Doris Day's 1966 Kitchen


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Thread Number: 17355
Doris Day's 1966 Kitchen

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Post# 284721 6/12/2008 at 12:57 (5,789 days old) by veg-o-matic (Baltimore, Hon!)
Checkrate/Likes Chock full of retro goodness. Not sure about that tile, though. Looks like a Tappan Fabulous 400 and maybe a Westinghouse Appliance Center. Anyone recognize the dishwasher? Looks kind of Tappanish to me but I'm not sure. Link to fullsize picture--make sure to click the pic. veg CLICK HERE TO GO TO veg-o-matic's LINK

Post# 284725 , Reply# 1 6/12/2008 at 13:11 (5,789 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)
Checkrate/Likes *Is That...* ...A Talk-A-Phone intercom on the wall, right beneath Doris's right hand? This is totally consistent with other photos I've seen of Doris's houses over the years; they're always French Provincial, in a Hollywood sort of way.

Post# 284727 , Reply# 2 6/12/2008 at 13:15 (5,789 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)
Checkrate/Likes *I Stand Corrected:* I really should have gone to the full-size pic before asking that question; that's definitely no intercom. That must be the Appliance Centre you were talking about, Veg. Now, can someone educate us about the Westinghouse Appliance Centre? Enquiring minds want to know!

Post# 284731 , Reply# 3 6/12/2008 at 13:24 (5,789 days old) by maytagbear (N.E. Ohio)
Checkrate/Likes *The dishwasher* is branded Okeefe & Merrit, therefore making it a Tappan, same as the stove. Thanks, Veg! Good to see you around again. Lawrence/Maytagbear

Post# 284737 , Reply# 4 6/12/2008 at 13:35 (5,789 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)
Checkrate/Likes *VEG--How nice to see you again* I just sent my dollar to "Dep't 25" --how retro, that ;'D--to get my pamphlet. Did you notice how much Doris looks like our Darryl in this photo? Look closely; it's uncanny, I tell ya.

Post# 284739 , Reply# 5 6/12/2008 at 13:40 (5,789 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)
Checkrate/Likes *Dept. 25* That was part of an old coding system to let advertisers know exactly which magazine had generated a customer's request for a brochure or other giveaway. That way, they could keep track of which magazines were worth their advertising dollars, and which might not be. "Dept 25" might be Better Homes & Gardens, "Dept 26" might be House Beautiful, "Dept 27" might be Woman's Day, and so on. Very simple, but it paid off in maximising return on ad dollars spent.

Post# 284744 , Reply# 6 6/12/2008 at 13:54 (5,789 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)
Checkrate/Likes *Thanks, Sandy, I was thinking more along the lines of "* and other fictions & ad hype where they made up something out of air to sound authoritative. Of course, Veg, you'd have to remove that silly inflated "wig" from Doris, and by the way ........ DARRLY, I sincerely apologize for the senior moment/brain flatulence in omitting you in the dedication to the NIB Norge Wringer. You who loves wringers, you who proudly and very recently owns a 61 Lady K, you who always has a kind and funny word for everyone Please forgive me. I typed the wrong name--ah the 50's. Can't wait for the 90's ;'D

Post# 284745 , Reply# 7 6/12/2008 at 14:03 (5,789 days old) by chachp (North Little Rock, AR)
Checkrate/Likes *Was there a version of that dishwasher branded Tappan?* I think our neighbors arcoss the street had that model in the late 60s, early 70s but I thought there's was a Tappan.

Post# 284760 , Reply# 8 6/12/2008 at 15:08 (5,789 days old) by lightedcontrols ()
Checkrate/Likes *Could it be?* Is that the OK&M dishwasher that was gas??? Mark

Post# 284765 , Reply# 9 6/12/2008 at 15:41 (5,789 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)
Checkrate/Likes Preway made a gas-heated dishwasher, but I'm not sure about Tappan. The Preway had two wash arms on the sides of the tank, the heater was underneath the tank, I can't remember if venting was an option but remember hearing they were rusted completely within a relatively short time due to the moisture created in gas combustion... This could have been my "birth kitchen" - if my mother had been Doris Day... Beautiful ad, Veg, thanks! (I was just thinking about you the other day - wondering where you'd wandered off to ;-)

Post# 284769 , Reply# 10 6/12/2008 at 15:51 (5,789 days old) by gansky1 (Omaha, The Home of the TV Dinner!)
Checkrate/Likes The Westinghouse Kitchen Center had outlets, a clock & appliance timer and even pull-out cords that fit counter-top appliances. 240v 30a (IIRC) so you could use more than one at the same time. I suppose this was especially nice to have in a gas kitchen - hee hee.

Post# 284774 , Reply# 11 6/12/2008 at 16:02 (5,789 days old) by toggleswitch2 ()
Checkrate/Likes Wow very nice colors in that era. I guess it was the 70's where kitchens looked like an elephant farted in the primarly/bold/dark/vivid color section of a paint manufacturing plant.

Post# 284777 , Reply# 12 6/12/2008 at 16:17 (5,789 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)
Checkrate/Likes *Hahahahah!* "The Westinghouse Kitchen Center had outlets, a clock & appliance timer and even pull-out cords that fit counter-top appliances." Exactly the kind of thing I did not grow up with. My dad was with RCA's service division, and his workdays were filled with suffering caused by rich people's cantankerous, high-end RCA toys. Any suggestion that we might get anything fancy-schmancy like that, and he'd sigh, shake his head, and say, "Just something else to go wrong." In his (and RCA's) defence, nobody's electronics of the 1950s and 1960s were terribly reliable; solid state brought about some improvement in the situation, but not nearly as much as the ads would have you believe. Some wealthy person who'd just spent a gazillion dollars for an RCA "entertainment centre" console housing a New Vista colour TV with ultrasonic remote, a stereo phonograph, and an AM-FM radio, was generally disinclined towards patience when their new toy went haywire, which happened regularly. The only goodie Dad would spring for was a fairly plain RCA colour TV, and that was mostly because he enjoyed watching Braves games on it.

Post# 284807 , Reply# 13 6/12/2008 at 18:20 (5,788 days old) by supersuds (Knoxville, Tenn.)
Checkrate/Likes *IXL* I dunno about the appliances, but my mom has those exact cabinets. :)

Post# 284809 , Reply# 14 6/12/2008 at 18:49 (5,788 days old) by rpm ()
Checkrate/Likes *Those exact cabinets.* I see those cupboards all the time. I guess putting the pulls in the center of the door was decorative at the time. Unless you were really tall I don't think anyone ever used them. Not even Doris in the picture.

Post# 284835 , Reply# 15 6/12/2008 at 21:01 (5,788 days old) by appnut (TX)
Checkrate/Likes I blew up the picture. It looks like O'Keefe & Merrit for both range & dishwasher to me.

Post# 284847 , Reply# 16 6/12/2008 at 21:40 (5,788 days old) by laundromat (Hilo, Hawaii)
Checkrate/Likes Tappan in the East-O'Keefe and Merrit in the West"Just like "McCormick in the East and Schilling in the West." according to the ad,the house this kitchen is in is located in Malibu Beach,California which would explain why the appliances are O'Keefe and Merritt but look identical to the Tappan.

Post# 284848 , Reply# 17 6/12/2008 at 21:40 (5,788 days old) by swestoyz (Cedar Falls, IA)
Checkrate/Likes *What a way to come back with a bang!* Man Veg - she looks WAY too happy in her new kitchen. Hopefully they didn't smoke otherwise that beautiful white kitchen would have looked like your local biker bar in no time. Ben

Post# 284849 , Reply# 18 6/12/2008 at 21:44 (5,788 days old) by laundromat (Hilo, Hawaii)
Checkrate/Likes *Kay sara sara* Is Doris Day still kicking? I remember she was very close friends with Rock Hudson up to his losing battle with AIDS and trying o keep the media off his ass.She had a brief show regrding pets but I have neither seen nor heard of her in over a decade.Inquiring minds need to know.

Post# 284851 , Reply# 19 6/12/2008 at 22:01 (5,788 days old) by bajaespuma (Connecticut)
Checkrate/Likes *Love them Flairs* I remember people on "Let's Make a Deal" winning O'Keefe and Merritt appliances, so I always assumed that it, like early Thermador and Universal, was a West Coast brand. That stove is a beauty.

Post# 284854 , Reply# 20 6/12/2008 at 22:25 (5,788 days old) by danemodsandy (The Bramford, Apt. 7-E)
Checkrate/Likes *Doris Today:* Doris Day is now a co-owner and operator of the Cypress Inn, in Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA. The Inn is a landmark hotel built in 1929; Day has brought it up to present-day standards of luxury. As you might suspect, it's a pet-friendly hotel. Here's a linkie: CLICK HERE TO GO TO danemodsandy's LINK

Post# 285271 , Reply# 21 6/15/2008 at 00:15 (5,786 days old) by tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)
Checkrate/Likes There was nothing terribly complicated about those appliance centers. Sunbeam had them also. They were created as a way to give added electrical capacity to kitchens for countertop appliances which were big deals in the 1950s and 60s. With the centers, older houses could have multiple high amperage 115 volt outlets with the installation of one 220 volt circuit instead of multiple cables and circuit breakers for additional outlets which would probably mean a heavy-up since there probably was not room in the old fuse box, cutting holes in the walls, etc. They were a smart upgrade for builders to offer in new home construction for the same cost-cutting reason plus, with the clock for timed operation, the coffee maker could be set to start before the alarms went off. Leave it to O'K&M to put that tacky trim on a Tappan 400. Did you note how, in this professionally designed kitchen, the cutting board on the cooktop renders at least drawer inaccessible during cooking? Granted the cutting board can fold down, which would be a must if you were using a large skillet or Dutch oven to keep the flame spread from charing the wood, but this is a perfect illustration of how these ranges cut off access to the storage under them when the cooktops were pulled out and on either side if installed in anything but a straight line of cabinets. I will also mention that the heat from surface cooking made the oven and broiler door handles so hot that pot holders were needed to touch them. With the burners so close to the glass doors, having to tend to a task like stirring a sauce or gravy with the oven or broiler in operation was made uncomfortably hot by the radiant heat coming through the glass. That's why GE's Americana featured metal behind the glass front on their upper oven door. The area behind the cooktop and under the front part of the ovens got extremely hot when the ovens were on because there was little room for adequate insulation of the burner box so anything that splattered on those hot surfaces instantly cooked or burned on so you had chrome surfaces that people scoured and scratched. Conversely, if the ovens were not on, steam from surface cooking condensed on the doors. That dishwasher looks strange for a late 60s kitchen. Tappan abandoned the reversing rotating drum wash action for the Reverse-a-Jet wash arm in a D&M machine. I was not aware that they kept that control panel from the original Tappan for so long. In the Reverse-a-Jet, the wash arm rotated in one direction from the water force, but wound up a spring at the same time that would periodically overcome the force of the water and spin the arm backwards. When GE and Tappan joined forces, Tappan dishwashers were made by GE. Doris Day's son was Terry Melcher. When she was a young actress in New York, she married the trombonist Al Jorden, a horrible man who, when he found out that she was pregnant, demanded that she get an abortion. She refused so he beat her throughout her pregnancy. Once the baby was born, she placed him with her mother and went back on the road as a singer. She divorced the first husband and later married Marty Melcher. Although Terry never got along with his stepfather, he did allow him to adopt him. When Melcher died, it was discovered that he had cheated DD out of many millions of dollars. Terry was one of the people responsible for California surf rock music. He both played and produced and worked with the Beach Boys, Paul Revere & the Raiders, the Byrds and others. He produced a lot of his mother's work. He was a blonde beauty in his youth and died after a long battle with melanoma. He was targeted for death by the Manson gang and nearly lost both legs in a motorcycle accident. He was part owner with his mother and another partner of the Cypress Inn. In 1988, he received a Golden Golbe nomination for co-writing one of my favorite Beach Boys songs Kokomo. And poor, sweet Doris Day's picture is courtesy of the American Gas Association. What an unfortunate union, oh dear another gas connection. This must have been one of the business deals she entered to recover financially after she discovered her money was gone. Still, it must have pained her to have people associate her with gas. If anyone's picture should have anything to do with gas, it should have been Marilyn Monroe's picture with her dress flying up in The Seven Year Itch. Wasn't that story all about cutting loose after 7 years of holding it in?

Post# 285276 , Reply# 22 6/15/2008 at 01:30 (5,786 days old) by spankomatic (Ukiah,CA)
Checkrate/Likes The dishwasher reminds me of out 1971 Gaffler and Satler dishwasher. It was the worst dishwasher I have ever used. The Gaffler and Satler stove/oven was not that great either. Some reason the photo reminds me more of the early 70's than 1966. It's so fun to go back in time.... Jim

Post# 285288 , Reply# 23 6/15/2008 at 06:16 (5,786 days old) by jeffg ()
Checkrate/Likes Does her range have just 2 or 3 burners, or are more hiding somewhere? Also, I wonder if she ever had ventilation problems in this kitchen. The layout in general doesn't make much sense, e.g. the stove seems to be blocking at least 3 drawers and cabinets.

Post# 285290 , Reply# 24 6/15/2008 at 06:59 (5,786 days old) by bajaespuma (Connecticut)
Checkrate/Likes Has anybody stopped to consider that the kitchen in the photograph is just a display set? I remember seeing lots of these in the sixties with lots of old celebrities and then seeing them used again in other ads. Fred MacMurray and his wife did similar ads for Roper. Remember Jane Wyman and Rosemary Clooney with their Kenmores proudly displayed on their California sun porches? yeah, that's where famous people like to do their laundry on the illegal's day off. and Tom, thanks for the words on the Flair, which, although not what I wanted to hear, make sense out of their demise.

Post# 285296 , Reply# 25 6/15/2008 at 07:09 (5,786 days old) by jeffg ()
Checkrate/Likes >>Has anybody stopped to consider that the kitchen in the photograph is just a display set? According to the ad's copy, this is her actual home in Malibu.

Post# 285304 , Reply# 26 6/15/2008 at 08:28 (5,786 days old) by magic clean ()
Checkrate/Likes *Her kitchen* seems like it was an afterthought and very user unfriendly. I'd hate to think this was anything more than a display for the IXL advertising of the day. The: cabinets above the range appear very hard to access like Tom noted, the adjacent cabinet drawers are blocked by the cooktop 2 blind corner base cabinets & 1 blind upper really compromised the ease of storage the wall cabinet to the left of the range...how do you get into it?? Do you climb onto the countertop?

Post# 285311 , Reply# 27 6/15/2008 at 09:26 (5,786 days old) by river_realtor ()
Checkrate/Likes it appears as if the cabinets to the right of the stove (above the applince center) are blocked by the right corner of the stove and the cabinets above the stove look useless And i have seen worse kitchens than this while selling real estate... One was a 70's kitchen where everything was in the island.. Cooktop (36" gas), 1 electric oven under the counter dishwasher sink and trash compactor.. had to walk around and around and around.. The fridge was a subzero and there where two 8 foot long sections on either wall of counter top (and a double oven and built in microwave) and the fridge wall had the fridge, seperate freezer and the washer and dryer closet... The room its self was 12 ft long by 24 ft wide..The house its self was only 48 ft wide, SO...

Post# 285321 , Reply# 28 6/15/2008 at 11:08 (5,786 days old) by stainfighter (Columbia, SC)
Checkrate/Likes *theres another POD in the rotational files...* there's also a POD of a Tappan D/W (in Aqua!!!) with a Cat on top. Looks like a TOL model - when you see it again you'll know what I mean - about 8 cycle buttons with the same dinner plate timer dial on the right side

Post# 285343 , Reply# 29 6/15/2008 at 14:03 (5,786 days old) by appnut (TX)
Checkrate/Likes Robert, that POD you're referring to is about 1962 or 1963 at best TOL with the reversing, rotating drum wash action.

Post# 285388 , Reply# 30 6/15/2008 at 19:39 (5,785 days old) by dalangdon (Seattle, WA)
Checkrate/Likes Oh man - That tile (or whatever it is) would make me nuts. Having used a gas 400 for a few years, and as the "proud" owner of two flairs, I can vouch for their design flaws. The Flair is 1000% better than the Fabulous 400, however.

Post# 285390 , Reply# 31 6/15/2008 at 19:43 (5,785 days old) by dalangdon (Seattle, WA)
Checkrate/Likes *Oops...* Forgot to mention my admiration for the Westinghouse Kitchen Center. Our 1954 kitchen is woefully short on outlets, and none are dedicated - something like that kitchen center would be a great alternative to chopping up all of the backsplash. Is there a contemporary version of that in production, or would it even be code compliant these days?

Post# 285391 , Reply# 32 6/15/2008 at 19:47 (5,785 days old) by dalangdon (Seattle, WA)
Checkrate/Likes *Oops...* Forgot to mention my admiration for the Westinghouse Kitchen Center. Our 1954 kitchen is woefully short on outlets, and none are dedicated - something like that kitchen center would be a great alternative to chopping up all of the backsplash. Is there a contemporary version of that in production, or would it even be code compliant these days?

Post# 285395 , Reply# 33 6/15/2008 at 20:18 (5,785 days old) by tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)
Checkrate/Likes The range has 4 burners in a line. The electric version only had one 8 inch element so I don't know if this stove had only one 12,000 BTU and three 6,000 BTU burners. In general the electric versions did not throw as much waste heat. They ran into a problem with the broilers when they were placed at the top of the gas oven cavity. So much oxygen was consumed by the oven burner that the pilot for the broiler would not stay lighted. It meant expensive retrofitting with an electric igniter in models already in use. Later models of the 40" gas models had the smaller section devoted to broiling. If you saw many Sears catalogs in the late 60s, the gas ranges of this style made by Roper had a roll-out broiler under the the oven. Yes, all of the beauty of the design was gone. I saw some Welbuilt ranges with the large oven underneath and the smaller one on top and the top oven had a burner about 2/3s of the way down in the oven so that you could broil under the burner and bake above it. Some of the cheapest SunRay electric ranges had an oven just like the gas model with a broiler element where the gas oven burner would be, a roll-out broiler and the openings around the bottom of the oven to allow the heat to rise around the edges as well as through the oven floor. With the heat focused down into the broiler compartment, it's a wonder it did not set floors on fire. It must have been sealed tighter and insulated better than the gas ovens. Wards had a few 36 inch gas stoves with a small electric oven beside the main oven in what is usually storage space. It had a heating element at just about the place where the gas oven had the divide between oven and broiler compartments. The door to it was side-swing and it allowed broiling below and baking above. It had to be on it's own 15 amp 115 volt circuit. Wards at one time had a gas dryer that used an electric element to provide heat for the delicate setting, again requiring its own 15 amp 115 volt circuit. I think the ventilation problems were given over to that big pullout vent over the stove. It should have had a large blower mounted outside the house to cut down on noise. It is such a shame to think of how well a plain 40" range would have fit into that kitchen. Maybe DD got the Gas Assn. to replace that monstrosity with a regular stove after the pictures were taken; and maybe the dw with something that cleaned, not that she probably had to use either.

Post# 285464 , Reply# 34 6/16/2008 at 00:49 (5,785 days old) by beadsobleach ()
Checkrate/Likes *Backward tile* Did anyone notice one tile above the sink is backwards, I wonder if Miss Day caught that?

Post# 285470 , Reply# 35 6/16/2008 at 02:29 (5,785 days old) by jeffg ()
Checkrate/Likes Amazing you noticed that. Also amazing how home design concepts have changed over the years. Kitchens were so small back then! If you've ever read a biography of her life, not long after this photo was taken Day's husband passed away, and she discovered he (and/or his business partner, we still don't know which) had spent her entire fortune. Day spent years doing things she didn't want to do (everything from advertising to hosting her own TV show) just to pay off her debts. She's a real trooper, and survivor. CLICK HERE TO GO TO jeffg's LINK

Post# 285482 , Reply# 36 6/16/2008 at 07:33 (5,785 days old) by jetcone (Schenectady-Home of Calrods,Monitor Tops,Toroid Transformers)
Checkrate/Likes *I think that is a set* with the high ceiling, the back lit shadow and the completely covered window over the sink. It says she shows off the cabinets in her newly remodeled home but the small print says the picture is coutesy the Gas Association. I bet those were the cabinets installed in her home but the shot was taken with matching cabinets in a studio. I can't believe her husband spent all her money just like Debbie Reynolds situation! Well in astronomy we say if you find two of something then it is common in the universe. Jeff thanks for the link to her new hotel, I want to take Artemis there for a holiday, he'd love Carmel by the Sea!

Post# 285483 , Reply# 37 6/16/2008 at 07:41 (5,785 days old) by spiceman1957 ()
Checkrate/Likes *Que,Sera,Sera* This kitchen looks the one in my old condo many years ago. I hated that type of stove, you could never get a large stock pot to fit under the top oven. But I still admire Doris' singing and acting, and lets not forget she took the time and her generous act of kindness to stand beside Rock Hudson when he was sicken with AIDS. One very classy lady!!

Post# 285837 , Reply# 38 6/18/2008 at 11:36 (5,783 days old) by tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)
Checkrate/Likes After Marty Melcher's death, DD discovered that he had committed her to the Doris Day & Friends show AND HAD EVEN SPENT THE ADVANCE FROM THAT CONTRACT. She really found the ugly side of Que sera, sera. Jon, the note says that the DD photograph is courtesy of the AGA. I thought that meant just her likeness, not the whole kitchen, no?

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