By the author of Day at a Time: An Indiana Girl’s Sentimental Journey to Doris Day’s Hollywood and Beyond
Little Did I know when I started keeping notes during my “days” as Doris Day’s secretary back in the late 60s and early 70s that many unexpected doors would open for me in later times. Being an avid DD fan since the late 50s, and with a reporter’s eagerness to document some exciting personal times with America’s Sweetheart, I created a diary of much of my time with Doris over the years and stowed it away while I pursued a career. Years later, a reporter friend suggested I write a book, and after finding an interested publisher, I did!
My book Day at a Time: An Indiana’s Girl’s Sentimental Journey to Doris Day’s Hollywood & Beyond debuted from Hawthorne Publishing in Indianapolis in late November 2007 and has won awards and become of Hawthorne Publishing’s best-sellers over the years. My publisher says it is “an affectionate and appreciative memoir”, and I believe it truly is. I included many photos I had taken which added to this “dream-come-true” story.
Of course there is perennial interest in anything about this most beautiful and talented of Hollywood actresses. My book is one of several about Doris Day which came out within a few years; however, I am the only person who actually knew Doris well and lived with her and could relay some heartwarming personal stories. I have had the opportunity to share my story in cities around the country – speaking in New York, Maryland, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and of course in Indiana.
I have met some incredible people at these talks who share my love of Doris Day. One in particular is very special and most memorable. At a talk in Cincinnati I met one of Doris’s teenage friends, now 97 years young, who was in the car/train accident with Doris in 1937 in Cincinnati. We have become good friends since that time 6 years ago and get together with her family several times a year.
My book is on the TCM website which, to me, is quite an honor. Just Google my name and TCM and you will see it.
I also had the honor of being a judge for a Cincinnati SPCA event a couple years ago and met someone who is working on organizing a Doris Day fund-raising event in Cincinnati in the near future. .
Thanks to The Doris Day Forum from London, I met one of my best friends who shares my love of Doris. Diane lives in Baltimore and arranged for me to give a couple of talks in the Baltimore area. It was thanks to Diane and her connection with Baltimore Net Radio, now www.mybnr.com, that we both have become broadcasters for this wonderful internet station that plays THE BEST MUSIC from the ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s and some ‘80s with interviews of some of the greats. A couple years ago I hosted “The Doris Day Hour” for a year and played her music to the delight of her worldwide fans. We have done specials with Connie Francis, Dolly Parton, Anne Murray, Johnny Mathis and currently I do “The Brenda Lee Hour” every month on the 2nd Thursday @ 3pm Eastern time, with encores thru that Sunday on www.mybnr.com
I love to speak about the book, and it has become a major activity in my life. My target audiences are upscale retirement communities because those are the people who love and REMEMBER Doris Day. At a talk in Bloomington, IN, last year, a man came up to me before my talk saying he had the pleasure of dancing with Doris at a venue in Los Angeles before he headed to Pearl Harbor in 1945. It is always interesting to hear others who had a brush with Miss Day over the years.
I never dreamed I would be on the cover of a national magazine, but that did happen in a recent issue of “Closer” magazine, a weekly publication which consistently does positive stories about Doris, about every 3-4 months. It was a four-page story in which I shared some DD history along with a couple of photos I had taken. My head shot was actually on the cover—even though my face looked like an earring on Doris’s right ear! More recently, “Closer” did a beautiful “Collector’s Edition on DORIS DAY” which came out late November, and I’m included.
When I Google my name, it pops up many places both here and abroad. I still have a day job and will continue to do that, of course, but I look forward to many more exciting Doris adventures. In closing, I just want to say, ‘Que sera, sera….” And that whatever will be, will be, and that “whatever” has been quite good!
Click Back to the Hawthorne site and purchase Day at a Time: An Indiana Girl’s Sentimental Journey to Doris Day’s Hollywood and Beyond by Mary Anne Barothy.