1959 Terre Haute, Indiana

Linda Hegeman

1945

Terre Haute, Indiana

Interview on 30 Jan 2024

By Teddy Cavanagh 

What is the first movie that you remember seeing?

The only movies I remember seeing as a child were at drive-in movies. It was because of the polio epidemic, which was much like the COVID epidemic. Many people were becoming paralyzed, especially children, and around the time, FDR had contracted polio, too. You just didn’t get out in public or go out to a restaurant, so we would not go anywhere too frequently. Although the first recollection I have of going to one was the movie Pillowtalk. It was a musical and romantic comedy, starring Doris Day, Rock Hudson, and Tony Randall.

Who was with you?

A boy in my class that asked me out on my first date. I remember being nervous.

What town and year was this?

It was in Terre Haute, Indiana, around 1959 or 1960.

How old were you approximately?

I was about fourteen or fifteen years old. 

What do you remember about the movie?

Well, the reason it’s called Pillowtalk is because they had a party line. I remember having one. It wasn’t a regular dial-up phone. You would share it with other people. So there is a kind of battle going on between Doris Day and Rock Hudson wanting time on the phone and the other person monopolizing. 

What did you think of the character(s), actor(s), story?

Doris Day would criticize Rock Hudson, but he pretends to be somebody else and, somehow, they end up together. I remember it winning a nomination for the best original screenplay, but I also remember thinking it did not seem like a complex plot at all. They called it Pillowtalk because there would be a split screen as the characters talked on their pillows. There was no romance other than hugging, but it was very cute. It was kind of silly with the singing and then the boy gets the girl with Rock Hudson acting as a playboy. 

What did you think of Rock Hudson at the time?

Rock Hudson was a very interesting actor and very popular for like 30 years. In 1985, he died of AIDS, but he was kind of the first person of public awareness that came out with AIDS. 

How did you get to the theater?

My date’s father took us and picked me up from my house. 

Was there a concession? Did you have a favorite candy?

No, none that I can remember. I only remember cokes and popcorn at the drive-in movies, back in a little house behind the cars. I was probably too nervous to eat anything with a date. We did go to a coffee shop to wait for his dad to pick us up after the movie. Probably had a cherry coke. But one of his friends came up and said hi and that ended up being your grandfather.

What was the name of the theater? Were there ushers?

I think it was called The Grand. There were only two theaters in Terre Haute, and there would only be one movie showing. I remember ushers with a flashlight, guiding you to a seat. 

Linda Hegeman is my maternal grandmother.