D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A fore in Two Weeks With Love where she sang “Abba Dabba Honeymoon” with Carlton Carpenter. That tune really hit the spot. There are more than a few of us, 65 years later, who still know all the words (there were about 10 of them) and still sing it to ourselves. I know this because some have confided that to me. This incident of their deaths got me to take the
book down off the shelf and read it again. In a way, I never “wrote” it, and although Debbie never wrote one word of it and never read any of it until it was finished, it was entirely hers except for the paragraphs, sentences, and phrases that kept the continuity. I’d interviewed her for more than 100 hours over the course of a year, transcribed every word, and used much
of it to create the story told in her own words, as well as reflect the personality which was at once witty, clever, sharp, hilarious, perspicacious, loyal, kind, and sad. Hermes Pan, Fred Astaire’s career-long partner in Fred’s choreography, had worked several times with Debbie from early in her career, and knew her well. When he heard I’d been hired to write
her book, he described her thusly: “She’s not a great actress, she’s not a great singer, she’s not a great dancer, but she is a great talent!!” Debbie could do everything, and she worked hard at infusing that great talent in a performance that left a sweet and gentle impression and appreciation on millions. As well as often leave them laughing. Pan’s remarks resonated in
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