Scott Drier and Doris Day: A Sentimental Journey at 54 Below

August 17, 2014

Scott Drier and Doris Day: A Sentimental Journey at 54 Below

I like joy; I want to be joyous; I want to have fun on the set; I want to wear beautiful clothes and look pretty.

I want to smile, and I want to make people laugh. And that's all I want. I like it. I like being happy. I want to make others happy.
Doris Day

54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club, presents Scott Dreier in Doris and Me on Wednesday, August 20th. DORIS AND ME is one man's quirky, lovable obsession with music and movie icon, Doris Day.
Read a recent review HERE.

Doris Day reached the impressive, landmark age of 90 earlier this year in April.
Is there anyone out there who doesn't know who Doris Day is? She is a singer and actress most popular in the 1950s and early-1960s. She starred in a television sitcom called "The Doris Day Show" from 1968-1973. For a mini video bio, click HERE.

Doris with Paul Brogan

She lit up movie screens and record charts in the '40s, '50s and '60s, and – as she turns 90 on April 3 – Doris Day remains one of America's Sweethearts.
I am in love with Doris Day. I have many of her songs on my Ipod (there are 7,000 songs!). I keep it on shuffle and a day does not go by in which I don't hear her voice. When her movies are shown on TCM and similar stations, I feel myself brought in once again. Anytime a new book comes out, if it is done with love, I purchase it. I also have a few degrees of separation with Doris. I have a friend, Paul Brogan, who has written a wonderful book, Was That a Name I Dropped?, in which she is featured predominately.

I also am friends with Jackie Joseph who appeared with Doris

Day on film and on television on Doris' series in the seventies (which I watched religiously). I now own the series on DVD.

John Dehner, Doris Day and Jackie Joseph

Bettmann/Corbis/ scene from “Pillow Talk” (1959).

My friends David Kaufman and Tom Santopietro have both written a biography of Doris. When she made Pillow Talk with Rock Hudson, in 1959, Doris Day was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood history. But after the death of her third husband a decade later, she devoted herself to animal-rights work, withdrawing more and more to her pet-filled Carmel estate in the wake of new financial and personal disappointments. In an excerpt from his biography of Doris, David Kaufman charts the divide between Day’s private struggle and the sunny, champagne-bubble glamour her fans adored.Read more HERE.

Sir Paul McCartney and Doris Day might seem to come from different worlds -- he a giant figure in British pop since the Sixties, she a Hollywood icon with a wholesome image who starred in 39 films. Yet the former Beatle has long been a friend of hers, admiring not only her singing and acting but also her commitment to animal rights. Read more HERE.
What accounts for the stupefying popular success of Doris Day? Like Elvis, she was generally underserved by her motion pictures, though her charisma and forthright personality always carried her through. She is the No. 1 female box-office star of all time, setting the record over three seismic decades — the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s. Did she embody McCarthyism or transcend it? As John Updike once said, “I’m always looking for insights into the real Doris Day because I’m stuck with this infatuation and need to explain it to myself.”
Here is the New York Times review of Tom's book, Considering Doris Day.

Jackie Joseph with Doris Day on the set of TV's “The Doris Day Show” in the 1970s.

Years ago, I even stayed at Doris' hotel, The Cypress Inn, in Carmel, with the hopes that our paths would cross so I could personally tell her what she has meant to me over the years. She is, for me, the ultimate holy grail! Interviewing her is at the top of my bucket list.
Earlier this year in celebration of her 90th Birthday, Doris surprised some of her fans by actually showing up at one of those celebrations.
It was exciting to see the photos and videos that showed up all over social media. She still looks and sounds great.
One of the people that was lucky enough to be at that party was Scott Drier. I thought I was a great fan, but

Scott takes it to a whole new level. There have been several shows celebrating Doris over the years.
Day began her career as a big band singer in 1939.

Credit: Courtesy of Doris Day

Young at heart! Now entering her tenth decade, beloved actress and singer Doris Day made a rare public appearance this weekend, mingling with fans for the first time in more than 20 years.

Her popularity began to rise after her first hit recording, "Sentimental Journey", in 1945. After leaving Les Brown and His Band of Renown to try a solo career, she started her long-lasting partnership with Columbia Records, which would remain her only recording label. The contract lasted from 1947 to 1967, and included more than 650 recordings, making Day one of the most popular and acclaimed singers of the 20th century.
In 1948, after being persuaded by Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne and her agent at the time, Al Levy, she auditioned for Michael Curtiz, which led to her being cast as the female lead in Romance on the High Seas. That was the beginning of a lustrous Hollywood career that included film, recordings, and television.

Scott Drier's press release states, "As the ultimate obsessed fan, Scott Dreier creates more than your typical tribute show–this is the celebration of a timeless artist, as Scott takes the audience with him on a sentimental journey to nostalgic times gone by. As he lovingly shares through classic treasured songs, personal anecdotes, humor, heart and many Doris Day stories and history, Scott never lets us forget how much he loves her and why he has become Doris Day’s biggest fan."
This special concert also benefits The Doris Day Foundation.

SCOTT DREIER heralds a fresh contemporary voice in the interpretation of the Great American songbook. Born and raised in Southern California, Scott’s early artistic influences stemmed primarily from his grandmother—the most ardent supporter of following his dream. Unlike the rest of Scott’s family to whom rhythm and pitch played no part of their everyday lives, music and art were integral to Marie Dreier, and she made sure Scott got a good dose of that ethic as well.

Robyn Spangler had a chance to catch up with him as he takes his show "Doris & Me" into 54 Below in NY after a successful run in LA at the NOHO Arts Center. Click HERE to read that interview.

With the recent passing of James Garner, Golden Age movie stars are an endangered species.
In a recent voiceover segment on TCM, Day talked with great love for her Thrill of It All and Move Over Darling co-star. Doris Day needs to be publicly fêted. There simply aren't that many movie legends left. - Read more HERE.
Opening night of Doris and Me at the El Portal Theatre in NoHo hosted many celebrities including

actors who costarred with Doris Day.
Check out the photos HERE!
Doris Day is worth celebrating and Scott Drier is the one to do it! Click HERE for more details and to order tickets.
For more information on Doris Day, please visit DorisDay.net.

Thank you Doris Day AND Scott Drier for the gifts you have given to the world and continue to give!

With grateful XOXOXs ,