About thirty years ago, I was working at a Boston television station on a new children's television series called "Hoagy Carmichael's Music Shop" starring the movie actor and composer of the same name.

Until I began working on the series, I hadn't met Hoagy and it was during the time we were getting to know each other that I took him out to dinner at a small restaurant in Cambridge. Because of his work as a movie actor, he was recognized and soon we had people coming over to the table with menues, paper scraps and the like for him to autograph.

They always had something to say, "I will never forget you in "Young Man With a Horn", "We had 'Stardust' played at our wedding", "I think 'Lazy Bones' is a great song". There was almost a rhythmn to the requests, "Mr. Carmighael, I loved........, Would you please sign this ......? It would mean so much to ...."

The reason I thought of this particular evening is that among the people who came up to our table that evening was a man who said, "Mr. Carmichael, I loved you in Casablanca playing 'As Time Goes By'" and then went on with the rest of the litany - asking for an autograph and saying how much it would mean.

I was amazed. Carmichael is most cetainly Caucasian. He was a slender man with a very individual look. He has absolutely no physical resemblance to the actor who played Sam in the classic film.

As soon as things quieted down and the autograph requests were completed, each one filled graciously, I asked Hoagy about the "As Time Goes By". He didn't understand it either but he said, "This happens every couple of months!"

Sourdough