The Rosemary Clooney House Museum has received yet another piece of memorabilia from the classic holiday film "White Christmas" to add to its collection.
The Rosemary Clooney House Museum opened its doors in June, 2005, and over the past two years, has amassed an extensive collection of Clooney memorabilia, including the largest "White Christmas" collection in the world.
Steve and Heather French Henry are cofounders and curators of the museum dedicated to the late Augusta resident and world-renowned singer and actress.
The Henrys are continuing their search to find and acquire as many pieces of memorabilia related to Clooney as possible. The museum is proud to boast several pieces that adorned Rosemary's Beverly Hills home, including her ornate iron gate and fencing, and another recent donation from one of Clooney's closest friends.
"Michael Feinstein was kind enough to give the museum an item Rosemary bequeathed to him in her will, a painting which hung over her bed in her Beverly Hills home," said Steve Henry.
Today, the museum invites everyone to come and see a piece of Rosemary Clooney history. Beginning at 11 a.m., a service will be held to unveil the blue dress Clooney donned while performing the famous "Sisters" song and dance routine in the film "White Christmas," along with the special painting.
The museum is presenting the dress to coincide with the second anniversary of the Rosemary Clooney House Museum's opening, Augusta's Arts in the Garden festival, and the Clooney Family Reunion.
Since the museum's opening in 2005, nearly 30,000 guests have toured the house. The museum is constantly adding pieces commemorating Clooney's career, now including the famous blue dress, only topped in recognizability by the classic red finale ensemble.
Costuming from the famous film and a number of Clooney's many other movies are always in mind for the Henrys to find and acquire for the museum.
"We continue to search for pieces of Rosemary's history. I've developed a good relationship with the head of the costume department at Paramount Pictures, and I hope to gain quite a few more costumes from Rosemary's career," said Steve Henry. "A lot of it is lost when it's sold to vintage clothing stores."
This piece of clothing was rescued from a similar fate, by volunteer and Rosemary Clooney devotee Kathy Brown. Although the history of the dress is still being researched, the selling owners were able to divulge to Brown the way they came across this extraordinary piece of movie history.
"The previous owners got it at a vintage clothing shop in California," said Brown.
Brown found the sellers of the dress in quite an unusual way.
"I won it on an auction on eBay," said Brown, "I don't think the sellers knew what a find it was for a place like the museum."
Brown was able to purchase the famous item of clothing for less than $200 and had it immediately shipped overnight to her in order to begin an arduous authentication process.
"We took still-shots from the movie, blew them up, and I went through every section and swirl of lace; it's a unique dress, and it all matched," said Brown.
Brown was also able to view the pieces of costuming already in possession of the museum, and compare its basic makeup.
"We saw how Paramount sewed the seams, and installed the zippers. They were all the same," said Brown.
The Rosemary Clooney House now boasts the dress in the White Christmas Room, filled with movie memorabilia, including a pair of rhinestone gloves worn by Clooney in a performance scene, posters containing classic movie illustrations, and outfits worn by the cast for parties.
"The collection really is extensive. The Orlando and Atlanta Museums of Art have expressed interest in bringing the collection to their locations for a short period of time, which is a real compliment," said Henry.
The Rosemary Clooney House Museum has become a mecca for memorabilia exhibiting Clooney, and continues to grow each year. The Henrys anticipate having to expand to accommodate the growing collection in the future.
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