Farewell, Doris Day

There he goes

Doris Day died today. Among those who could be "America's Girl Next Door," Ms. Day was a legitimate movie star, as well as a singer and TV star, along with an animal lover and (I hate this word) activist.

Few ever had a bad word to say about Ms. Day (born Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff).

Among her co-stars were Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Rock Hudson, James Cagney, Ronald Reagan, Frank Sinatra, Clark Gabel Jack Lemmon, David Niven, James Garner, and Robert D. Adams Sr.

Wait. What?

Doris Day -- renowned for her role in Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much, and the wildly popular song "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" -- appeared in a 1962 movie called That Touch of Mink. Cary Grant, Gig Young, Audrey Meadows, and John Astin are some of the co-stars in the romantic comedy.

In one scene, Grant and Day find themselves in the dugout of Yankee Stadium with three fairly large names of the day (Mssrs. Mantle, Maris, and Berra).


At approximately 1:29:25 in the movie, Day and Astin are in a vehicle driving along when a red truck goes rolling by. You can't miss it. In fact, it's quite prominent. After driving by it, Day leans out of the window of the vehicle being driven by Astin, as if looking for either Cary Grant or the truck.

That truck was driven by my dad.

Here's the way I remember it. I mentioned the movie was in passing to him one night. Ever proud, yet low-key, he said, "I'm in that movie," as if he had also just grabbed a cup of coffee.

Literally no big deal.

After I picked my mouth off the floor, he told me the details. I don't know why I remember him telling me that his scene was filmed in New Jersey, and maybe another family member can correct me.

I recall that he told me the film crew told him to just drive through and act naturally. So he did, got it in one take (an Adams trait!) and moved along with whatever delivery that he was making.

By that point, he had been married for nearly five years and had two kids. Number three wouldn't come along for another six years.

He was proud of those little ties, such as delivering plumbing supplies to Jackie Gleason, having a beer with Bill Haley, and seeing Gene Kelly and Walter Matthau on the set of Hello Dolly in Putnam County -- but don't ask about Barbra Streisand. Yet it was never a big deal. It just gave him fodder to talk about.

It wasn't a big deal beyond that.

The film was the fourth-highest grossing film of 1962.

Whenever I think of Doris Day, I will always think of That Touch of Mink and my dad.

Que será, será, Ms. Day.