Harvey Brownstone Interviews Doris Day’s Longtime Employee, Syd Wood, Author, “To Doris with Love”

Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth interview with Doris Day’s Longtime Employee, Syd Wood, Author, “To Doris with Love, from Woody Day: My Days with Doris Day”
About Harvey's guest:
Syd Wood devoted 20 years of his life, living and working with the incomparable superstar, Doris Day. He started out in England as a devoted fan, but after meeting Miss Day and developing a friendship with her, she convinced him to come to America to work for her. He was a jack-of-all-trades. He cared for her pets, cleaned her house, did her gardening, took care of her pool and even helped dye her hair. He helped her move from Beverly Hills to her beloved home in Carmel, California, where he witnessed many changes in her life and was a constant source of support and comfort to her. Theirs was much more than an employment relationship. They were best friends who relied and depended on each other during good times and bad. He’s just released a sentimental and nostalgic book, entitled, “To Doris With Love, from Woody Day: My Days with Doris Day”.
For more interviews and podcasts go to: www.harveybrownstoneinterview...
#SydWood #DorisDay #harveybrownstoneinterviews

[@scottieharley3369]

So proud of Syd and of Harvey for outstanding interviewing.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Thank you so much!

[@smaco1409]

Really enjoyed this interview with Sydney Wood as I have always loved Doris Day. I was a member of the Doris Day Appreciation Society in the 1970's. The love and affection which Sydney, Shiela and Valarie had for Doris was obvious and really communicated itself to the members. I really looked forward to the quarterly journal relaying all the latest news on Doris (I still have them all from 1970 to 77). Doris was doing her TV show at that time and also the TV Specials, which we dident see over this side of the pond untill many decades later when they were released on DVD. I hope to read Sydneys book and hope it goes well for him. Best wishes Syd and Harvey.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Sadly, we lost Syd very soon after we filmed this interview. May he rest in peace with his beloved Doris. 🙏❤️

[@smaco1409]

Im very sorry to hear that Harvey and my sincere condolances to you on Syd's passing. I will always remember him with great fondness for all the pleasure he gave to so many people (myself included) through the Doris Day Appreciation Society. May he rest in peace. Regards John@@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980

[@puckgroeneweg115]

Thank you for this lovely interview with Syd Wood.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Thank you so much for watching. I hope you’ll subscribe to our KZbin channel.

[@richardswinbusk7787]

Another great interview Harvey! It's always good to see someone who actually knew the celebrity, not like some people who write books who didn't I have Doris' book I loved her TV show and have some seasons on DVD

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Thank you so much for watching, and for your support of our show

[@richardswinbusk7787]

@@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980 Always Harvey! I enjoy all your interviews You're the best at what you do You ask great questions and you never interrupt your guests Very gracious

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Thank you so much, but I must confess that sometimes I do gently interrupt my guests, when they just keep talking and seem to forget I’m there!!! Some people don’t seem to understand that an interview is a dialogue, not a monologue!!!😜

[@KevinSanderson]

Good interview, Harvey! My late mother liked Doris Day and Que Sera Sera was one she remembered and enjoyed til just before she passed a few years ago. I wish Doris had made a few more movies and records.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Thank you so much for watching. I hope you’ll subscribe to our KZbin channel!

[@KevinSanderson]

@@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980 Now Subscribed!

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Thank you so much!

[@jmj18462]

ANOTHER HOME RUN! You're the BEST Harvey!

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Awww thanks so much. This interview was a challenge, for obvious reasons. But I did my best.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Thank you so much!!! I’ll reach out to Jackie.

[@thomasalbert6687]

Just out of high school I had a happenstance interaction with Doris Day. It was pretty quick but a few pleasant words were exchanged (without indication I knew who she was). What impressed me was her friendly warmth. Also her clothing fit her comfortably and snugly & I would have to have been blind not to notice the nice figure she had.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

How fortunate you were to meet her!

[@johnflynn9619]

Doris Day was Great. RIP I first saw her in The Thrill of it All. Gorgeous Woman. I was a Forever Fan. She was Forever Young. Turned down The Graduate - found it to be Vulgar. Rex Reed used to go around Beverly Hills with her. Harvey another Exceptional Interview.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

John you are so supportive of our show. I appreciate you so much

[@csrothlisberger852]

Interesting interview. It sounds like once Doris stopped making movies & recordings that she closed the door on that part of her life & lived in the moment, keeping herself busy with her dogs & animal foundation. I wished you had asked about her grandson, Ryan. I heard that they were estranged.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Syd was out of Doris’ life before the estrangement happened.

[@jeffreyerickson6766]

Thank you Syd and your partner and Harvey

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Thank you for watching. Syd passed away not long after this interview was filmed. I’m so glad he has been immortalized on our show.

[@jeffreyerickson6766]

I'm sorry to hear of Syd's passing. It was very moving to see his partner gently chime in with proper deference to Syd.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

@jeffreyerickson6766 Syd was very unwell when we filmed this interview, and his loving partner helped him tell his story. I am so grateful we made this interview happen.

[@joypinard7906]

I love this interview🌼💖 I’m a good friend of Mary Anne Barothy who also wrote a wonderful book of her time as Secretary and personal friend to Doris. I love the real day to day Doris! Thank you for sharing your personal time with Doris making her come alive in a very real way for all of her fans🌼💖🌼 Can’t wait to read your book!!!!

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Thank you so much for watching our show. I hope you will consider subscribing to our KZbin channel. It would be greatly appreciated.

[@LauraC-hq7sm]

I love Doris Day she had an incredible singing voice and made a lot of enjoyable movies. I love dogs just like her, although I have no idea how the hell you take care of 50 at once.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

I loved Doris so much. Although I never got to interview her, we’ve now done 3 shows about her, with Tom Santopietro (author of “Considering Doris Day”), Scott Dreier (“Forever Doris” DVD and “The Doris Day Project” CD) and Syd Wood (Doris’ employee). I hope you watch and enjoy each of those episodes.

[@shaunbarr1856]

I feel sorry for Doris being blocked from talking to her Grandson and talking on the phone long distance. Doris it seems had the wrong company in her life towards the end of her life. Could it be possible that you could interview her pen pal for 30 years who talked about how Doris wanted to reconnect to her Grandson .I love Doris for her faith in God and love for pets ❤️ Doris Sent me her autograph to Australia 🇦🇺 with my children on it. Thanks

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

There are a lot of conflicting opinions about exactly what was happening in Doris’ life during her last few years when she was no longer able to control her own life. Most people I’ve spoken with are of the view that Doris received very good care. We will likely never know the reasons for Doris’ estrangement from her grandson. We’ve done several shows about Doris Day, and I doubt we’ll do any more - unless someone writes a book and wants to promote it on our show.

[@shaunbarr1856]

Thanks for your reply I still think that Doris could have been better looked after better in later life. As a former RN my self i think her grandson should have been there for her 🤔

[@Tickerage]

@@shaunbarr1856 I heard somewhere that when Terry and Jacqueline divorced, Ryan lived with his mother and there was a $3 million lawsuit filed by the mother and she used Ryan as a pawn in that. No way to verify but maybe the estrangement started there. Ryan has said when his dad died, he was prevented from seeing Doris by one of her handlers, a former fan who met him at the Cypress Inn. This was a great interview with Mr Wood and the revelation about the woman yanking her off the phone is shocking! 😢

[@shaunbarr1856]

Thankyou for sharing that I pray 🙏 that the DDAF money from charity 🙏 goes to the right cause 🙏

[@jackjules7552]

That's the problem with living too long. You get old and you lose all of your power and other people take control of your daily life.

[@richardmcleod1930]

It is sad that for so many famous people at the end of their lives to have individuals who release information about them and the end result is seemingly always to write a book. According to this interview this man once a devoted fan of Doris Day knew little of the goings-on for her care and yet gives the impression Doris Day was a victim of elderly abuse. As Mickey Rooney stated in his Congressional talk regarding Elder Abuse, "If it can happen to me Mickey Rooney, it can happen to anyone." Greta Garbo with all her success in keeping her life private had the right answer, Garbo wrote them out of her life! This seems to be what happened to Syd Wood.

[@jackjules7552]

As far as Doris having an "icy" side to her...there are people who have worked with Doris who can attest to that icy side of her. Mamie Van Doren writes about Doris Day's icy personality when she worked with Doris on the film "Teacher's Pet." According to Mamie, no matter how much she tried to be friendly with Doris, Doris was not having it. In fact, according to Mamie's book, the director of Teacher's Pet had problems with Doris when Doris refused to smile at Mamie during a reaction shot. Several takes were shot but each one failed because Doris refused to smile at Mamie. Finally the reaction shot was done without Mamie in the scene and Doris finally smiled and Mamie was inserted into the scene later on. I thought that was quite an amusing story. I have also read of friends of Doris who were "iced out" of her life with no explanation.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Mamie Van Doren spoke candidly about Doris Day when she appeared on our show. Don’t miss it.

[@raymondlyons8320]

Major hit. Happy Days.

[@jasbegs1258]

I hope the book is more insightful that the interview.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

If you’re the least bit perceptive, and you’ve watched any of my other interviews, you’ll see that I did the best I could with what I had. I’ll leave it at that.

[@MalEvansUSA]

A lifelong Los Angeles dodger fan. She had a tremendous crush on Maury wills Steve Garvey and dusty baker. She loved men especially strong athletic and masculine men.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Well who doesn’t. I’m melting at the thought of such men!

[@MalEvansUSA]

@@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980 Doris’ sexuality was never fully explained to the American public Les brown once eloquently called her sexual napalm. She had an affair with Maury wills and Tommy Davis of the dodgers. She was a fan girl of the team. Doris sexual dynamics was stronger than Madonna j lo combined

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

@MalEvansUSA I am stunned to read this

[@MalEvansUSA]

@@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980 watch two things Harvey. Her 1975 appearance on tonight show with Johnny. She was smoking hot. Even rock Hudson took notice

[@MalEvansUSA]

@@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980watch her 1975 special or Johnny Carson appearance in blue blouse. Sexual firecracker. She makes Linda Lovelace look like cloistered nun. Doris was a dirty girl

[@rhd123]

Harvey, sorry to go off topic somewhat but it is sort of Doris related. Have you ever seen the spliced 40 minute clip with Marilyn Monroe playing the Doris Day part from the movie Move Over Darling? The film originally started with Marilyn before her untimely death. It's a tad choppy but still an interesting watch if you happen to be a Doris or Marilyn fan.

[@rhd123]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/sIfJfKOuYsaGiM0

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Thank you so much for pointing out the existence of that clip. I look forward to seeing it.

[@rhd123]

​@@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980Did you happen to get a chance on viewing it. I found it somewhat fascinating albeit edited only the best they could considering the limited amount of footage they had.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Not yet. Am in NYC as the special guest at the Stonewall Inn, launching Pride Month

[@MalEvansUSA]

Her son Terry Melcher was targeted by the Manson family because Terry and Dennis Wilson promised Charlie Manson a record contract and they later reneged on the deal

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Where do you get your information from? It’s fascinating!

[@MalEvansUSA]

@@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980 thousands upon thousands of hours of Talmudic like study of star biographies and fan magazines.

[@MalEvansUSA]

She had a decades long affair with rock star sly stone. She helped him write everybody is a star and family affair. She left him due to his drug and substance abuse issues

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

How do you know so much about celebrities’ personal lives?

[@MalEvansUSA]

@@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980 frequent reader of celebrity bios.

[@karenseverino907]

Mr. Wood did not leave Ms. Day's employ via his own decision. Did not hear him comment on that.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

That was a conscious choice made by me. Mr. Wood is in frail health and became too upset to discuss it when I broached the subject, so that portion of the interview was edited out. If you want to know his version of why he left Doris’ employ, you’ll have to read the book. Thank you for watching our show.

[@karenseverino907]

@Harvey Brownstone Interviews I would rather not spend my money Sir. However, thank you for admitting that. I respect you for your honesty.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

You’re very welcome. I hope you’ll watch our other 2 episodes about the incomparable Doris Day.

[@lisacrane3143]

Why did he leave his job with her?

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

Read his book. It’s all there.

[@karenseverino907]

Just another fan exploiting for profit at the expense of a great Lady.

[@harveybrownstone7840]

He was much more than a fan. He lived on Doris Day’s property and worked for her for almost 20 years. He had every right to write a book about his experiences, and of course, you have every right to choose not to but or read the book. For that matter, you have every right not to watch this interview - but I am most grateful that you did.

[@jackjules7552]

I wish I was interesting enough that someone would want to write a book about me. I will die and no one will care and no one will ask questions. That kind of privacy is not that enchanting. So what if they say bad things about me in a book. At least that's something. I think I have led a very interesting life but no one will ever hear about it because I am not a celebrity.

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

@jackjules7552 the people who love you will care about your life. That’s all that matters. Believe me. ❤️

[@52dislikes]

What happened to all her $$$ , 200 million ? Who got it ?

[@harveybrownstoneinterviews8980]

The Doris Day Animal Foundation