Growing up in the ’50s and ‘60s gave me a variety of celebrities to admire…from Hopalong Cassidy – to Doris Day, and many in between. Yes, I was a cow girl with hat, vest and cowgirl skirt, but my mother never let me wear cowboy boots. I was introduced to Doris Day in her 1953 movie “Calamity Jane” and that meshed well with my tomboy leanings at the time.
While the cowboy shows faded from TV, I became more enamored with Doris’s movies along with Debbie Reynolds in Tammy and the Bachelor in 1957. Loved that song and also followed Debbie’s career. It was shock to learn that she had recently died. In 1961 I began to watch “The Dick Van Dyke Show” with Mary Tyler Moore. She portrayed a new role for women—not the stay-at-home housewife wearing a simple house dress, apron and pearls. She had spunk, sparkle, wore capris and broke the mold for the female gender on the TV screen. Then in 1970 MTM starred in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” playing the first, never married, independent career woman as the central character. Just recently she has gone, her face shown on many major magazines.
As a teen in the 60s I listened to Rock & Roll. I loved ELVIS but often heard Chuck Berry with his hits of “Roll Over Beethoven”, “Maybellene,” “Nadine” and others. He had that beat and we danced away to our heart’s content. Goodbye, and sad to see you go, Chuck!
Hoosier Florence Henderson was one I also admired, loving “The Brady Bunch” and seeing her on a variety of game shows. It was always nice when she would return to Indianapolis for the Indy 500 festivities. She left our scene November 24, 1016.
I must admit I was never a “Star Wars” fan but was happy for Carrie Fisher’s being in the movie, seemingly following in her mom’s footsteps in acting and being beautiful at it. How ironic Debbie would follow in Carrie’s footsteps to heaven within 24 hours!
And most recently, March 6, with the death of Robert Osborne, TCM, to me, will never be the same. I always looked forward to his intros and back stories about the featured films and stars TCM aired, giving it all a little extra. Mr. Osborne did an excellent interview with Doris Day in 2014 which aired on her birthday, April 3rd during TCM’s all day birthday tribute to Doris Day. Sometimes, life is too real….we tend to think things will remain the same and last forever, but they don’t. I hope and pray that Doris Day, my idol since I was very young, and my “boss” in the 1970s, as I served as her personal secretary, will live a long, long time. Many people today, unlike those in any other age, are living to be 100. So much of my life has been greatly influenced by her enthusiasm and positive attitude. I still remember the words of my high school Latin teacher, Sister Thomas Aquinas, saying, “Mary Anne, if you would only spend as much time on your homework as you do on Doris Day, you’d be a fine student.”
I’ve met some great people and made wonderful friends thanks to DORIS DAY. What a great role model for me as a young person and even now in my ‘70s. I look forward to traveling around the country sharing my dream-come-true story with those who love and remember Doris Day. As to the vanishing celebrities, we love moving beyond our sight, Bob Hope’s theme song comes to mind… “Thanks for the Memories.”
Mary Anne Barothy: Author of Day at a Time: A Hoosier Girl’s Sentimental Journey to Doris Day’s Hollywood and Beyond
Click Back to the website and order Mary Anne’s book about Doris!