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Reatha Grey, The Social Media Star Known As Rose Of Retirement House, Has Died
Reatha Grey, a longtime actor who gained social media fame as the affable Rose of Retirement House, has died. She was 75.
“Our dearly beloved friend, Reatha ‘Rose’ Grey, has passed away. You may remember her as the hilarious grandma Rose on Retirement House, but of course, we remember her as a member of our family,” Curtis, Eugene, Larry, Mabel, and Bubbe said in an Instagram post. “She was hilarious, thoughtful, and above all else, loved interacting with everyone. Especially those of you who tuned into Retirement House and made her final years so memorable.”
Born in Los Angeles, California in 1949 to a dentist and a social worker, Grey discovered her passion for acting at 6 years old when she played the evil stepmother in a local performance of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”
“I was only one with lines, a [wicked] laugh. The first time I laughed, the audience broke out in applause. From that moment I heard that sound I knew that acting was what I wanted to do,” the actor told Javanan Magazine in 2013.
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She went on to attend Los Angeles High School and graduated from Los Angeles City College, with a major in Theater Arts. She began her professional acting career in the 70s after a stint with United Service Organizations, appearing in the popular TV series “Three’s Company,” “General Hospital,” and the TV film “Angel Dusted.”
Having appeared in numerous TV and film projects as a background character, Grey created the Grey Images Extra Casting Company to help other background actors break into the industry in the 1980s.
In 1991, Grey retired from acting and went into ministry work. “Hollywood chews people up and spits them out,” she told The Scoop LA in a 2018 interview. “I realized I couldn’t do it much longer.” She served as a chaplain at the Los Angeles Mission for 8 years, and later, program director at the Christian homeless shelter Union Rescue Mission.
“It was a rewarding job because you can see the significant change you’ve made in someone’s life and you feel great because you were able to participate in that process,” she said of that work.
Grey returned to acting in 2007, where she saw her “greatest success to date.” She co-starred in the series “The Protector” and “The Newsroom,” appeared on Betty White’s “Off Their Rockers” reality show, "How I Met Your Mother" and "iCarly," and recently had a spot as Ava’s grandmother on “Abbott Elementary.”
“When I came back to acting, later in life, I achieved my greatest success to date. I still feel that the best is yet to come, in life and acting. My saying is ‘you’re never too old, it’s never too late,’”she told Javanan Magazine.
In 2021, Grey became a part of the popular Retirement House, a content house where the six elderly influencers create beloved viral videos. With over 8 million followers across platforms, they’ve built a loyal audience of fans who enjoy their dating advice and hilarious skits.
“What we get to do is wonderful,” Grey told the New York Post in 2022. “I want to make people laugh and have a good time. This is my dream job.”
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