The 50s for Sale – The Music,

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Fifties Live

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The 50s for Sale – The Music,

Films, Cars, Clothes, Culture – The

Fifties Live

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PILLOW TALK

and THE ALLEY -

1 Nostalgic Night

Kicking off my ‘Deal A Day’ in the new vernacular, that is …Doing /Experience Something of Note Each Day… and what a way to kick things off seeing one great, fun, nostalgic movie from the 50s , PILLOW TALK with Doris Day and Rock Hudson at the great deco movie palace in Oakland, the Paramount and then checking out my favorite and THE BEST Piano Bar, the Alley with Rod Dibble at the Keyboard Pillow Talk has everything going for it, in this writers opinion… a fun story line, as described below, great visuals form the Fabulous fifties – the 50s ‘Googie’ architecture, the cars, the fashions. Hudson is good and Tony Randall adds a colorful element as Day steals the

show, acting and singing at her best, or one of her best. Some suprisingly off-color material for its time (but nothing compared to today) …

PILLOW TALK – BEST MOVIES, NOSTALGIA MOVIES, FIFTIES

Just a fun, fun techincolor blockbuster from 1959 for which the mixed audience gave several ovations . And what a place to see it at… Oakland’s own restored Paramount theater, which shows retro movies once a month along with wurlitzer organ playing before and after show. If you live int he the Bay Area what a fun nostalgic night one can have for $5 – not much more than you would have paid back then – and see it on the same big screen you may have seen it on in 1959!!! What a difference from today’s movies, when , if the audience even applauds you can’t hear it with all the noice… Synopsis PILLOW TALK Jan Morrow (Doris Day) is a successful, content, self-reliant interior decorator who lives in New York City. She lives alone and claims to be quite happy, when More Pillow Talk and oldies

PILLOW TALK MOVIE and BEST PIANO BAR – THE ALLEY

questioned on that subject by her drunken housekeeper, Alma (Thelma Ritter). Due to the state of the telephone company’s development, she has to use a party line, which she shares with Brad Allen (Rock Hudson), a talented, creative Broadway composer and playboy.   Jan and Brad, who have never met, develop a feud over the use of the party line, as Brad is constantly using the phone to chat with one young woman after another, singing to each of them an “original” love song supposedly written just for them, though he only changes the name or language he sings in. Jan and Brad bicker over the party line, with Brad suggesting that the single Jan is jealous of his popularity. One of Jan’s clients is millionaire Jonathan Forbes (Tony Randall), who repeatedly throws himself at her to no avail. Unknown to Jan, Jonathan is Brad’s old college buddy and current Broadway benefactor. One evening in a nightclub, Brad finally sees Jan dancing. Attracted to her, he fakes a Texan accent and invents a new persona: Rex Stetson, wealthy rancher from Texas. He succeeds in wooing Jan, and the pair begin seeing each other regularly. Jan cannot resist bragging about new beau on the phone to Brad Allen, while Brad teases Jan by suggesting that “Rex” is not all he appears to be. When Jonathan finds out what Brad has done, he forces Brad to leave New York City and go to Jonathan’s cabin in Connecticut to complete his new songs. Brad uses the opportunity to secretly ask Jan to go away with him, and she does. Once there, romance is in the air until Jan stumbles upon a copy of Rex’s sheet music. She plunks the melody on the nearby piano and recognizes the tune as Brad’s popular party line playboy serenade. She confronts Brad angrily and ignores his attempts at explanation, leaving with Jonathan who has arrived just in time to expose Rex as Brad and who takes her back to New York City. Once Brad returns to New York, Jonathan is pleased to learn that the mighty oak of a playboy has finally fallen in love, while conversely Jan will have nothing to do with him for deceiving her. Not ready to give up, Brad turns to Jan’s maid, Alma, for advice, who suggests he hire Jan to decorate his apartment so they will be forced to collaborate. Jan only concedes so that her employer will not lose the account. Little does he know her employer is also in on the scheme. Still quite angry however, Jan completely redoes Brad’s apartment in the most gaudy, ghastly, hideous decor she can muster. Horrified by what he finds, Brad angrily storms into Jan’s apartment and carries her in her pajamas through the street back to his apartment, where he asks her how it feels to return to the scene of the crime. In his frustration he tells her of all the changes he’s made to end his bachelor lifestyle because he thought he was getting married. Her face lights up from his admission but he’s so angry he attempts to leave. She quickly reaches for one of the tacky remote control switches he installed to accommodate his “purposes” which immediately locks the door. He turns around in defeat, their eyes meet, each smiles, and they lovingly embrace. THE ALLEY, in Oakland is, by far, the BEST piano bar in the Bay Area if not California and beyond – and it is ORIGINAL. Unlike other fine local piano baras, Marcello’s in Danville and Lefty Odoul’s in San Francisco, THE ALLEY is 100% original even with the original, or one of the original piano players, ROD DIBBLE still tickling the ivories after 50 years! He only plays on the weekends , to our knowledge, so check him out after your night at the Parmount for one great nostalgic experience that can’t be beat. You’ll have more fun that you had in years… For more on Dibble and the Alley click HERE

In her quiet way, Doris Day continues to spread  joy  and not only with her music and films.  Residents and visitors  – two legged and four-legged – of  Carmel-By-The -Sea,  California are in for a treat as they reside or  visit in this beautiful beach  town near Monterey.   We were   unexpected recipients of  Day’s Happy Day Vibes  late January.

After dining at the excellent Grill on Ocean Avenue, we asked our waiter about any local spots where we could hear some music.  He said we were in luck, to walk down a couple blocks to the Cypress Inn.   Surprisingly  unfamiliar  with this place,  we came upon a beautiful 30s-era smalllish  Mediterranean   white stucco hotel.  Once inside the front door we were greeted by a small group of people and dogs(!) in a living-room setting with a pianist and flugelhornist playing jazz .   It was something rather unimaginable in this day an age.  The pianist, who turned out to be the well-known Dick Whittington and fellow musician , whose name we failed to write down, were  putting on what amounted to a private concert of world-class vintage  jazz as we reclined on couches, sipping drinks.  Everyone , both two legged and four legged , in the room couldn’t have been more friendly, including the artists themselves. The unplanned experience was like something from another time and place.  I can’t wait to go back to see what next time will have in store.  Whittington, a transplant from Berkeley, CA , plays every  Friday and Saturday with various renown guest artists.

Just experiencing the charming Cypress Inn was an experience in itself  but learning that Doris Day was part owner,  as was her late musical son, Terry Melcher, made it even more special. The retiscent Day was no doubt talked into allowing old movie posters (Pajama Game, etc.) and record  album covers to adorn the walls near ‘Terry’s Lounge,  an elegant classy but non-ostentatious bar which now serves tribute to Melcher, who had quite a remarkable, if under-appreciated career of his own as producer, musician and entrepeneur.   It’s obvious that   Day does not run the Cypress solely for profit , judging by the quality of music and charm we witnessed and not the number of  people who could squeeze into the place -  a gift for humans to enjoy with their  four-legged friends.  Their may not be another venue like it anywhere. Cats as well as dogs are welcome to stay overnight in the Inn along with their folks.

Usually one thinks of  Clint Eastwood as the person most synonymous with Carmel but that seems to have changed – at least for us…  Day is probably singly responsible  for making Carmel one of the most dog and pet-friendly towns anywhere.  Of course,  Doris Day is probably more famous today, especially among younger people, for her Doris Day Animal Federation, which helps rehabiliate and find homes for dogs and cats, most recently having sent relief help to Haiti for all the abandoned and injured pets in the earthquake.

Going from her  prototypical 50s image as the wholesome girl   next store to a later life filled with much sadness -  a number of failed marriages including brutality and the loss and associated tragedies involving   her devoted son Terry,  who, by the way , helped run DDAF,  Day no doubt takes solace in the animals and  in the contributions she has made.

Doris Day may be in her late 80s but, in our book its only a number and as one will witness at SeniorCountry.com ( to come) with  Jack LaLanne, Art Linkletter and others, people can be vibrant at any age while  others’ lives  are basically over at much younger ages.

Doris Day, we are told, rarely has made public appearances in many years.  Though we wish she did ,  for our own selfish reasons,  we can understand why this kind sole, who has helped so many others and not gotten back nearly what she deserves, must take life like the words of her signature song, ‘Que Sera Sera’.  We can only wish her the very best  for many more years doing what she does so well , while we continue listening  to her  beautiful music and watching those fun, uplifting movies. Perhaps this little mention will alert others to what Doris Day is about today, and perhaps bring some joy into their lives too, whether it be at the Cypress or somewhere in Carmel, or just enjoying the music and movies. Doris Day, one of a kind. Great to have her with us!