Ever since I was a young teenager, April 3rd had a very special meaning for me. Why, you ask? It just happens to be the birthday of my childhood and lifetime idol. On April 3rd legendary actress, DORIS DAY, will turn a youthful 96 years old. Yes, it is hard to believe the “girl next door” is almost a centenarian, but thank God she is still alive and well. I hope she will enjoy a glorious day and a happy and healthy year ahead.
I remember one of the surprise birthday parties we had for Doris when I was working for her in the early 1970s. Doris never really enjoyed celebrating birthdays, because she said she just considered it another day. But I and my friends who loved her, wanted to make April 3rd a special day for her.
Four of us in the local “Day Gang’”—Hilda, manager at Bailey’s Bakery which Doris frequented, along with Mary Kay, my roommate, and Linda, longtime friend and fan, and I invited Doris and her Mom, Alma, to a lovely dinner at a little bistro in Beverly Hills. We had a nice meal with lots of conversation. The cake we had specially made for her featured a large edible daisy on top. In each of the 11 petals of the daisy were the names of Doris’s eleven doggies. One of several cute nicknames Doris herself had was ‘Nora Neat’…in keeping with this, I remember giving Doris a broom and dust pan for her birthday that year with daisies painted all over them and she loved them…and better yet, she used them!
We returned back to Doris’s home which was laden with birthday cards and greetings from fans from all over the world. Sometimes it took Doris a couple of days to go through the stacks of birthday cards and gifts. She had, and still has, a very devoted and faithful fan base and they always remember her on her special day.
These days, fans gather in Carmel, CA, to take part in special festivities planned for the birthday weekend.
In closing, I just want to say HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY dear Doris – thank you for the wonderful memories spent with you over the years. God bless you and may your new year be filled with health and much happiness.
Mary Anne Barothy, author of Day at a Time: An Indiana Girl’s Sentimental Journey to Doris Day’s Hollywood and Beyond