Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin:

"You'd Think My Husband Was Having This Baby!"

This article, written by Rona Barrett, appeared in Motion Picture Magazine September, 1961

Mr. and Mrs. Bobby Darin had planned a marvelous vacation--they were going to Hawaii for two glorious weeks between Bobby's films--Too Late Blues and Hell Is For Heroes. But production changes popped up and they couldn't go. Instead, they decided to spend their very precious free week at their Palm Springs hideaway.
The night they arrived, Bobby noticed Sandy had a few red blemishes on her lovely young face.
"Oh, they must be hives or something," she commented. "You know I've never had bad skin."
By evening, the blotches had multiplied. "Here," said Bobby, holding out a bottle, "better put some calamine lotion on, it'll help the hives."
In the morning, Sandy awoke feeling headachy and itchy. When she went to the mirror to see how her hives were doing, she was horrified. Her face was swollen and there wasn't a clear patch of skin in sight.
"It can't be chicken pox or measles," she told Bobby. "I had them when I was a kid."
Bobby called the doctor. A half hour later, after examining Sandy carefully, he announced, "You have chicken pox."
"But I can't," cried Sandy, "I've had them before."
"It's not unusual to get them twice," the doctor confided. "But there is something else that bothers me. Do you have any history of heart trouble?"
"No," Sandy said. "Nothing."
The doctor then asked Sandy to get her Los Angeles physician on the phone. He asked him a few questions and concluded, "I can't quite figure out why her blood pressure jumps from high to low .....Okay.... Sure!" He hung up.
Bobby and Sandy wondered what was going on. They soon found out!
"Young lady," the doctor smiled, "I suggest you take a rabbit test. I think you're pregnant!"
"You're kidding!" she cried.
But he wasn't kidding. The test proved Sandra Dee was pregnant.
Ever since she married Bobby, Sandy has wanted a baby. Now that she was having one, her first thought was, "I don't want this baby!" The sudden shock of approaching motherhood was too much. She thought of all the things she wanted to do with Bobby, of things that had yet to be straightened out in her marriage, of things that would change.
But the more she thought about it, the more she loved the idea. At Christmas time, she and Bobby would be parents. For Bobby, it was the delightful beginning of a wish to have a big family. For Sandy, it meant everything rolled into one--she was going to be a mother--she was going to have a baby that was really hers.
But panic hit her again when, a few days later, she remembered reading somewhere that if a pregnant woman got one of the childhood diseases--like chicken pox or measles--it would affect her unborn child. Frightened, she called the doctor, and with a big lump in her throat asked, "Will my baby be all right?"
"There's nothing to worry about," came the calm reply. "Your chicken pox won't affect your baby. You're as healthy as an ox. I would suggest, however, you keep off your feet and get plenty of rest--just in case any complications should arise."
Sandy and Bobby breathed a deep sigh of relief. Then, just as she was getting back on her feet and her chicken pox was disappearing, Sandra took a fall near the pool and couldn't move her back.
"It was only a minor fall," she explained to me when I met her at Paramount. I had gone to the lot to have lunch with Bobby. "But everyone got so worried. Bobby turned as white as a ghost. He didn't know what to do, so he rushed me to the doctor's office. I was given a complete checkup and had X-rays taken, but nothing happened. The baby was safe--and hadn't moved an inch nor a muscle. Only, my back felt sore for a few days.
"It's funny, people always think you have to be so careful of the baby. They never realize that the baby has so much protection inside a woman's stomach that it's almost impossible for her to lose the child if she's had a healthy conception. You know, a woman who eats very little food during her entire pregnancy, can still have a fat, healthy baby."
As she went on telling me all these bits of medical information, she sounded as if she'd been pregnant many times before. It was fun listening, and it was hard to believe she was the same Sandra Dee, who just several months ago had been so naive, so unknowing.
"How do you know so much?" I asked, rather amazed at her sudden knowledge about these things.
"I've been reading tons of books and asking the doctor hundreds of questions. I'm quite sure he can't wait till I have this baby. I call him so many times a day, for such silly things. He practically has to kick me out of his office.
"It's simply amazing," she laughed. "I keep looking at my stomach waiting for it to pop! But nothing happens. I'm as flat as a board, yet look at these pants. They don't fit me any more."
Sandra was wearing shocking pink, stretch toreador pants with a matching silk shirt. She lifted her shirt to show me that the waist band had to be held together with a huge safety pin.
"It's really embarrassing, but I don't know what to do."
"Why don't you get some maternity outfits?" I suggested.
"Oh, I can't bear the thought of those things. They're so ugly."
"Then you haven't seen the new maternity clothes. They're the end. In fact, I wanted to buy myself a slack outfit in a shop the other day, but I was quite sure my friends wouldn't understand. . . ."
"Oh, really, now Rona!" she teased. Then she asked me about this shop in Beverly Hills. Seconds later she was on the phone calling her mother, Mary Douvan. As she waited for her mother to be called to the phone, she chatted on.
"I'll have my mother buy some slacks and bring them here. She's so excited about the baby, too," she confessed as she waited for her mother.
"I guess you're all back on speaking terms?"
"Oh, yes, Everything is just great. I couldn't be happier. When we told Mom the news, she was so excited. Bobby and she are getting along just great now. She's always over at our house or we're over at her's... or she's shopping or having dinner with us. It's wonderful having a family again. I sometimes think she's more excited about this baby than I am! And you know how I feel about that! Every time she goes to Saks or Magnins, she heads straight for the baby department.
"Which reminds me, I know our business manager is going to crucify me when he sees the bills next month. I went out the other day and bought hundreds of dollars worth of clothing for the baby. Oh, you should see the stuff I bought, Rona. It's darling. I bought everything in blue--suits, coats, dresses, shoes!"
"Blue?" I questioned, "How do you know it's going to be a boy?"
"I just have to have a boy! I go to bed at night dreaming about little boy babies. I don't know what I'll do if I have a girl. But you know something?" she whispered, looking about the room to see if there were any spies, "I know it's going to be a girl, just because I want a boy! I just know it. I guess that's why I bought myself one pink outfit. But I stashed it away in the back of the closet."
"Oh you nut!" I chided. "Why did you buy all the baby things now? Couldn't you wait until someone gave you a baby shower? That's part of the fun of having babies."
"Ah, no!" she replied, her brown eyes taking on a sad look.
Suddenly, I felt very sorry for Sandy. I realized how awfully alone she must be, not having one good friend to share this happy occasion with. I wondered to myself: Who could possibly even give this girl a shower? Who would she invite? Of course, there were always the ladies from Universal, her mother's friends and business acquaintances. But baby showers were meant for the young, too. No wonder she was excited about buying her own baby layettes and things. There was no telling who would--if she didn't!
"What about Ross Hunter?" I asked. "Oh, he's simply thrilled about the baby. He's going to hold three pictures for me until after I have my baby. I was so excited about doing In The Wrong Rain, it's such a marvelous script. Now Ross said he wouldn't do it without me. So, I'm going back to work to finish up my commitments as soon as I have this baby.
After that, I don't know whether I'll work any more. I've promised the studio I'll do some promotion tours for Tammy, Tell Me True--but Bobby's been giving me the evil eye. He doesn't want me to travel around the country while I'm pregnant, and I've learned not to argue with him .... Oh, hello, Mom. I'm at the studio with Bobby and Rona. Listen, she just told me about this place on Wilshire Blvd. that has great maternity clothes. Since I can't leave the studio, how about you picking me up some slacks--can't wear my old ones any more .... And Mom, bring them here. We're going to the Springs as soon as Bobby finishes work, but first we're going to look at a house and I'd like you to come along. Some guy at U-I told us about this good buy in Bel Air--it has four and a half acres. Thanks a lot. See you soon."
When she hung up, I asked, "What happened to the Sinatra place?" I knew Bobby and Sandy had put in a bid for Frank's old home.
"It just didn't work out--and I'm glad, too. There would have been too many complications if we bought that house. Besides, I'm a fatalist. If we didn't get it, it means we weren't meant to have it! But we've just got to find a house, now. We only have a few months more to live in the place we're in, and it's much too small to have a baby there. You know that house only has two bedrooms? And we need more room. Bobby wants to have a projection room and his own private den and I want a big living room and a formal dining room. Bobby says he won't buy a house unless he can put a few golf holes on his property. So you see, we're having problems."
Suddenly, Sandra's lovely, suntanned face turned as white as snow.
"What's the matter?" I asked.
"Oh, it's back again," she moaned. "I'm sick. So nauseous. I'm never going to have another baby. I swear it! This is it. I don't care how many kids he wants. This is it!"
I laughed heartily. Sandra sounded like every other girl friend of mine during their first few months of pregnancy.
"You just wouldn't believe it," she continued. "I can't eat a thing. Nothing wants to stay down. She turned to her brother-in-law, Charlie Maffey, who had just walked inside the small dressing room.
"Oh, Charlie, please call the doctor for me," she cried. "I've got to get some pills to stop this ridiculous feeling."
Just then Bobby walked in and planted a big kiss on Sandra's lips and ditto'd one for me on the cheek. "How are my two girls ......or is it gonna be three?" he kidded. And before we could answer he said, "Do you like this ring, honey?" He handed Sandy a beautiful gold, pearl and diamond ring.
"Oh, I don't have the strength to even put it on," she groaned.
"Please tell me if you like it!" And he was off to the set again.
Sandy slipped the ring on and appraised it suspiciously. Then she sat up quickly and said. "It's a gass! Gosh, it's good looking. So unusual .... Hmmm? My pains are gone now. Must remind Bobby to buy me something every day if my pains will go away."
We laughed.
"He's so good to me. And we're having so much fun. You just can't believe it. This baby seems to have changed our whole lives. Sometimes I wake up at night because I have a strange feeling someone is staring at me, and sure enough it's Bobby. He's sitting up in bed looking at me and shaking his head and asking, 'Well, when are you going to look like you're pregnant?'
"Boy, my husband is funny," she laughed happily. "He's so crazy. I think he's trying to make me feel good. If I feel nauseous, he feels sick. If I can't eat, he can't eat. If I have a headache, he gets one, too. He's really so funny. You'd think he was going to have this baby!"
"Well," I joked, "if he does you're certainly going to be extra rich. The Bank of England has promised to pay 500,000 pounds to the first man who can give birth to a baby!"
"You don't mean that?" Sandy asked, astonished. "Hey, someone get Bobby," she called out the door.
Moments later Bobby came bouncing into the dressing room asking, "What's up, Doc?" Then added, "Lunch, lunch. Gotta have some lunch. Only an hour. Let's go. Let's go. Up, Sandy baby. C'mon." And before I knew it, all three of us were on our way to lunch.
"Did you like the ring?" he asked.
"It's beautiful."
"Too bad. It's not for you," he said seriously. And then looking at Sandy, who didn't know whether her husband was joshing or not, said, "Now why would I tell you to try on the ring if it wasn't for you. It's yours!"
"One of these days I'll learn to know when you're teasing," she said.
He planted another big kiss on her lips and she responded willingly and affectionately.
It sure looked like things had changed for the Bobby Darins.
It was easy for me to see that a little girl named Sandra Dee had really grown up. At one time, she was so embarrassed when Bobby came near her or planted a kiss on her cheek. Now, she responded like she was a woman who was used to it and even enjoyed it. She had the attitude Bobby wanted her to have, she had that "I-don't-care-who-knows-it--I'm-in-love!" look.
"Oh, by the way, I bashed our car this morning," he said as we passed the big Chrysler Imperial.
"You mean my car. No wonder I'm feeling sick."
"That's why I bought you the ring."
"Briber! You should learn how to drive."
"Look who's talking ..... What do you want to eat?"
"Nothing, I'm not hungry."
"Ah c'mon, Sandy baby. You've got to eat something?"
"I can't!"
"Some eggs--just for me... and my baby?"
She smiled. "Okay, you win. Scrambled eggs, and rye toast and a glass of iced tea ...."
And as she turned to me she said, "It doesn't pay to argue with him. You see, I've learned the hard way!"
I watched them as they talked back and forth with each other--as they played with Clementine, their miniature schnauzer, and September, the toy poodle Bobby gave Sandy for her birthday. They were like two happy expectant parents--two people very much in love. And it was obvious that their inner glow stemmed from an unborn baby who had reunited a mother and daughter, a baby who gave a son-in-law the family he always wanted but, most important, a baby who turned a delightful young girl into an even more delightful young woman.

--BY RONA BARRETT

Thanks to Barbara Bassett for this article
Thanks to Donna Carter for formatting this article

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