Author of memoir about life with Doris Day will sign book today

Friday, December 7, 2007
Mary Anne Barothy (left) and Doris Day (right) pose together in this mid-1970s photo. Barothy, an Indianapolis native, worked as the movie star's personal secretary for four years.

When Mary Anne Barothy was ten, she fell in love with Doris Day, the movie star and singer who loomed as large as any celebrity in Hollywood in the 1950s. Her parents and schoolteachers hoped that she would eventually grow out of her fixation on the wholesome blond starlet. She was, after all, only a little girl from Indianapolis.

But she never lost her affinity for Day's work and through a series of incredible events, she got to know Day on a personal level, working as her assistant for four years and living with her for two in the 1970s.

Barothy has written a memoir about her experience with Day, a book titled "Day at a Time: An Indiana Girl's Sentimental Journey to Doris Day's Hollywood and Beyond."

Barothy will be at Fine Print Bookstore from 2 to 4 p.m. Friday for a book signing and to talk about her story.

Throughout the book, the Indianapolis-native shares her insights working with Day in a Hollywood that was much more personable and accessible than today's paparazzi-riddled boulevards, Barothy said.

She first met the star, who was working on the Doris Day Show at the time, at a Hollywood bakery. Barothy developed a relationship with her through several chance encounters -- something she readily admits would never happen nowadays.

Barothy said her book differs from other biographies of Day because it focuses much more on the star's personality and day-to-day life than on her professional career.

But even all these years later, Barothy still finds her star-studded career in Los Angeles hard to believe.

"This was beyond any wildest dream I ever had," she said.

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  • Please don't eat the daisy's.

    -- Posted by Xgamer on Fri, Dec 7, 2007, at 9:56 PM
  • This book was a big disappointment to the many, many fans of Miss Day.

    Ms. Barothy claims this book to be a tribute to Miss Day but it is nothing more than a total betrayal of the trust Miss Day placed in Barothy when she allowed her into her life and her home. By her own admission, Barothy 'stalked' Miss Day and deviously wormed her way into her life. From there she broke every rule of confidentiality and recorded private conversations, made comprehensive notes of all private and personal events in Miss Day's life and stored them for over thirty years. Having been dismissed as Miss Day's secretary after just a few years employment back in the 70's, an event that Barothy fails to elaborate on, it seems Barothy has now grasped the opportunity to seek revenge on Miss Day and reveal these details of Miss Day's life.

    This is not a book written by a fan...a fan who purports to be a friend of Miss Day...but a betrayal of trust and loyalty by a very bitter and disillusioned woman.

    -- Posted by C Mann on Sat, Dec 8, 2007, at 3:17 PM
  • Well said, Xgamer...too funny.

    -- Posted by 06purple18 on Sat, Dec 8, 2007, at 4:47 PM
  • I must agree with C Mann. This book is a great disappointment to a true Doris Day fan. Far from a tribute, it has the feel of a payback for Miss Day's firing of Barothy many years ago. It is a crass invasion of Miss Day's private life by someone she thought was a trusted employee.

    This spiteful, poorly written book is as far from a tribute as you can get. If you are looking for a loving remembrance by a fan - this is not the book for you.

    -- Posted by Toni on Sat, Dec 8, 2007, at 8:40 PM
  • Mary Ann Barothy is one sick woman. Her so called book is not a tribute to Miss Day but a betrayal of trust. She most certainly is not a friend of Miss Day nor a fan. Her only dream was to get close to Miss Day as she herself admits: "I had my eye on the prize," and now is her opportunity to further exploit the one person who has inspired millions by her outstanding contribution to every field of entertainment and for her lifelong commitment to make the world a better place for all living creatures. Miss Barothy is one woman no one will ever trust as a friend nor as an employee. Has she forgotten that she was dismissed once she could not bring herself to write about? I advise everybody not to buy this book. They'll be wasting their money and they'll be wasting their time to read it.

    -- Posted by Trusted friend on Sat, Dec 8, 2007, at 9:36 PM
  • Mary Anne Barothy can spend days signing all the books she wants, but it does not excuse her for the betrayal she has done to "her friend" Doris Day.

    She expresses her "love" for Ms. Day, while she writes very private stories about Ms.Day's personal life. She tells of events that she slants to make herself look like the perfect employee. Mary Anne Barothy was fired and for very good reasons. Even then, Doris realized this so called friend could not be trusted. You would have thought Ms. Barothy grew up after that...but instead she now shows just how low betrayal can go, and writes a tabloid trash type book on Doris Day. It's a good thing people can easily see through Mary Anne's sick and warped mind...she invented the words "stalker at large." Then on top of all of this, she shares tapes of private conversations she made without Ms. Day's knowledge. She is one fine author all right...better watch out, you could be her next prey!

    -- Posted by Doris Day Fan on Sat, Dec 8, 2007, at 11:16 PM
  • Please know that this is NO sentimental journey! Miss Barothy by her own admission in the book, tells the reader that she was FIRED by Miss Day, but of course fails to tell the reader WHY she was Fired! Apparently valid and distressing information about Miss Barothy, has also come out, by an individual who lived with Miss Barothy, during that time. This individual states that Miss Barothy did in fact record and tape Miss Day without her knowledge or permission. This individual has stated that Miss Barothy gave her personal and private TAPES of Miss Day, to listen to ~ The tapes were of Private and Personal conversations,that Miss Barothy recorded of Miss Day, without Miss Day's Knowledge or Permission! In my opinion, this taping was such a horrendous and horrific act upon Miss Day! It is quite clear to me, that Miss Barothy is NO FAN of Doris Day!! Sentimental journey.....I think NOT!!!

    -- Posted by Pam on Sat, Dec 8, 2007, at 11:45 PM
  • "Day At A Time"..is no sentimental journey for Doris Day or her legions of fans! A more appropriate title would be "Betrayal, then another, oh wait thirty odd years and do it all again then line your pockets and don't give a hoot who you hurt" Might be a bit long, but then it is far more truthful!!

    Mary Anne Barothy surprisingly has missed a huge niche in the market which surprises me really....there are lots of books that say they assist weight loss, but this one really does. The reason for this is that it sickens genuine fans so much it puts them off their food.....

    Probably not the fairest review out there but I don't have a problem with that....one good turn deserves another, nice one Mary Anne!!

    -- Posted by Sheila Marie on Sun, Dec 9, 2007, at 4:00 PM
  • I have just read some of the comments posted on this site, and I find it hard to believe that people could say such horrible things about such a beautiful book. It seems quite apparent to me that the people with the negative comments are just jealous of the life, opportunities, and adventures that author, Mary Anne Barothy, had with her hero, Doris Day. The book is a delightful and beautiful tribute to one of America's most beloved women, and it is beautifully told. I recommend it to everyone.

    -- Posted by marywolf on Thu, Dec 13, 2007, at 8:19 AM
  • Dear Ms Wolf, let me firstly assure you that those of us who are genuine fans of Ms Day's are NOT jealous of Mary Anne Barothy. Indeed, many of us supported Mary Anne in writing this book, until that is we found out that she was writing this book without the permission of Ms Day. We were led to believe by Mary Anne Barothy that this book was a "tribute" we are now painfully aware that Mary Anne Barothy has a particular problem understanding the concept of "tribute" and "friendship".

    We are further livid, with the recent revelations with regard to Mary Anne Barothy's unethical and indeed unlawful behaviour whilst she was in Ms Day's employment....may I at this point request if you would like further details you discuss this with your "friend" Mary Anne Barothy, who I am sure will be only too happy to enlighten you!

    -- Posted by Sheila Marie on Thu, Dec 20, 2007, at 6:20 PM
  • The real fans are not at all jealous of Ms. Barothy! A real fan would not write a viscious book. A real fan does not hurt Ms. Day to line their pocket book. A real fan does not secretly tape Ms. Day's private conversations without her knowledge. A real fan gets concerned when someone looking for revenge attempts to hurt Ms. Day. Jealous, I think not!!! Because in the end Ms. Wolf,

    Doris Day really does know who her real friends and her real fans are, and I can tell you Mary Anne Barothy is not among them!!!

    If anything, Ms. Barothy is probably jealous of us. We never got fired by Ms. Day!

    -- Posted by Doris Day Fan on Thu, Dec 20, 2007, at 10:47 PM
  • Mary Wolf couldn't have got things more wrong! Jealousy is not in the vocabulary of genuine Doris Day fans, love and appreciation are all that we know...unless of course 'jealous' pertains to the fact that Ms.Barothy is now jealous of the closeness Miss Day shares with her fans...Miss Day calls us 'her friends'...something she is not likely to call Barothy after the scathing words written by Barothy about Miss Day's private life. This is no 'beautiful book' and confirms the lack of intelligence of Ms Wolf for thinking so.

    -- Posted by C Mann on Fri, Dec 21, 2007, at 3:32 AM
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