Doris, Tippi, and the White Dress

In the 1959 comedy “Pillow Talk” from Universal, Doris Day makes quite an impression in this dress designed by Jean Louis. From the accompanying photo caption:

SMART — Doris Day poses for the cameraman in one of the 24 ultra smart costumes created by noted fashion designer, Jean Louis, especially for her role of a successful interior decorator in her new picture, “Pillow Talk.” This spicy Universal-International-Arwin comedy was filmed in color and CinemaScope with Rock Hudson, Miss Day, Tony Randall and Thelma Ritter in the starring roles.



Doris is elegance personified in this dazzling creation of white, which her character wears for an elegant party, given by one of her clients. Besides looking good, the outfit had to be able to move, as in the next scene, Doris dances the rhumba with Nick Adams.

Nick plays the son of Doris’ client, a horny fraternity boy who is drunk off his rocker and has only one goal for the evening: get Doris in bed. Good luck!



Rock Hudson is amazed to see the body behind the party line! No stunt double for that shot; it was all Doris.



Five years later, for Alfred Hitchcock’s “Marnie,” another film shot at Universal, Tippi Hedren wore an equally stunning ensemble designed by Edith Head. I would hazard a guess that the set department used the same staircase for both movies.



There is even less skin showing with this outfit, but the way it hugs every curve makes it just as sexy. Hedren’s character is a frigid kleptomaniac who uses her charms (albeit very covered) to dazzle her employer(s) while she raids their vaults. Head designed the outfit perfectly to suit the character.



Head’s costume sketch is seen below, showing that it has the same neckline as Jean Louis’, until you see the back. Tippi’s is all about coverage…



Doris’ plunges down. Waaaaaay down.



The cut of Doris’ dress was much more important for movement, as the camera cuts in close to her hips which move suggestively to the music, necessary to catch the attention of Rock Hudson’s character.



Doris’ dress was so memorable that Mattel released a set of Barbie dolls in 2011 that immortalized the scene in vinyl:



Which dress do you prefer?

See more photos at my main website.

Robert Conrad Heavenly Birthday Tribute

On what would have been his 88th birthday, Daveland is celebrating actor Robert Conrad. Devastatingly handsome, the Chicago born actor charmed the ladies, despite his diminutive height of 5'8". Who says size matters?

According to Conrad in an interview, his resemblance to the late James Dean kickstarted his career:

I did a show after the filming of “Giant” and because of my resemblance they wanted publicity to publicize the show. They didn’t think that it would draw an audience because of the death of the young star, so they wanted some hype. They had a man on the street interview. I had seen the show and I raved about how good the show was and then they did the resemblance thing and I was on the show every night for a week.

A vintage shot of Grauman’s in Hollywood stands-in for the theater in Chicago that Conrad worked at.



Dean played a part again when Conrad visited his grave:

People in Indiana saw [the show in Chicago] and they wanted to do “The James Dean Story” and they contacted me and invited me down to Fairmont, Indiana. Nick Adams was touring with some kind of Nick Adams film; I forget the name of it now. He was in Fairmont Indiana, so we met at the James Dean gravesite.



We were two young guys. He was looking at me and I was looking at him. He invited me to his room at his hotel and we had a couple of drinks together and he told me if I ever came to Hollywood that I was to look him up. He gave me his exchange. I didn’t know what the hell that was, back in the day. But he wrote it out for me and I kept it and went to New York to get a break in acting. When that didn’t work out I went back to Hollywood and called Nick and we hooked up the day I arrived in Hollywood, August 17, 1957. We were friends for the 13 years until his death.

Here’s Adams with Doris Day and Lee Patrick in “Pillow Talk” (1959). 



As his film career began Conrad posed for the typical beefcake shots:



Feel free to write your own caption for these shots with Van Williams (“The Green Hornet”):





Conrad’s first real bout with fame came with the Warner Bros. TV show “Hawaiian Eye” (1959-1963).



This gave the hunky star plenty of reasons to be shirtless for the audience. Here he is on the Warner lot:



After “Hawaiian Eye,” Conrad moved onto even greater success with his role of James West in “The Wild Wild West” (1965-1969), a wacky combination of western, science fiction, and espionage. Michael Garrison, the creator of the show, called it “James Bond on horseback.” Conrad was the perfect fit for the lead, and did almost all of his own stunts.

Conrad died in 2004 at the age of 84. See more Robert Conrad photos at my main website.

Doris Day and the Donuts

In this behind-the-scenes photo from “Pillow Talk,” Doris Day is dreaming of powdered donuts. What?!? Yes…it’s a semi-long story, but for my birthday, Melissa (aka “The Colonel”) sent me a still of Doris Day, two bags of powdered donuts, and the accompanying note:



Ann? Yes, readers…as in Ann Miller, famous MGM musical star of yesteryear. For a quick 411, you need to watch the “Hollywood Hoarder” episode on the Punchy Players’ YouTube channel. Judy Garland pays a visit to her old friend and costar Ann Miller (the hoarder of the title) and finds a bag of expired powdered donuts from 1972. Judy tries to get her to throw them away, but Ann explains, “I can’t toss those. You never know when Doris Day is gonna’ come by and she LOVES a good powdered donut!”



I enlisted the aid of a friend and did the requested taste test; Tastykake vs. Entenmann’s:



The result? Entenmann’s was the favorite, thanks to a richer flavor and dare I say it...just a tad more “moist.” So if Doris ever stops by unexpectedly, make sure you get Entenmann’s.

For fans of old Hollywood (and hoarders), here’s the entire “Hollywood Hoarder: Judy to the Rescue” video:



And it just so happens that today is National Doughnut Day! I love when serendipity works out like that.

See more Pop Culture photos at my main website.

Too Pooped To Post

This image of Rock Hudson and Thelma Ritter from “Pillow Talk” says it all. Somebody needs to help me hold my head up. See you tomorrow.

See more Rock Hudson photos at my main website.

Doris Does The Rumba

For the 1959 romantic comedy “Pillow Talk,” Producer Ross Hunter wanted to sex Doris Day up a bit and peel away some of her wholesome squeaky clean image:

You are sexy, Doris, and it's about time you dealt with it ... if you allow me to get Jean Louis to do your clothes, I mean a really sensational wardrobe that will show off that wild fanny of yours, and get some wonderful makeup on you, and chic you up and get a great hairdo that lifts you, why, every secretary and every housewife will say, 'Look at that—look what Doris has done to herself. Maybe I can do the same thing'

$500,000 worth of jewels from Laykin et Cie didn’t hurt Day’s new look, either. Costume designer Jean Louis is probably best known for creating the form fitting black sheath that Rita Hayworth wore in “Gilda.”

In the first shot of today’s post, Jan Morrow (Day) is leaving a little soirée being given by the rich Mrs. Walters (Lee Patrick). Her son, Tony (Nick Adams), a horny young student at Harvard, is more than happy to offer Jan a ride home. He pulls the car over to the side of the road before reaching their destination and begins to paw her all over her.

Jan: “Tony, control yourself! Remember, you're a Harvard man!”

Tony: “Not tonight, baby; I'm on vacation!”

The only way Jan can escape his unwanted advances is to agree to get one drink with him. But that’s not enough. Tony also wants one dance. While the wide shot of the couple is fairly tame, the camera zooms in to Doris’ tush, showing the world that she can rumba with the best of them.



Drunk as a skunk by this point, Tony passes out and it’s Brad (Rock Hudson) to the rescue.



He picks up Tony as if he weighs nothing and carts him out of The Copa.



Never heard of Nick Adams? He played one of the gang members in James Dean’s “Rebel Without A Cause.” He’s the one on the far right with the funky hat.



Dean, Adams, and Natalie Wood reading their scripts for “Rebel”:



Adams also has the distinction of being James Dean’s voice in one scene of “Giant.” Having been killed in a car crash before the film had been completely edited, Dean could not re-do his muffled dialogue from the scene where his character drunkenly rambles on. Nick Adams looped some of the unintelligible lines and voila...all better now. If you listen carefully, you can pick out the section where it shifts from Dean’s own voice to Adams’.



Is that enough six degrees of separation movie trivia for you?

See more “Pillow Talk” photos at my main website.

What A Difference A Day Made

I was so sad to hear of the passing of Doris Day; she truly was a living legend and a one-of-a-kind human being. She excelled as a songstress, an actress (both comedy and drama), and a champion of rights for animals. Stories of private heartbreak were just that...private. Not one to air dirty laundry, she almost always wore a smile in public and remained a class act until the end.

Today’s post celebrates Doris with a few behind-the-scenes shots snapped on the set of the 1959 classic “Pillow Talk.”



While Rock Hudson preferred the company of men, the on-screen chemistry of these two was undeniable and made for a string of highly enjoyable (and profitable) comedies.



Doris always looked letter perfect, especially when wearing gowns by Jean Louis!



Oh Doris...I should have made it back to the Cypress Inn to meet you when I had the chance!



See more "Pillow Talk" photos at my main website.

Behind the Pillow

Here are a few vintage black and white shots showing Rock Hudson behind-the-scenes of the 1959 romantic comedy classic "Pillow Talk." Unfortunately, no Doris Day in any of these negatives that I just acquired! Here's the star at his dressing room. I knew someone would want to see a closeup of the nameplate.



No, these guys aren't in a mancave. Most likely they're checking out the daily rushes in a studio screening room.



Can't watch the rushes without a cig.



Rock gets walked back to his dressing room. If only the license plate was visible!



Escorted right to the front door. Michael Gordon is quite the gentleman (thanks David at http://gorillasdontblog.blogspot.com/ for the ID!).



Doesn't look like Rock wants him to come in though.



"How do I get rid of this guy?!?"



Finally alone, Rock heads out for the evening.



Here are some actual on-set shots. The set-up: Doris Day's housekeeper (expertly played by Thelma Ritter) gets Rock's character stinking drunk while giving him advice on how to get Doris back.



The next day, the hangover hurts real bad.



Tony Randall, playing Rock's best friend, offers a hangover cure...and a bit of gloating that Rock has "lost" the girl. We all know that won't last for long.



Rock is up in the rafters looking at the set below:



Director Michael Gordon just doesn't take a hint. Is it the hangover making Rock upset or the Director who won't go away?



Rock looks even less thrilled about having to dine with him in the Studio Commissary.



Sorry, no clue as to what he is eating.



See more Rock Hudson and "Pillow Talk" photos at my main website.