lutheran.[4]

As a teenager, she worked as a model in Seattle.[2] She attended Stadium High School in Tacoma, Washington,[5] where she was active in theater and dance,[3] and graduated in 1950.[6] The same year, Bowe won the "Miss Tacoma" beauty contest.[2] In 1951, she was one of six finalists in competition for queen of the Home Show and Building Exposition in Los Angeles, California.[7]

Bowe briefly attended Tacoma Community College before moving to Los Angeles.[2]

Career

Modeling work

She was crowned Miss Tacoma and Miss Montana in 1950. In May 1951, Bowe competed in a contest to choose the queen of the sixth annual Home Show and Building Exposition. Along with Mary Ellen Nichols, she was a runner-up to the contest winner, Linda Peterson.

In 1951, Bowe traveled with her mother to Los Angeles, California, to see her brother Sidney off to the military during the Korean War.[3] "Washington is very much like London," Bowe reflected in an interview. "Kinda gloomy, dark skies, unless it's summertime. Washington state is beautiful from June to September, but after that it's overcast, everyday practically. The minute my mother and I saw California palm trees and the sun, we really liked it and we decided we could stay here for awhile."[3]

Having done modeling work in the past, Bowe secured work in Los Angeles as a model, appearing in several pin-up portraits by artist Gil Elvgren.[2] Her measurements were 36–25–36. She was 5'5" tall and had blue-green eyes. Her modeling agency was contacted by a high-fashion photographer, Christa, who suggested she pose for national and fashion magazine portraits. Modeling for magazines such as Eye, Tempo, and Blightly, she eventually made the transition from model to actress in television.

Bowe's look was at times likened to both Marilyn Monroe and Grace Kelly. She always modeled high fashion rather than lingerie or bathing suits.[8] She was never asked by photographers to pose for cheesecake pictures as were many a pin-up girl. She once said, "Of all the auditions and interviews I have had with casting men, directors, and producers, not one ever made a pass at me. I guess they were afraid of me."[9]

Acting career

Bowe moved to Hollywood in 1950. In 1952, a court approved her seven-year contract with film agent Charles K. Feldman.[5][10] When his production plans stalled, she obtained a contract with Columbia Pictures. She was trained in dramatic acting by Benno Schneider. Her early experience as an entertainer included performing as a singer and dancer in amateur musicals.

Early in her career, she used the name Laura Bowe.[11]

As a screen debutante, Bowe appeared in Lovely To Look At (1952) with Kathryn Grayson and Red Skelton.[12] Bowe's part is uncredited, as is her depiction of a swimmer in Million Dollar Mermaid (1952). The same year, in June, she appeared on the cover of Life magazine.[11] In 1954, she appeared in The Golden Mistress and The Adventures of Hajji Baba. The former was Bowe's first movie after requesting her release from Columbia.[13] As Ann Dexter, she was featured opposite John Agar in an R.K. Productions release, set in Haiti. Bowe performed her own stunts on the set,[14] and during filming, she almost drowned, was stung by a sea urchin, and sustained bumps, bruises, and insect bites.[15]

Bowe was under option to 20th Century Fox when she filmed The Peacemaker (1956). Based on a novel, the Western also featured James Mitchell. It was released by Hal R. Makelim Productions. Announced in April 1954, the Makelim plan for producing pictures "guaranteed a flow of film products through a fixed fee system."

Her later acting roles included appearances in the films Murder on Flight 502 (1977) and Big Trouble (1986), both of which starred her husband Robert Stack, and the TV movie Making of a Male Model (1983).

She appeared in a 1963 episode of Burke's Law, credited as Rosemarie Bowe. The episode was "Who Killed Beau Sparrow?".

Personal life
Bowe and husband Robert Stack on their wedding day, 1956

On January 23, 1956,[16] Bowe married Robert Stack in Beverly Hills Lutheran Church.[17] The couple became the parents of a daughter, Elizabeth Langford Stack, on January 20, 1957.[18] They shared mutual passions for the outdoors, especially sailing and riding. Bowe temporarily gave up her career when her children were young.

In October 1969, Bowe was in an automobile accident in Sacramento, California, and sustained serious internal injuries. She crashed into a concrete culvert because of a mechanical failure in the rental car she was driving. Kathleen Lund, the wife of Art Lund, was killed in the accident.[19] At the time, Stack was filming The Name of the Game. He chartered a flight to be with her. Art Lund filed a $750,000 wrongful death suit, alleging Bowe had been driving at an "excessive speed" during the accident.[20]

Bowe died on January 20, 2019.[21] Her son, Charles Robert Stack, is a retired investment banker. Her nephew David Bowe is also an actor.[22]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
1952Lovely to Look AtModelUncredited[23]
1952Million Dollar MermaidSwimmerUncredited[23]
1954The Adventures of Hajji BabaAyesha[23]
1954The Golden MistressAnn Dexter[23]
1955The Big BluffFritzie Darvel[23]
1955The View from Pompey's HeadKit Robbins Garrick[23]
1956The PeacemakerAnn Davis[23]
1959John Paul Jones(minor role)Uncredited[23]
1961All in a Night's WorkTony's Blonde Friend[24]
1967The Peking MedallionBar PatronAlso known as: The Corrupt Ones[25]
1975Murder on Flight 502Dorothy SaundersTelevision film[26]
1983Making of a Male ModelLila ChandlerTelevision film[27]
1986Big TroubleMrs. Winslow[28]

References
  1. "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (accessed July 24, 2017), Rose M Bowe in household of Dennis Bowe, Ward 7, Tacoma, Tacoma Election Precinct, Pierce, Washington, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 42-80, sheet 8A, line 10, family 202, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 4391.
  2. "The Private Life and Times of Rosemarie Bowe". Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
  3. Weaver 2010, p. 152.
  4. Weaver 2010, p. 158.
  5. "Film Contract Okayed For Rosemarie Bowe". Arizona Republic. Arizona, Phoenix. Associated Press. June 19, 1952. p. 8. Retrieved July 1, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Approve Starlet's Pact". Kansas City Times. Kansas City, Missouri. Associated Press. June 18, 1952. p. 28 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Six Beauties Vie for Queen of Home Show". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. May 11, 1951. p. 27 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Bacon, James (January 16, 1955). "New Actress Has Face And Figure". Cumberland Sunday Times. Maryland, Cumberland. p. 20. Retrieved January 18, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Rosemarie Bowe: Face Like Kelly Body a la Monroe". Charleston Gazette. Charleston, South Carolina. February 13, 1955. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Weaver 2010, p. 153.
  11. "Life's Cover". Life. Time, Inc. June 23, 1952. p. 19. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
  12. "Boy Actor to Be Starred in 'The Punk'". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. October 24, 1951. p. 55 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. Weaver 2010, pp. 155–6.
  14. Weaver 2010, p. 156.
  15. Weaver 2010, pp. 153–6.
  16. "Actor Robert Stack and Rosemarie Bowe Married". Los Angeles Times. January 24, 1956. p. 33 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. "Bob Stack Marries Rosemarie Bowe". Albuquerque Journal. Albuquerque, New Mexico. Associated Press. January 24, 1956. p. 19. Retrieved January 18, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. "Baby Born to Wife of Robert Stack". The Times. California, San Mateo. Associated Press. January 21, 1957. p. 16. Retrieved January 18, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. "Wreck Kills Wife of Actor Lund". San Bernardino County Sun. San Bernardino, California. October 19, 1969 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. "Actor Lund Files $750,000 Suit In Wife's Death". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. September 30, 1970. p. 28.
  21. "Rosemarie Bowe, model and actress who had 'a face like Grace Kelly and the body of Marilyn Monroe' – obituary". Telegraph Obituaries. UK. The Telegraph. February 12, 2019. Retrieved April 17, 2019 – via telegraph.co.uk.
  22. "Episode 12" UHF Co-Star David Bowe". Dave and Ethan's 2000" Weird Al Podcast.
  23. "Rosemarie Bowe Filmography". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Los Angeles: American Film Institute. Archived from the original on November 11, 2018.
  24. Erens 1978, p. 168.
  25. Aaker 2006, p. 514.
  26. Maltin 1992, p. 839.
  27. "Making of a Male Model". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on November 11, 2018.
  28. "Big Trouble (1986) Cast". TV Guide. TVN Media. Archived from the original on November 11, 2018.

Sources
  • Aaker, Everett (2006). Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters: All Regular Cast Members in American Crime and Mystery Series, 1948-1959. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN 978-0-786-42476-4.
  • Erens, Patricia (1978). The Films of Shirley MacLaine. New York: A. S. Barnes. ISBN 978-0-498-01993-7.
  • Maltin, Leonard (1992). Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide 1993. New York: Plume. ISBN 978-0-452-26857-9.
  • Weaver, Tom (2010). "Rosemarie Bowe on The Golden Mistress (1954)". A Sci-Fi Swarm and Horror Horde: Interviews with 62 Filmmakers. McFarland. pp. 152–8. ISBN 978-0-786-44658-2.

Further reading
  • "Unstoppable". Eureka, California Humboldt Standard. January 7, 1961. p. 33.
  • "Queen And Her Court". Los Angeles Times. July 14, 1951. p. 2.
  • "Drama". Los Angeles Times. October 24, 1951. p. B7.
  • "Perennial Mother Joins Theater Narrative". Los Angeles Times. October 27, 1952. p. B9.
  • "Rosemarie Had To Rough It but She Got Film". Los Angeles Times. March 7, 1954. p. D1.
  • "The Robert Stack I Know: In A Crisis, He Won Me Anew". Lowell Sun. July 30, 1972. pp. 94–96.
  • "Doris Day To Take Role As Reporter". New York Times. September 26, 1955. p. 18.
  • "Robert Stacks Have Daughter". New York Times. January 21, 1957. p. 19.
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