Rosalyn "Roz" Borden (May 29, 1932 – January 23, 2003) was an American actor and singer, and along with her sister, Marilyn Borden, were known as The Borden Twins.The Modesto Bee
/ref> The duo are perhaps best known for their appearance on ''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes spanning six seasons. The series starred Lucille Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz, along with Vivian ...

'' playing "Teensy and Weensy" in the episode entitled "Tennessee Bound". Although never anything other than supporting players, the duo have performed in several venues, including gigs on the nightclub circuit, as well as larger events including Rose Bowl. The twins also performed at countless USO shows at home and overseas. and have worked with many famous entertainer including:

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedian, producer, and studio executive. She was recognized by ''Time (magazine), Time'' in 2020 as one of the most influential women of the 20th century for h ...

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...

, and

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian, with a career spanning seven decades in film, stage, television and radio. Famously nicknamed as "Th ...

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian, dancer, and musician. At age two, Davis began his career in Vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which t ...

Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side New York accent, accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced son ...

Bea Arthur Beatrice Arthur (born Bernice Frankel; May 13, 1922 – April 25, 2009) was an American actress, comedienne and singer. She began her career on stage in 1947, attracting critical acclaim before achieving worldwide recognition for her work o ...

, and

Bob Newhart George Robert Newhart (September 5, 1929 – July 18, 2024) was an American comedian and actor. Newhart was known for his deadpan and stammering delivery style. Beginning his career as a stand-up comedian, he transitioned his career to acting in ...

Biography

Early life

Marilyn and Rosalyn Borden were born in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, on May 29, 1932, to Harry (1906–1973) and Elizabeth Borden (1909–1995) and would be followed by a younger sister, Barbara, in 1945. Shortly after the birth of Barbara, Harry left the family. The Borden Twins got into acting with the encouragement of their parents and as children worked with such famous actors including

Bill Robinson Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (born Luther Robinson; May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949), was an American tap dancer, actor, and singer, the best known and the most highly paid black entertainer in the United States during the first half of the 20 ...

. At age four, they performed on a local radio show with

Ed Begley Edward James Begley Sr. (March 25, 1901 – April 28, 1970) was an American actor of theatre, radio, film, and television. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film '' Sweet Bird of Youth'' (1962) an ...

in their hometown of Hartford. As teenagers, their family moved to Los Angeles. In high school, they started doing network television. In 1951, they caught the eye of

Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American dancer, actor, singer, director and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...

who wanted to get them a part in ''

Singin' in the Rain ''Singin' in the Rain'' is a 1952 American musical romantic comedy film directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Kelly, Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds, and featuring Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell, Rita Moreno a ...

''. They can only be seen as extras in large crowd scenes.

Career

The Twins would appear on several television shows including '' The Spike Jones Show'' and became regular performers on '' The Jimmy Durante Show''. The twins soon began their association with

that would span seven years, appearing on many of his TV shows and travelling in his nightclub act. Between their work with Durante, the twins played local nightclubs and travelled with the U.S.O. entertaining servicemen in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

, Japan, and the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Television

While appearing on an episode of ''

The Ed Wynn Show ''The Ed Wynn Show'' is an American variety show originally broadcast from September 22, 1949 to July 4, 1950, on the CBS Television Network. Comedian and former vaudevillian Ed Wynn was the star of the program's 39 episodes, which were the firs ...

'' the twins caught the attention of

, who promised them she would find a part for them on ''

''. True to her word,

Ball A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but sometimes ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used for s ...

featured the twins in episode 112 entitled "Tennessee Bound" in which they played the sheriff's daughter's 'Teensy' and Weensy,' opposite

Tennessee Ernie Ford Ernest Jennings Ford (February 13, 1919 – October 17, 1991), known professionally as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American singer and television host who enjoyed success in the country and western, pop, and gospel musical genres. Noted for ...

. The twins continued work on television and appeared on ''

CHiPs ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. After the final first-run telecast on NBC in May 1983, the series went into reruns on Sundays fr ...

'', '' Maude'', and ''

The Ropers ''The Ropers'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from March 13, 1979, to May 15, 1980. It is a Spin-off (media), spin-off of ''Three's Company'' and loosely based on the British sitcom ''Geo ...

''. In The 1970s and 1980s the twins worked on the San Francisco based morning show ''A.M. San Francisco'' as fitness experts. Also in the 1980s they began work with

in his stage show in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

and

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; Washo language, Washo: ''dáʔaw'') is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the Western United States, straddling the border between California and Nevada. Lying at above sea level, Lake Tahoe is the largest a ...

. Roz and Marilyn were last seen together on television on the 1998 "All-Star Tribute to Aaron Spelling." They would continue to appear at Lucy conventions in California and

Jamestown, New York Jamestown is a city in southern Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The population was 28,712 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Situated between Lake Erie to the north and the Allegheny National Forest to the south, Jamesto ...

, but they had gotten into the Travel business and booked cruise tours on which they would perform.

Roz's death

Roz had been ill for several years, and the twins moved from the

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, California, San ...

area to

Modesto, California Modesto ( ; ) is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,069 according to 2022 United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it is the List of cities and towns in Ca ...

. On May 29, 2002, the twins celebrated their 70th birthday, but Roz's health soon declined and she died of liver failure on January 23, 2003, at the age of 70. After her sister's death, Marilyn became a volunteer for the local community hospice, a position she retained for the next four years. That May, Marilyn made her first trip without Roz to Jamestown for the annual "Loving Lucy Festival." She would return again in 2005.

Television

*''

Four Star Revue ''Four Star Revue'' (also known as ''All Star Revue'' and ''All Star Summer Revue'') is an American variety/comedy program that aired on NBC from October 4, 1950, to December 26, 1953. The series originally starred four celebrities, Ed Wynn, Dan ...

'' (Girl in Gondola 1 episode 1952) *''

The Colgate Comedy Hour ''The Colgate Comedy Hour'' is an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show featured many notable comedians and entertainers of the era as guest stars. Many of the scripts of the serie ...

'' (1952) *'' The Spike Jones Show'' (1954 and 1957) *''

'' *'' The Jimmy Durante Show'' (1955–1957 regular performer) *''

'' (episode 112 "Tennessee Bound" January 24, 1955, as Weensy) *''

Rhoda ''Rhoda'' is an American sitcom television series created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns starring Valerie Harper that originally aired on CBS for five seasons from September 9, 1974 to December 9, 1978. It was the first spin-off of ''The ...

'' .... Rosalyn (1 episode, 1976) only work not done with Marilyn. *''

'' .... Dottie Tidwell (1 episode, 1977) *'' Maude'' .... Shirley (1 episode, 1978) *''

Apple Pie An apple pie is a pie in which the principal filling is apples. Apple pie is often served with whipped cream, ice cream ("apple pie à la mode"), custard or cheddar cheese. It is generally double-crusted, with pastry both above and below the ...

'' .... Trudy Laskey (1 episode, 1978) *''

'' .... Betty (1 episode, 1979) *''

Lottery! ''Lottery!'' is an American anthology series, anthologic Dramatic programming, drama that premiered on American Broadcasting Company, ABC on September 9, 1983. The series aired for one season of 17 episodes and starred Ben Murphy as Patrick Sea ...

'' .... Dora (1 episode, 1984) *''The Joan Rivers Show'' .... (1989) *'' Out of This World'' .... Buffalo Breath Twin (1 episode, 1990) *''All-Star Party for Aaron Spelling 1998''

References

External links

The Borden Twins Official Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Borden, Rosalyn 1932 births 2003 deaths Actresses from Connecticut Musicians from Hartford, Connecticut American twins Identical twin actresses Actresses from Hartford, Connecticut 20th-century American musicians 20th-century American women musicians 21st-century American women