Rose was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina. He attended Davidson College, earning his LL.B., and he received his Juris Doctor from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. While an Davidson undergraduate he was a photographer for The News and Observer. For several years, Rose practiced as a lawyer, and in 1967, he became a prosecutor for Fayetteville district courts. In 1970, Rose unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Congressman Alton Lennon in the Democratic primary, claiming over 40% of the vote. In 1972, when Lennon stepped down, Rose beat back a primary bid by a Lennon-endorsed candidate, State Senator Hector McGeachy, claiming the nomination and ultimate victory. Rose represented a district stretching from Fayetteville to Wilmington on the coast. Rose was a liberal, populist Democrat, which seemingly made him an odd fit for his conservative coastal district. However, he remained popular because he was viewed as a champion of farmers, especially tobacco farmers. Additionally, the Republican Party was more or less nonexistent at the local level for most of his tenure. He was a member of the Intelligence and Agriculture Committees. He also served as Chairman of the HouseAdministration Committee from 1991 - 1994, a post which helped earn him the nickname "mayor of the Capitol". From his early photography days he had had an interest in cutting-edge technology and, according to friend and former chief of staff John Merritt, "pushed the House of Representatives to televise its activities on C-SPAN, helped bring computers and fiber optics to Congress and was 'behind just about every tech advancement Congress made while he was there'". He also had an electric car in the 1970s. In 1991, Rose chaired the House Committee investigation of the George H. W. Bush administration's role in selling military supplies to Iraq. After Democrats lost control of Congress in the 1994 Republican Revolution, Rose challenged incumbent House Democratic LeaderDick Gephardt for the post of Minority Leader, but lost 150-50. He retired from the House the next year and became a lobbyist, working alongside his third wife, Stacye, the daughter of fellow North Carolina Congressman Bill Hefner. Rose's former intern Mike McIntyre succeeded Rose in 1997, and held the seat until the 2014 election. Rose married Sara Louise Richardson in June 1962; they had three children – Charles Grandison IV, Sara Louise, and Irene Cowan who died in infancy. The couple divorced in September 1982. Rose then married Joan Ray Teague in 1982 on Bald Head Island, NC. Together they adopted a baby girl, Kelly Josephine. The couple divorced in 1995. Rose married Stacye Hugh Hefner in May 1995 near Washington, D.C. The couple have one daughter, Parker Delaney. Rose and his wife Stacye moved to Albertville, Alabama, to be near her mother after Bill Hefner died in 2009. The Roses largely gave up their lobbying work with the move. Rose died of Parkinson’s disease at a hospital in northern Alabama near their home.
