0184.jpg




Sixty years ago, on July 26th-27th ...

When the Stockholm rammed the Andrea Doria, the Italian liner rattled and shook. Hollywood actress Ruth Roman was dancing in the Doria's first class ballroom at the time. She immediately kicked off her high heels, left her dancing partner and fled to her stateroom where her 3 1/2-year son Dickie was sleeping. Later, on the badly listing liner, she handed young Dickie over to a 23-yr old cadet officer. The boy was lowered into a lifeboat, but then it pulled away before Roman could join her frightened son. Miss Roman screamed for the boat to return; the boy cried hysterically.


Fortunately, both mother & son were rescued but by separate ships and then dramatically reunited on a Manhattan pier.


Years later, in 1972, while I was working at Go Travel at fancy Bonwit Teller's department store in Manhattan, our part-time and very glamorous travel consultant was another Hollywood actress, Diana Lynn. Her teenage stepson came to call one day. It was Dickie Hall, the very same survivor from the Andrea Doria.