Facebook has a little horoscope I read every day, just for fun. It told me that today the actress Ann Sothern was born on this day in 1909. She died in 2001 at age 92.
I don't recall ever seeing one of her movies, but I know a funny story about her.
Years ago, my parents were in Los Angeles for a wedding. One of Dad's customers at the bank in Augusta was Nathaniel Lande, whose father was a prominent doctor in Augusta. In 1967, Nat married the daughter of Bob Hope, Linda Hope.
Mom and Dad left us with our grandparents and flew to LA. They had a blast.
Over the course of the weekend, my parents went out to dinner at a nice restaurant.
They were seated at a small table very close to another table, looking at menus. Mother noticed that Ann Sothern was sitting at a table very close to theirs. She whispered to dad, sotto voce, "Look Tony that's Ann Sothern!"
Without looking, Dad said loudly, "ANN SOTHERN IS DEAD, Elva."
Mother was mortified with embarrassment. "No, she's sitting right there!"
Dad said again, even louder, "ANN SOTHERN IS DEAD!"
Mother was shaking her head and giving him the SHUT UP look.
Dad didn't like to be contradicted. He kept saying SHE"S DEAD and Mother kept trying to make him hush.
Finally, reluctantly, Mother turned to the adjacent table and said "I am SO SORRY."
The folks at the table, including Ann Sothern, were laughing. "Don't worry about it!" they said.
Happy Birthday Ann!
