May 18 , 2017 The SEGway News Page 3
May 18 , 2017 The SEGway News Page 3
Personality
Ivanhoes , tennis and Hollywood : Doug Dean ’ s story
by M . Elyse Douglas Doug Dean still remembers his first Ivanhoes order .
It was 1965 , and Dean knew that a new restaurant was opening its doors on Upland ’ s Main Street that day at noon . A junior high student at Upland ’ s old school , Dean made his plans on how he was going to get to the restaurant .
“ I wanted to be the first — I don ’ t know why — but I did ,” he said .
A sidewalk ran from Jefferson ’ s building all the way to Ivanhoes . “ When the bell rang at the junior high school , I ran down that sidewalk . I was the first person in line at 12 o ’ clock .”
Dean made his goal , and the first ever Ivanhoe ’ s order was nothing fancy . It didn ’ t even include ice cream . “ I ordered two $ . 15 hamburgers ,” he said . “ I don ’ t think I even got a drink .”
52 years later , a lot has changed in the town of Upland and in the life of Doug Dean . An Ivanhoes hamburger now costs $ 2.80 , and the school building Dean went to in junior high no longer exists .
It ’ s been decades since Dean last visited the town . His parents — music professors at Taylor at the time of Ivanhoes ’ opening — moved to a college in Dallas shortly after , and , though Dean did return to Upland to attend Taylor , he only attended there for two years .
Dean has achieved a lot more in his life since leaving Upland . He is a tennis coach who has worked with celebrities . He is also an author and a movie producer .
“ And it all started right here at Taylor ,” Dean said .
Dean at College
“ I played tennis here for two years , though I was mainly a basketball player . Tennis was something to do between basketball seasons . My sophomore year , I hurt my ankle playing basketball .” The injury was enough to bench him for the season .
The next year he transferred to a college in California . Due to rules regarding transferring for college athletes , Dean had to sit out from sports for the next year , but that did not stop him from practicing tennis . He played daily and got a job maintaining the equipment at the Los Angeles Tennis club . One of the best college tennis teams practiced at that club , and watching them inspired Dean to work hard and improve his own game .
Early Career After college , Dean began working as a tennis instructor . His first job was in the Netherlands . Then , he got a position in Las Vegas at the Dunes Hotel . There Dean shared an apartment with a man who was one of the top tennis players of the 1930s , Bobby Riggs .
“ Hardly a lesson goes by where I don ’ t teach something that I learned from Bobby Riggs ,” Dean said in an article last December . “ He was my mentor , and in my opinion , he ’ s one of the most underrated players of all time .”
While working at the Dunes , Dean struck up a friendship with singer Kenny Rogers . Rogers eventually offered Dean a new job , as Rogers ’ personal tennis pro . Dean went on tour with Rogers for several years . “ His career took off like a rocket . He ’ d do 257 shows a year , and sell out every one ,” Dean said . The concerts would happen at night , and they would play tennis during the day .
Though Rogers is the client Dean spent the most time with , he was by no means Dean ’ s only celebrity client . Dean also worked with Sean Connery , Clint Eastwood , Gene Hackman , Johnny Carson , Bill Cosby , Oscar De La Renta , Robert Duvall , Senator Paul Laxalt and Joe Torre .
In 2005 , Dean released a book called “ Tennis Tips and Tall Tales .” In the book , he offers advice about the game and tells stories about his own tennis career .
The Movie Bug
From his interactions with celebrity clients , Dean gained the desire to become a producer for feature films . “ If you watch a movie , someone had to come up with the story ,” said Dean . “ I seem to have a little bit of a knack for finding those stories .”
Thus far , Dean has worked on three films : Hallmark Channel ’ s “ Expecting a Miracle ” and “ Follow the River ,” as well as a documentary film about a 1930 ’ s tennis match for the History Channel .
Working with Steve Carell
Last year , Fox Spotlight Films approached Dean to help with their upcoming film “ Battle of the Sexes .” The film tells the story of a 1973 tennis match where Bobby Riggs challenged the top female tennis player Billy Jean King .
“ It caught the fancy of the world ,” said Dean , who had known Riggs at the time of the match . Dean coached actor Steve Carell for two months to help him prepare for his role as Riggs . They ’ d play tennis daily , and Dean would tell Carell about Riggs .
“ Steve never really played tennis , but he ’ s a good athlete ,” Dean said in an article for a New York paper last year . “ We got him hitting the ball just like Bobby .”
Though not originally planned , Dean played a small part in the movie . “ They actually threw me into the film ,” he said jokingly . For this scene , Dean played a man who Carell ’ s version
Photos by Nelson Rediger for The SEGway News
Doug Dean stopped by Ivanhoes last week ; he had been the first customer of the business back in 1961 .
of Riggs hustled out of a car .
“ My character lost to Bobby Riggs — I ’ m not going to lose to ( Carell in tennis ) in real life , although he got a lot better ,” Dean said .
“ Battle of the Sexes ” will be in theatres this September and will also star Emma Stone as King .
Resident Tennis Pro
Dean spends most of the year in California , pitching his ideas for movies . During the summer , he works as the Ocean Resort ’ s resident tennis pro in New York .
“ I work in the summer to subsidize my film habit in the winter ,” Dean said , “ I ’ m about 60 miles from the city . What happens is people come out from the city on the weekends , and then they take two weeks off in July and August .”
Revisiting Upland
Dean spent last Friday back in Upland on his way to New York for the summer . Nelson Rediger , who has been friends with Dean since he lived in Upland as a child , spent the day with him , leading him through the town .
For lunch , Dean went back to Ivanhoes . The restaurant even honored the return of their first ever customer by putting his name on the sign out front .
But this time , Dean did not order two hamburgers . “ If I ’ d gotten the same order , I ’ d still be eating ,” said Dean . Instead he got a breaded tenderloin , something he says he can ’ t get anywhere but in Indiana .
After lunch , Dean spoke to Taylor ’ s Tennis team and toured the campus .
“ Three out of four of my closest friends for life came from Taylor ,” Dean said . Dean attended the wedding of the daughter of one of those friends later that night in Grand Rapids . One of the other friends , his roommate from Taylor , served as Dean ’ s lawyer when he broke his neck in a car crash last year . For Dean , though , friendships aren ’ t the only important thing he gained during his time in Upland at Taylor . “ Taylor University helped build the foundation of my faith , which has served me well ,” he said .