Postscript to the Indy 500

After posting about the Indy 500 a few days ago, I received several interesting photos from John J. O'Leary IV, with whom I have been in touch in recent months. (He is writing a book about Gustav Reuter and Reuter Coachworks, the premier car restorer who handled many of my father's cars over the years. More about John and his project in a later post.)

Anyhow, I would love to know how and why Clark Gable and my father were at the Race together, and what year it might have been. I imagine my parents got to know Gable when they were living in Hollywood in the 1930s while my father made several movies.  Oh to be a fly on the wall...

Any idea who the guy in the hat might be?

Indy 500

Always around this time of year I think of the Indianapolis 500 and my father singing "Back Home in Indiana" before the start of the race. In 1946 he supplied several antique cars from his collection for a pre-race lap. There's also the story that for one race, with the cars revving furiously behind him, he got a bit flustered and started to sing "My Old Kentucky Home" instead of "Back Home in Indiana."
He did this pre-race gig for a number of years, although I am not sure how many. Does anyone out there know?  He started this tradition which was later carried on by Vic Damone, Mel Torme, Dinah Shore and Jim Nabors.