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Rose Marie, Co-Star of the Classic ‘Dick Van Dyke Show’ in the 1960s, Tells How She Handled Sexual Harassment Back in the Day

Dec 7, 2017  •  Post A Comment

Trailblazing TV actress Rose Marie, one of the stars of “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” is opening up about sexual harassment, and how she handled it in a particular incident back in the 1950s. The actress recounts the incident in a guest column in The Hollywood Reporter.

“It occurred when I was about to wrap filming on the 1954 musical ‘Top Banana,” she writes. “The producer of the film came up to me after I’d run through the song called ‘I Fought Every Step of the Way,’ which had boxing references, and said that he could show me a few positions. He wasn’t referring to boxing.

“I laughed it off, but he said he was serious and that the picture could be mine. Well, in front of everyone onstage, I said, ‘You son of a bitch, you couldn’t get it up if a flag went by.’ Needless to say, that didn’t go over well with him, and all my musical numbers were cut from the film. I had no idea that his reaction to my refusal would be so bad.”

She adds: “I realized then that the rumors of the casting couch weren’t jokes and why some actresses were getting breaks and why others, sometimes way more talented, weren’t.”

We encourage readers to click on the link above to THR to read the full column.

One Comment

  1. Thank you Rose!!
    No-talents get whatever is offered by doing whatever is asked. The ‘casting couch effect” has been around forever. Crappy singers got the record deal because they got record execs the best coke, etc. I know, because I saw it more than once. Happens all the time, in every facet of show business.
    Sad but very true.

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