LifeTimeline

Rosalie Waldman

    • NOV 07

      Rosalie Socolov Is Born

    1922
    • Works as Red Cross Volunteer During World War II

    • Meets Myron Waldman

    • Becomes an Animation Checker at Fleischer Studios

    1943
    • MAY 30

      Rosalie and Myron Wed

    1948
    • APR 19

      Rosalie and Myron's First Co-Production

    1950
    • APR 08

      Their Second Co-Production

    1953
    • Builds A Loving Family

    1960
    • Establishers Herself as an Expert Chef

    1970
    • DEC 24

      The New York Times Calls Her a "highly organized minidynamo"

    1978
    • Becomes a Beloved Grandmother

    1993
    • MAY 30

      Rosalie and Myron Celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversary

    1998
    • FEB 04

      Says Farewell to Myron, Love of Her Life

    2006
    • Again Shows Her Amazing Sense of Humor...in the Hospital

    2010
    • Becomes YouTube Sensation with Her Matzoh Ball Tutorial

    • Talented Pianist

    2011
    • NOV 09

      Rosalie's Day of Doom

    2016
    • AUG 28

      Dies Peacefully in her Sleep, at Age 97

    2020
  • Rosalie Socolov Is Born

    Rosalie is born in Freeport, Long Island. In the video, she talks about her memories of putting pies and cakes on the stairs
  • Works as Red Cross Volunteer During World War II

  • 2

    Meets Myron Waldman

    Rosalie describes the first time she met Myron
  • Becomes an Animation Checker at Fleischer Studios

    Rosali was an animation checker at the Fleischer Studio in the early 1940's. Here she describes what that was like
  • 4

    Rosalie and Myron Wed

    While Dad was in the Signal Corps, he also started doing work for Famous Studios.

    His visits to the studio were eagerly awaited, especially by the women who worked in the inking and checking departments.

    “Myron’s coming today!”

    “The best animator of them all…”

    “The nicest, sweetest…”

    “A gentleman…”

    “Wait till you meet Myron!”

    All this was being said to a new employee in the Checking Department.
    A pretty, vivacious 22 year old brunette named Rosalie Socolov.

    Rosalie was a live wire. When she wasn’t working at the studio, she was volunteering as a Gray Lady (a Candy Striper gone to war) at the Army Air Force’s Mitchel Field in Garden City, Long Island. In her spare time, she played piano and organ on the radio, co-ran a Jewish social group, and dated lots of guys in uniform.

    Which is why all the checkers and inkers thought she should meet Myron.

    Myron, truth be told, was a man about town. At 36, he was a living version of the Goings On section of the New Yorker. Unlike a lot of animators whose days ended and sometimes began on a barstool, he dined at all the great restaurants in town, went to Broadway shows, nightclubs, concerts and attended parties where fellow guests like Nat King Cole and Buddy Rich would jam.

    Rosalie Socolov thought, “This is a man I have to talk to.”

    And so she did.

    “Myron, I’ve got a date tomorrow night for dinner. We want to go someplace Italian
    Where would you recommend?”

    Thus began Myron Waldman’s career as Rosalie Socolov’s personal Zagat’s Guide.
    Over the next two years, he never steered her wrong once.

    And then along came a Cupid named Nick Tafuri. Nick was one of Dad’s animators and best friends. By 1946, these two Brooklyn boys had worked together for 16 years. Nick knew Myron maybe better than anybody else at the studio. And he thought Myron should be more than Rosalie Socolov’s guidebook.

    Early one afternoon in 1946, Nick sidled up to Rosalie and whispered, “Hot Lips, (yes, that was her nickname at the studio), “come with me to lunch.”

    “Sure.”

    “And no matter what I say,” Nick added, “just go along with it.”

    When they stepped off the elevator and into the lobby of 25 West 45th Street, there was Myron Waldman.

    “Hot Lips was hungry,” said Nick, “so I told her she could join us.”

    “Of course. Hello, Rosalie.” (Myron had too much class to call her anything but her real name.)

    “Hi Myron.”

    And off they went to the Red Devil, Myron and Nick’s favorite Italian restaurant for lunch.

    And happily ever after.

    On his 40th birthday, in a taxi somewhere near Grand Central, Dad proposed to Rosalie. Fortunately, she said yes (or I wouldn't be writing this). Only five weeks later, on May 30, 1948, they were married in a huge formal wedding. As you can see, they had fun from the very beginning. Dad wanted a wedding photo that was a takeoff on the stiff, very formal portraits taken in the early 1900s, and the bottom picture is the result.

    When Mom helped me find these pictures, she looked adoringly at them and said, "He made all my dreams come true."
  • 2

    Rosalie and Myron's First Co-Production

    Number One Son, Robbie makes his debut Wednesday, April 19, 1950.
  • 3

    Their Second Co-Production

    Steve Waldman, the original, not to be confused with Steve Waldman, the cousin (although both are rabid Yankee fans) makes his debut on April 8, 1953.

    Between having Number #1 & 2 sons, Dad and Mom moved from Peter Cooper Village in New York to the Long Island suburb of Wantagh. The photo of everyone was taken in the living room of the house where Mom still lives.
  • 6

    Builds A Loving Family

  • 2

    Establishers Herself as an Expert Chef

  • 3

    The New York Times Calls Her a "highly organized minidynamo"

    Rosalie is teaching Jewish cooking at the YWHA and YMHA in Plainview. The lead of a piece in The New York Times reads:

    "A fine Hanukkah menu was demonstrated last week at Rosalie Waldman's cooking classes at the Mid-Island YW- and YWHA in Plainview. In two hours Mrs. Waldman, a highly organized minidynamo, prepared an attractive meal that was that was remarkable for its ease of preparation as well as its sensible combination of fresh ingredients.

    In the piece, Rosalie explained, "I try to be original and show that Kosher food does not have to be all stuffed derma and heartburn."

    https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachi/.../4/issue.html
  • 5

    Becomes a Beloved Grandmother

    There was a lot of kvelling in the summer of 1993. Within eight weeks, Dad & Mom became the grandparents of not one but two kids. Rob's daughter, Emily, and Steve's daughter Becky. (Photo: Becky on Left, Emily, Right)

    Here they are with Dad blowing out the candles on his 90th birthday cake in 1998.

    Two days before Dad's 89th birthday, his third granddaughter, Ariel (Rob's daughter) made her debut.

    --Rob Waldman
  • 3

    Rosalie and Myron Celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversary

  • 7

    Says Farewell to Myron, Love of Her Life

    She shared 58 years with her beloved husband Myron
  • 2

    Again Shows Her Amazing Sense of Humor...in the Hospital

    She had whip-smart sense of humor her whole life. As one great example, when she was being wheeled into surgery in 2010, at age 88, she looked up at the doctor and said, "this time, I hope it's a girl!"
  • Becomes YouTube Sensation with Her Matzoh Ball Tutorial

    Her nephew Joe, for a school project, makes a mini-doc about Rosalie cooking matzoh balls. The video draws more than 75,000 views and hundreds of comments.

    Some examples of the comments:

    Ghost girl385: She is so sweet, I just bet that her cooking is simply wonderful, wish I could meet her !!

    Nick Kaplan7: 3 Decades of cracking eggs on the edge of the bowl and getting shell in the mix comes to an end! Cracking the egg on the flat surface is brilliant and works like a charm. Thank you Aunt Rosalie!

    cheapnonsmoker1: Oh god this lady is so wonderful. I love the part when she says "such a shame there's no smell-a-vision" and then smiles into the camera. I pray to god that she is still with us. What a lovely lady...

    Carol English: you are so beautiful! I love how you demonstrated how to make your matzo balls and your piano playing.i wish u were my Auntie

    asa7: Shalom Aunt Rosalie Please please please make more videos !!! Your one of the best on Youtube, a total delight to watch .

    Debbie Deal1: Rosalie, what a lovely person you seem to be. Multitalented-a cook and an entertainer! I really enjoyed your video!

    debrabelz: Perfect. Every detail. Who knows where or when, beautiful too. Best face too. Thank you.

    timitzer: What a great lady, I just want to hug her!

    rmadelsonn: My wife is sick so I'm making Jewish penicillin for her. I LOVE Aunt Rosalie. Now THAT'S a woman. Beautiful.

    Barbara D: Oh, what a sweet beautiful auntie. I love her recipe.

    Starr M Curry: What a delightful blessing to see such a beautiful lady! Yum yum, on the soup! Thanks for sharing and Shalom shalom.

    Mike Burg: Yum! On it Aunt Rosalie! I am making these today!!! Thank you for the love and passion for Matzoh! Keep on living your dream!

    Sharyn Burns: That was wonderful!! My dad was a musician and used to play that on the piano when I was a kid growing up. My mom used to sing it while cooking. You are lovely and thank you so much Aunt Rosalie for the great matzo ball recipe. Hope I catch you again. Many thanks. :}

    Sally Johnson: Rosalie, what a star you are! I can't wait to make these. I'm glad I watched it all the way through so I caught the special performance at the end.

    Valeria Conforti: ahhhhhhh, sweet lady i really enjoyed your video. I'm going to look for one of those hand mixers. Gee i hope I can find one, somehow i think it would come in useful for many receipies. Great choice of music but nothing beats your finale' ;) Keep up your good work........from an italiano fan!!
  • Talented Pianist

    She played piano semi-professionally -- including as an organist on a quiz show in the 1940s. Here she is, at age 89, playing When or Where.
  • Rosalie's Day of Doom

    Rosalie was born when Harding was President---and was sad that she was leaving under Trump. Here's her calendar entry on election day 2016
  • 4

    Dies Peacefully in her Sleep, at Age 97

    She was energetic, loving, sharp-witted, engaged and even social-media-friendly until the end. Had a good visit with Steve on Zoom hours before retiring from this life!