Celebrity Sightings

I spoke with my grandmother recently about celebrity sightings at The Cow. She remembers the celebrities but wishes my grandfather was here to answer as well. He remembered every politician that visited.

Kitty Carlisle of What’s My Line fame and Kitty Carlisle & Moss Hart via NYMag.comhusband Moss Hart visited once, probably in the 1950’s. Mr. Hart owned a farm in Bucks County until 1954. He and Ms. Carlisle met as actors at the Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope.

Claude Rains, famous for his roles in The Invisible Man, The Adventures of Robin Hood, and Casablanca, was a West Chester resident at Chuch & Dean Streets in the 1940s and 1950s and owned a farm in West Bradford township. My grandmother never saw him come into The Cow: “He always sat in the car while his wife came in to pick up caramel containers.”

Doris Day came in The Cow one day in the early 1960s. She was there with her husband Martin Melcher and another couple. from DorisDay.netShe wore sunglasses. My grandmother recognized her and asked the men, “Is that Doris Day?” Melcher said, “No.” The other man said, “Yes, that is Doris Day.”

While the men used the restroom, several of the waitresses started recognizing Ms. Day. My grandmother spoke to her and said, “Doris, take off your glasses so the girls can see you.” Ms. Day complied to the delight of the staff.

My grandmother remarked, “She was very sweet and nice but I guess that could have just been acting.”

Ms. Day had caramels shipped back to her home in California.

Aunt Saundra reports:

In 1965, when I was travelling cross country, I saw a great opportunity to meet a celeb and took two buckets of caramels with me to deliver directly to her (Doris Day). When I hit LA, with her address, I searched for hours to find her home to no avail.We ate the caramels and missed our date with destiny.

Photo Credits
Kitty Carlisle & Ross Hart via NYMag
Doris Day, Martin Melcher via DorisDay.net

If you recall other celebrities — Hollywood or otherwise — leave a comment on this post.

World Famous: Switzerland 1957

My mother, Wanda Polite, #1 daughter of Ilario and Gladys, reports her own ‘world famous’ tale.Audrey Hepburn in Switzerland 1957

Once upon a time during the summer of 1957 two friends and I were staying in an elegant hotel on a Switzerland mountaintop. (Audrey Hepburn, her husband Mel Ferrer, Sophia Loren and her future husband Carlo Ponti were also staying there.) A gentleman approached us and asked for our home towns. All summer long while touring Europe we would reply to that question, “Philadelphia” or “Pennsylvania”, rather than Cathy saying “Upper Darby”, Barbara saying “Shenandoah” or my saying “Exton.”

But this gentleman would not settle for anything but an exact answer. When he heard the word “Exton”, he said that they drive out there for ice cream at The Guernsey Cow. The man was Mr. Biddle of the highly regarded Bailey, Banks, and Biddle jewelers in Philadelphia.