Doris Day
Encyclopedia
Doris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording, "Sentimental Journey
", in 1945. After leaving the Les Brown & His Band of Renown
to try a solo career, she started her long-lasting partnership with Columbia Records
, which would remain her only recording label. The contract lasted from 1947 to 1967, and included more than 650 recordings, making Day one of the most popular singers of the 20th century. In 1948, after being persuaded by Sammy Cahn
, Jule Styne
and her agent at the time, Al Levy, she auditioned for Michael Curtiz
, which led to the lead in Romance on the High Seas
, her first film with close friend, Jack Carson.
With a legendary Hollywood "girl-next-door" image and capable of delivering comedy, romance as well as heavy drama, she appeared in 39 films, released 29 albums and spent 460 weeks in the Top 40 charts. She received an Academy Award nomination for her performance in Pillow Talk, won a Golden Globe, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
, Presidential Medal of Freedom
, Legend Award from the Society of Singers
, and, in 1989, received the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement in motion pictures.
Day's strong commitment to animal rights began in 1971, when she co-founded the "Actors and Others for Animals". In the late 70's, she started her own non-profit organization, the Doris Day Animal Foundation and, later, the Doris Day Animal League
. Establishing the annual observance Spay Day USA
in 1994, The Doris Day Animal League now partners with the Humane Society of the United States
and continues to be a leading advocacy organization. In 2004, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom
from President George W. Bush
in recognition of her distinguished service to the country. President Bush recognized Miss Day's work on behalf of animals by saying, "It was a good day for our fellow creatures when she gave her good heart to the cause of animal welfare."
Day was ranked the biggest box-office star for four years (1960; 1962–1964) and ranked in the top ten for ten years (1951–1952; 1959–1966). She became the top-ranking female box-office star of all time and ranked sixth among the top ten box-office performers (male and female), as of 2009.
to Alma Sophia Welz (a housewife) and William Kappelhoff (a music teacher and choir master). All of her grandparents were German immigrants. In Doris Day: Her Own Story she states, "I was named by my mother in honor of her favorite actress, Doris Kenyon
, a silent screen
star of that year 1924." Her biographer, Pianist Jim Martinez, who organized her 87th birthday party in her home town of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
, at Day's hotel, the Cypress Inn, states that according to Doris Day's current assistant, when Day was a teenager, she added two years to her age so she would be old enough to sing with big bands. The youngest of three children, she had two brothers: Richard, who died before her birth, and Paul, a few years older.
Her parents' marriage failed, owing to her father's reported infidelity
. Practicing Roman Catholics, her parents separated. After her second marriage, Day became a Christian Scientist
. She married four times.
She developed an early interest in dance, and in the mid-1930s formed a dance duo with Jerry Doherty that performed locally in Cincinnati. A car accident on October 13, 1937, damaged her legs and curtailed her prospects as a professional dancer.
, Duke Ellington
, Tommy Dorsey
and Glenn Miller
[...]. But the one radio voice I listened to above others belonged to Ella Fitzgerald
. There was a quality to her voice that fascinated me, and I'd sing along with her, trying to catch the subtle ways she shaded her voice, the casual yet clean way she sang the words." Observing her daughter rekindled Alma's interest in show business, and she decided to give Doris singing lessons. She engaged a teacher, Grace Raine. After three lessons, Raine told Alma that Day had a "tremendous potential", which led her to give Day three lessons a week for the price of one. Years later, Day said that Raine had the biggest effect on her singing style and career. During the eight months of singing lessons, Day had her first professional jobs as a vocalist in the WLW radio program, Carlin's Carnival and in a local restaurant, the Charlie Yee's Shanghai Inn. It was during her performances in Carlin's Carnival that Day first caught the attention of Barney Rapp
, who sought a girl vocalist and asked if Day would like to audition for the job. According to Day, Rapp had auditioned two hundred vocalists when she got the job. It was while working for Rapp in 1939 that she adopted the stage name "Day" as an alternative to "Kappelhoff," at his suggestion. Rapp felt her surname was too long for marquees. The first song she had performed for him was "Day After Day", thus the origin of her stage name.
After working with Rapp, Day worked with a number of other band-leaders including Jimmy James
, Bob Crosby
, and Les Brown
. It was while working with Brown that Day scored her first hit recording, "Sentimental Journey"
, released in early 1945. It soon became an anthem of the desire of World War II demobilizing troops to return home. This song is still associated with Day, and she re-recorded it on several occasions, including a version in her 1971 television special. Her recording of "Sentimental Journey" was the first song placed in the Grammy Hall of Fame. At one point in 1945–46, Doris (as vocalist with the Les Brown Band) had five Top Ten Hits on the Billboard Hall of Fame. These included: "My Dreams Are Getting Better All The Time
", "Till The End of Time
", "Come To Baby Do", and "I Got the Sun in the Mornin'".
While singing with the Les Brown band and briefly with Bob Hope
, Day toured extensively across the United States. Her popularity as a radio performer and vocalist, which included a second hit record "My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time
", led directly to a career in films. Already in 1941 Day appeared as a singer with the Les Brown band in a soundie (a Cinemasters production). After her separation from her second husband, George Weidler, in 1948, Day reportedly intended to leave Los Angeles and return to her mother's home in Cincinnati. Her agent Al Levy convinced her to attend a party at the home of composer Jule Styne
. Her performance of the song "Embraceable You
" impressed Styne and his partner, Sammy Cahn
and they recommended her for a role in Romance on the High Seas
, which they were working on for Warner Brothers
. The withdrawal of Betty Hutton
due to pregnancy left the main role to be re-cast, and Day got the part. The film provided her with another hit recording "It's Magic
."
In 1950 U.S. servicemen in Korea voted her their favorite star. She continued to make minor and frequently nostalgic period musicals such as Starlift
, The West Point Story
, On Moonlight Bay
, By the Light of the Silvery Moon
, and Tea For Two
for Warner Brothers. In 1953 Day appeared as Calamity Jane
, giving an extraordinary singing and acting performance, and winning the Academy Award for Best Original Song
for "Secret Love" (her recording of which became her fourth U.S. No. 1 recording).
After filming Young at Heart
(1954) with Frank Sinatra
, Day chose not to renew her contract with Warner Brothers. She elected to work under the advice and management of her third husband, Marty Melcher
, whom she married in Burbank
on April 3, 1951. Day had divorced saxophonist-songwriter George W. Weidler (born September 11, 1917 – died July 26, 1995) on May 31, 1949 in Los Angeles in an uncontested divorce action after marrying him on March 30, 1946 in Mount Vernon, New York
, separating in April 1947 and filing for divorce in June 1948.
Day subsequently took on more dramatic roles, including her 1954 portrayal of singer Ruth Etting in Love Me or Leave Me. Day would later call it, in her autobiography, her best film. She starred in The Pajama Game
in 1957 with John Raitt
, Carol Haney
& Eddie Foy Jr.
She also starred alongside top actors Jack Lemmon
, James Stewart
, Cary Grant
, David Niven
, and Clark Gable
.
In Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much
(1956), Day sang "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" which won an Academy Award for Best Original Song
and became her signature song. According to Jay Livingston
, who wrote the song with Ray Evans
, Day preferred another song used briefly in the film, "We'll Love Again" and skipped the recording for "Que Sera, Sera". At the studio's insistence she relented. After recording the number, she reportedly told a friend of Livingston, "That's the last time you'll ever hear that song". However, the song appeared again in Please Don't Eat the Daisies
(1960), and reprised as a brief duet with Arthur Godfrey
in The Glass Bottom Boat
(1966). "Que Sera, Sera" was also the theme song for her CBS television show (1968–73). The Man Who Knew Too Much was her only film for Hitchcock and, as she admitted in her 1975 autobiography, initially his lack of direction concerned her. She finally asked if anything was wrong and Hitchcock said everything was fine — if she weren't doing what he wanted, he would have said something.
She had one more Top Ten hit with "Everybody Loves a Lover
" in 1958.
, who became a lifelong friend. Day received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actress
. Day and Hudson made two more films together, Lover Come Back
(1961) and Send Me No Flowers
(1964). Day also teamed up with James Garner
, starting with 1963's The Thrill of It All
, followed later that year by Move Over, Darling
. Move Over, Darling was originally entitled Something's Got to Give
, a 1962 comeback vehicle for Marilyn Monroe
and featuring Dean Martin
. Filming suspended following the firing of Monroe and her subsequent death. A year later, filming resumed, renamed and recast with Day as the lead character.
By the late 1960s, the sexual revolution
of the baby boomer
generation had refocused public attitudes about sex. Times changed, but Day's films did not. Critics and comics dubbed Day "the world's oldest virgin", and audiences began to shy away from her films. As a result, she slipped from the list of top box office stars, last appearing in the Top 10 in 1966 with the hit film The Glass Bottom Boat
.
One of the roles she turned down was that of the iconic Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate
, a role that eventually went to Anne Bancroft
. In her published memoirs, Day said that she had rejected the part on moral grounds. Her final feature film, With Six You Get Eggroll
, released in 1968.
came in the UK in 1964 with "Move Over, Darling
", co-written by her son specifically for her. The recording was a notable departure for Day, with its distinctly contemporary-sounding arrangement. In 1967, Day recorded her album, The Love Album, essentially concluding her recording career, though not released until 1994. In September 2011, a new album was released by Sony
in the U.K.; an American release was scheduled for December 2011.
in an hour-long oral decision by Superior Judge Lester E. Olson, ending a 99-day trial that involved 18 consolidated lawsuits and countersuits filed by Day and Rosenthal that involved Rosenthal's handling of her finances after she terminated him in July 1968. The civil trial included 14,451 pages of transcript from 67 witnesses. Represented by attorney Robert Winslow and the law firm of Mitchell, Silberberg & Knupp LLP, courts awarded Day $1 million punitive damages, $5.6 million plus $2 million interest for losses incurred in a sham oil venture; $3.4 million plus $1.2 million interest over a hotel venture; $2.2 million plus $793,800 interest for duplicate or unnecessary fees paid to Rosenthal; more than $2 million to recoup loans to Rosenthal; $3.9 million plus $1 million interest for fraud, and $850,000 attorney fees for Day. Olson also enjoined Rosenthal from prosecuting any more lawsuits against Day or her business operations. (Rosenthal had filed more than 20 suits from 1969 to 1974). Olson, an expert in complex financial marital settlements, read every page of 3,275 individual exhibits and 68 boxes of miscellaneous financial records.
In October 1979, Rosenthal's liability insurer settled with Day for about $6 million payable in 23 annual installments. Rosenthal continued to file an appeal in the 2nd District Court of Appeal. He also filed another half-dozen suits related to the case. Two were libel suits, one against Day and her publishers over comments she made about Rosenthal in her book in which he sought damages. The other suits sought court determinations that insurance companies and individual lawyers failed to defend Rosenthal properly before Olson and in appellate stages. In April 1979, he filed a suit to set aside the $6 million settlement with Day and recover damages from everybody involved in agreeing to the payment supposedly without his permission.
and Ohio
. Rosenthal claimed he had made the investments under a long-term plan, and did not intend to sell them until they appreciated in value. Two of the hotels sold in 1970 for about $7 million, and their estimated worth in 1986 was $50 million. In July 1984, after a hearing panel of the State Bar Court, after 80 days of testimony and consideration of documentary evidence, the panel accused Rosenthal of 13 separate acts of misconduct and urged his disbarment in a 34-page unsigned opinion. The State Bar Court's review department upheld the panel's findings, which asked the justices to order Rosenthal's disbarment. He continued representing clients in federal courts until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against him on March 21, 1988. Disbarment by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals followed on August 19, 1988.
The Supreme Court of California, in affirming the disbarment, held that Rosenthal engaged in transactions involving undisclosed conflicts of interest, took positions adverse to his former clients, overstated expenses, double-billed for legal fees, failed to return client files, failed to provide access to records, failed to give adequate legal advice, failed to provide clients with an opportunity to obtain independent counsel, filed fraudulent claims, gave false testimony, engaged in conduct designed to harass his clients, delayed court proceedings, obstructed justice and abused legal process. Terry Melcher
stated that it was only Martin Melcher's premature death that saved Day from financial ruin. It remains unresolved whether Martin Melcher was himself duped. Day stated publicly that she believed her husband innocent of any deliberate wrongdoing, stating that he "simply trusted the wrong person". According to Day's autobiography, as told to A. E. Hotchner
, the usually athletic and healthy Martin Melcher had an enlarged heart
. Most of the interviews on the subject given to Hotchner (and included in Day's autobiography) paint an unflattering portrait of Melcher. Author David Kaufman asserts that one of Day's costars, actor Louis Jourdan, maintained that Day herself disliked her husband, but Day's public statements regarding Melcher appear to contradict that assertion.
.
Day hated the idea of doing television, but felt obligated. "There was a contract. I didn't know about it. I never wanted to do TV, but I gave it 100 percent anyway. That's the only way I know how to do it." The first episode of The Doris Day Show aired on September 24, 1968, and, from 1968 to 1973, employed "Que Sera, Sera" as its theme song. Day grudgingly persevered (she needed the work to help pay off her debts), but only after CBS
ceded creative control to her and her son.
The successful show enjoyed a five-year run, and functioned as a curtain-raiser for The Carol Burnett Show
, remembered today for its abrupt season-to-season changes in casting and premise. It was not widely syndicated as many of its contemporaries, and re-broadcast very little outside the United States and the United Kingdom. By the end of its run in 1973, public tastes had changed and her firmly established persona regarded as passé. She largely retired from acting after The Doris Day Show, but did complete two television specials, The Doris Mary Anne Kappelhoff Special (1971) and Doris Day to Day (1975). She appeared in a John Denver
TV special in 1974.
, and a theme song for the British TV show "Coupling". Mari Wilson performed the song "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" for the title sequence.
, reported in the Los Angeles Times
.
While Day turned down a tribute offer from the American Film Institute
, she received and accepted the Golden Globe's Cecil B. DeMille
Award for lifetime achievement in 1989. In 2004, Day received the Presidential Medal of Freedom
but declined to attend the ceremony because of her fear of flying. Day did not accept an invitation to be a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors for the same reason.
Both columnist Liz Smith
and film critic Rex Reed
have mounted vigorous campaigns to gather support for an honorary Academy Award for Day to herald her film career and her status as the top female box-office star of all time. Honored in absentia, Day also received a Grammy for Lifetime Achievement in Music in February 2008.
in the United Kingdom on September 5, 2011, her first new album in nearly two decades. The album is a compilation of previously unreleased recordings produced by Day's son, Terry Melcher, prior to his death in 2004. Tracks include the 1970s Joe Cocker
hit "You Are So Beautiful
", the Beach Boys
' "Disney Girls
" and jazz standards such as "My Buddy
", which Day originally sang in her 1951 film I'll See You in My Dreams. Day dedicates this song to her son.
She has become the oldest artist to score a UK Top 10 with an album featuring new material, according to the Official Charts Company, entering at Number 9. British singer Vera Lynn
reached the top of the chart in August 2009 at the age of 92, but that was with the greatest hits album We'll Meet Again – The Very Best of Vera Lynn.
. The book detailed her first three marriages:
While promoting the book, Day caused a stir by rejecting the 'girl next door' and 'virgin' labels so often attached to her. As she remarked in her book, "The succession of cheerful, period musicals I made, plus Oscar Levant
's highly publicized comment about my virginity ("I knew Doris Day before she became a virgin.") contributed to what has been called my 'image', which is a word that baffles me. There never was any intent on my part either in my acting or in my private life to create any such thing as an image." Day said she believed people should live together prior to marriage, something that she would do if the opportunity arose. At the conclusion of this book tour, Day seemed content to focus on her charity and pet work and her business interests. (In 1985, she became part-owner with her son of the Cypress Inn in Carmel, California.)
In May 1983, she became a grandmother. In 1985 she briefly hosted her own talk show, Doris Day's Best Friends on CBN
. The network canceled the show after 26 episodes, despite the worldwide publicity her show received. Terry Melcher
first made a brief attempt to become a surf music
singing star, then became a staff producer for Columbia Records
in the 1960s, and was famous for producing some latter-day recordings by The Beach Boys
and The Byrds
. In November 2004, he died from complications of melanoma
, aged 62.
Day is a committed Republican
.
, Angie Dickinson
, and Jayne Meadows
. Day's friend, Cleveland Amory
, wrote about these events in Man Kind? Our Incredible War on Wildlife (1974).
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Day promoted the annual Spay Day USA
, and on a number of occasions, actively lobbied the United States Congress in support of legislation designed to safeguard animal rights
. She also founded The Doris Day Animal League
, which merged into The Humane Society of the United States in 2006. Staff members of the Doris Day League took positions within The HSUS, and Day recorded public service announcements for the organization. The HSUS now manages Spay Day USA, the one-day spay/neuter event she originated.
A facility to help abused and neglected horses opened in 2011 and bears her name: the Doris Day Horse Rescue and Adoption Center, located in Murchison, Texas, on the grounds of an animal sanctuary started by her late friend, author Cleveland Amory. Day contributed $250,000 toward the founding of the center.
.
In 2011, Day released My Heart, her first album of new material since 1967's The Love Album. With its debut at No. 9 on the U.K. Billboard charts, Day made history, becoming the oldest female artist to ever have had a top ten album on the U.K. Billboard charts.
In October 2011, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association
announced that Day would be the recipient of the 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award.
Sentimental Journey (song)
"Sentimental Journey" is a popular song, published in 1944. The music was written by Les Brown and Ben Homer, and the lyrics were written by Arthur Green.-History:...
", in 1945. After leaving the Les Brown & His Band of Renown
Les Brown (bandleader)
Les Brown, Sr. and the Band of Renown are a big band that began in the late 1930s, initially as the group Les Brown and His Blue Devils that Brown led while a student at Duke University. He was the first president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences...
to try a solo career, she started her long-lasting partnership with Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
, which would remain her only recording label. The contract lasted from 1947 to 1967, and included more than 650 recordings, making Day one of the most popular singers of the 20th century. In 1948, after being persuaded by Sammy Cahn
Sammy Cahn
Sammy Cahn was an American lyricist, songwriter and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premiered by recording companies in the Greater Los Angeles Area...
, Jule Styne
Jule Styne
Jule Styne was a British-born American songwriter especially famous for a series of Broadway musicals, which included several very well known and frequently revived shows.-Early life:...
and her agent at the time, Al Levy, she auditioned for Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz was an Academy award winning Hungarian-American film director. He had early creditsas Mihály Kertész and Michael Kertész...
, which led to the lead in Romance on the High Seas
Romance on the High Seas
Romance on the High Seas is a 1948 Technicolor musical romantic comedy film starring Jack Carson, Janis Paige, Don DeFore, and Doris Day in her film debut....
, her first film with close friend, Jack Carson.
With a legendary Hollywood "girl-next-door" image and capable of delivering comedy, romance as well as heavy drama, she appeared in 39 films, released 29 albums and spent 460 weeks in the Top 40 charts. She received an Academy Award nomination for her performance in Pillow Talk, won a Golden Globe, Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award is awarded by the Recording Academy to "performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording."...
, Presidential Medal of Freedom
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with thecomparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States...
, Legend Award from the Society of Singers
Society of Singers
Society of Singers, known appropriately as "SOS" is the only nonprofit 5013 charitable organization devoted exclusively to helping professional singers.-Foundation:...
, and, in 1989, received the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement in motion pictures.
Day's strong commitment to animal rights began in 1971, when she co-founded the "Actors and Others for Animals". In the late 70's, she started her own non-profit organization, the Doris Day Animal Foundation and, later, the Doris Day Animal League
Doris Day Animal League
The Doris Day Animal League is an animal advocacy group based in Washington D.C. It established the annual observance Spay Day USA in 1994, which the group uses to bring attention to the pet overpopulation problem in the United States. On September 1, 2006, the organization merged with the Humane...
. Establishing the annual observance Spay Day USA
Spay Day USA
Spay Day USA is an annual observance on the last Tuesday of February that was created by the Doris Day Animal League in 1994 to bring attention to the nationwide pet overpopulation problem, and to encourage animal population control by neutering pets. In 2002, the event's goal was to spay and...
in 1994, The Doris Day Animal League now partners with the Humane Society of the United States
Humane Society of the United States
The Humane Society of the United States , based in Washington, D.C., is the largest animal advocacy organization in the world. In 2009, HSUS reported assets of over US$160 million....
and continues to be a leading advocacy organization. In 2004, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with thecomparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States...
from President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
in recognition of her distinguished service to the country. President Bush recognized Miss Day's work on behalf of animals by saying, "It was a good day for our fellow creatures when she gave her good heart to the cause of animal welfare."
Day was ranked the biggest box-office star for four years (1960; 1962–1964) and ranked in the top ten for ten years (1951–1952; 1959–1966). She became the top-ranking female box-office star of all time and ranked sixth among the top ten box-office performers (male and female), as of 2009.
Early life
Doris Mary Ann Von Kappelhoff was born in the Cincinnati neighborhood of EvanstonEvanston, Ohio
Evanston, Ohio is a neighborhood in the city of Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. A mostly African American neighborhood since the 1960s, it's known as the birthplace of actress Doris Day, and is bordered by the neighborhoods of East Walnut Hills, Hyde Park, North Avondale, and...
to Alma Sophia Welz (a housewife) and William Kappelhoff (a music teacher and choir master). All of her grandparents were German immigrants. In Doris Day: Her Own Story she states, "I was named by my mother in honor of her favorite actress, Doris Kenyon
Doris Kenyon
Doris Kenyon was a popular actress of motion pictures and television.-Youth:She grew up in Syracuse, New York, where her family had a home at 1805 Harrison Street. Her father, Dr. James B. Kenyon, was a Methodist Episcopal Church minister at University Church. Kenyon studied at Packer College...
, a silent screen
Silent Movie
Silent Movie is a 1976 satirical comedy film co-written, directed by, and starring Mel Brooks, and released by 20th Century Fox on June 17, 1976...
star of that year 1924." Her biographer, Pianist Jim Martinez, who organized her 87th birthday party in her home town of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
Carmel-by-the-Sea, often called simply Carmel, is a small city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated in 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, the town is known for its natural scenery and rich artistic history...
, at Day's hotel, the Cypress Inn, states that according to Doris Day's current assistant, when Day was a teenager, she added two years to her age so she would be old enough to sing with big bands. The youngest of three children, she had two brothers: Richard, who died before her birth, and Paul, a few years older.
Her parents' marriage failed, owing to her father's reported infidelity
Infidelity
In many intimate relationships in many cultures there is usually an express or implied expectation of exclusivity, especially in sexual matters. Infidelity most commonly refers to a breach of the expectation of sexual exclusivity.Infidelity can occur in relation to physical intimacy and/or...
. Practicing Roman Catholics, her parents separated. After her second marriage, Day became a Christian Scientist
Christian Science
Christian Science is a system of thought and practice derived from the writings of Mary Baker Eddy and the Bible. It is practiced by members of The First Church of Christ, Scientist as well as some others who are nonmembers. Its central texts are the Bible and the Christian Science textbook,...
. She married four times.
She developed an early interest in dance, and in the mid-1930s formed a dance duo with Jerry Doherty that performed locally in Cincinnati. A car accident on October 13, 1937, damaged her legs and curtailed her prospects as a professional dancer.
Early career
While recovering, Day started to sing along with the radio and discovered a talent that she didn't know she had. Day said: "During this long, boring period, I used to while away a lot of time listening to the radio, sometimes singing along with the likes of Benny GoodmanBenny Goodman
Benjamin David “Benny” Goodman was an American jazz and swing musician, clarinetist and bandleader; widely known as the "King of Swing".In the mid-1930s, Benny Goodman led one of the most popular musical groups in America...
, Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, Tommy Dorsey
Tommy Dorsey
Thomas Francis "Tommy" Dorsey, Jr. was an American jazz trombonist, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader of the Big Band era. He was known as "The Sentimental Gentleman of Swing", due to his smooth-toned trombone playing. He was the younger brother of bandleader Jimmy Dorsey...
and Glenn Miller
Glenn Miller
Alton Glenn Miller was an American jazz musician , arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was one of the best-selling recording artists from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best known "Big Bands"...
[...]. But the one radio voice I listened to above others belonged to Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Jane Fitzgerald , also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist...
. There was a quality to her voice that fascinated me, and I'd sing along with her, trying to catch the subtle ways she shaded her voice, the casual yet clean way she sang the words." Observing her daughter rekindled Alma's interest in show business, and she decided to give Doris singing lessons. She engaged a teacher, Grace Raine. After three lessons, Raine told Alma that Day had a "tremendous potential", which led her to give Day three lessons a week for the price of one. Years later, Day said that Raine had the biggest effect on her singing style and career. During the eight months of singing lessons, Day had her first professional jobs as a vocalist in the WLW radio program, Carlin's Carnival and in a local restaurant, the Charlie Yee's Shanghai Inn. It was during her performances in Carlin's Carnival that Day first caught the attention of Barney Rapp
Barney Rapp
Barney Rapp was an American orchestra leader and jazz musician from 1920's to the 1940s.-Career:Born Barney Rappaport in New Haven, Connecticut, Rapp first organized a jazz orchestra in the 1920s that played dancing music called "Barney Rapp and his New Englanders". He later moved to Ohio,...
, who sought a girl vocalist and asked if Day would like to audition for the job. According to Day, Rapp had auditioned two hundred vocalists when she got the job. It was while working for Rapp in 1939 that she adopted the stage name "Day" as an alternative to "Kappelhoff," at his suggestion. Rapp felt her surname was too long for marquees. The first song she had performed for him was "Day After Day", thus the origin of her stage name.
After working with Rapp, Day worked with a number of other band-leaders including Jimmy James
Jimmy James
- People :* Jimmy James , British comedian* Jimmy James , Australian tracker* Jimmy James, the nickname of Bertram James , RAF officer who survived "The Great Escape"...
, Bob Crosby
Bob Crosby
George Robert "Bob" Crosby was an American dixieland bandleader and vocalist, best known for his group the Bob-Cats.-Family:...
, and Les Brown
Les Brown (bandleader)
Les Brown, Sr. and the Band of Renown are a big band that began in the late 1930s, initially as the group Les Brown and His Blue Devils that Brown led while a student at Duke University. He was the first president of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences...
. It was while working with Brown that Day scored her first hit recording, "Sentimental Journey"
Sentimental Journey (song)
"Sentimental Journey" is a popular song, published in 1944. The music was written by Les Brown and Ben Homer, and the lyrics were written by Arthur Green.-History:...
, released in early 1945. It soon became an anthem of the desire of World War II demobilizing troops to return home. This song is still associated with Day, and she re-recorded it on several occasions, including a version in her 1971 television special. Her recording of "Sentimental Journey" was the first song placed in the Grammy Hall of Fame. At one point in 1945–46, Doris (as vocalist with the Les Brown Band) had five Top Ten Hits on the Billboard Hall of Fame. These included: "My Dreams Are Getting Better All The Time
My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time
"My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time" is a popular song.The music was written by Vic Mizzy and the lyrics by Manny Curtis. The song was published in 1945....
", "Till The End of Time
Till the End of Time (Buddy Kaye and Ted Mossman song)
"Till the End of Time" is a popular song written by lyricist Buddy Kaye and composer Ted Mossman and published in 1945. The melody is based on Frédéric Chopin's Polonaise in A flat major, Op. 53, the "Polonaise héroique"....
", "Come To Baby Do", and "I Got the Sun in the Mornin'".
Film career
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
, Day toured extensively across the United States. Her popularity as a radio performer and vocalist, which included a second hit record "My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time
My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time
"My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time" is a popular song.The music was written by Vic Mizzy and the lyrics by Manny Curtis. The song was published in 1945....
", led directly to a career in films. Already in 1941 Day appeared as a singer with the Les Brown band in a soundie (a Cinemasters production). After her separation from her second husband, George Weidler, in 1948, Day reportedly intended to leave Los Angeles and return to her mother's home in Cincinnati. Her agent Al Levy convinced her to attend a party at the home of composer Jule Styne
Jule Styne
Jule Styne was a British-born American songwriter especially famous for a series of Broadway musicals, which included several very well known and frequently revived shows.-Early life:...
. Her performance of the song "Embraceable You
Embraceable You
"Embraceable You" is a popular song, with music by George Gershwin and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. The song was originally written in 1928 for an unpublished operetta named East is West. It was eventually published in 1930 and included in the Broadway musical Girl Crazy. where it was performed by...
" impressed Styne and his partner, Sammy Cahn
Sammy Cahn
Sammy Cahn was an American lyricist, songwriter and musician. He is best known for his romantic lyrics to films and Broadway songs, as well as stand-alone songs premiered by recording companies in the Greater Los Angeles Area...
and they recommended her for a role in Romance on the High Seas
Romance on the High Seas
Romance on the High Seas is a 1948 Technicolor musical romantic comedy film starring Jack Carson, Janis Paige, Don DeFore, and Doris Day in her film debut....
, which they were working on for Warner Brothers
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
. The withdrawal of Betty Hutton
Betty Hutton
Betty Hutton was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedienne and singer.-Early life:Hutton was born Elizabeth June Thornburg, daughter of a railroad foreman, Percy E. Thornburg and his wife, the former Mabel Lum . While she was very young, her father abandoned the family for...
due to pregnancy left the main role to be re-cast, and Day got the part. The film provided her with another hit recording "It's Magic
It's Magic
"It's Magic" is a popular song.The music was written by Jule Styne, the lyrics by Sammy Cahn. The song was introduced by Doris Day in her film debut, Romance on the High Seas, and was published in 1947....
."
In 1950 U.S. servicemen in Korea voted her their favorite star. She continued to make minor and frequently nostalgic period musicals such as Starlift
Starlift
Starlift is an American musical film released by Warner Brothers in 1951, starring Janice Rule, Dick Wesson, Ron Hagerthy and Ruth Roman. The film was directed by Roy Del Ruth and written by Karl Lamb and John D. Klorer...
, The West Point Story
The West Point Story (film)
The West Point Story is a 1950 musical comedy film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring James Cagney, Virginia Mayo and Doris Day.-Plot:...
, On Moonlight Bay
On Moonlight Bay (film)
On Moonlight Bay is a 1951 musical film directed by Roy Del Ruth which tells the story of the Winfield family at the turn of the century. The movie is based loosely on the Penrod stories by Booth Tarkington. There was a 1953 sequel, By the Light of the Silvery Moon.-Plot:On Moonlight Bay centers on...
, By the Light of the Silvery Moon
By the Light of the Silvery Moon (film)
By the Light of the Silvery Moon is a 1953 musical film. It is the sequel to On Moonlight Bay. Like its predecessor, the movie is based loosely on the Penrod stories by Booth Tarkington.-Plot:...
, and Tea For Two
Tea for Two (film)
Tea for Two is a 1950 American musical film directed by David Butler. The screenplay by Harry Clork and William Jacobs was inspired by the 1925 stage musical No, No Nanette, although the plot was changed considerably from the original book by Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel, and the score by Harbach,...
for Warner Brothers. In 1953 Day appeared as Calamity Jane
Calamity Jane (1953 film)
Calamity Jane is a "Wild West"-themed film musical released in 1953. It is loosely based on the life of Wild West heroine Calamity Jane and explores an alleged romance between Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok in the American Old West. The film starred Doris Day as the title character and Howard...
, giving an extraordinary singing and acting performance, and winning the Academy Award for Best Original Song
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
for "Secret Love" (her recording of which became her fourth U.S. No. 1 recording).
After filming Young at Heart
Young at Heart (1954 film)
Young at Heart is a 1954 film, directed by Gordon Douglas. It was a remake of the 1938 film Four Daughters, and it starred Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, Gig Young, Ethel Barrymore, Alan Hale, Jr and Dorothy Malone and was the first of five films that Gordon Douglas directed with Frank...
(1954) with Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Day chose not to renew her contract with Warner Brothers. She elected to work under the advice and management of her third husband, Marty Melcher
Martin Melcher
Martin Melcher was an American film producer. With the exception of one movie, all of his projects were starring vehicles for his wife, actress Doris Day....
, whom she married in Burbank
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
on April 3, 1951. Day had divorced saxophonist-songwriter George W. Weidler (born September 11, 1917 – died July 26, 1995) on May 31, 1949 in Los Angeles in an uncontested divorce action after marrying him on March 30, 1946 in Mount Vernon, New York
Mount Vernon, New York
Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. It lies on the border of the New York City borough of The Bronx.-Overview:...
, separating in April 1947 and filing for divorce in June 1948.
The Pajama Game (film)
The article is about the 1957 film. For other uses see The Pajama Game .The Pajama Game is a 1957 musical film based on the stage musical of the same name...
in 1957 with John Raitt
John Raitt
John Emmett Raitt was an American actor and singer best known for his performances in musical theater.-Early years:...
, Carol Haney
Carol Haney
Carol Haney was an American dancer and actress. After assisting Gene Kelly in choreographing films, Haney won a Tony Award for her role in The Pajama Game...
& Eddie Foy Jr.
Eddie Foy, Jr.
Eddie Foy Jr. was an American character actor.Born Edwin Fitzgerald Jr. in New Rochelle, New York, the son of vaudevillian Eddie Foy and his third wife, Madeline Morando, he was one of the "Seven Little Foys" immortalized in the 1955 film of the same name...
She also starred alongside top actors Jack Lemmon
Jack Lemmon
John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III was an American actor and musician. He starred in more than 60 films including Some Like It Hot, The Apartment, Mister Roberts , Days of Wine and Roses, The Great Race, Irma la Douce, The Odd Couple, Save the Tiger John Uhler "Jack" Lemmon III (February 8, 1925June...
, James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
, Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
, David Niven
David Niven
James David Graham Niven , known as David Niven, was a British actor and novelist, best known for his roles as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days and Sir Charles Lytton, a.k.a. "the Phantom", in The Pink Panther...
, and Clark Gable
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable , known as Clark Gable, was an American film actor most famous for his role as Rhett Butler in the 1939 Civil War epic film Gone with the Wind, in which he starred with Vivien Leigh...
.
In Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956 film)
The Man Who Knew Too Much is a suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring James Stewart and Doris Day. The film is a remake in widescreen VistaVision and Technicolor of Hitchcock's 1934 film of the same name....
(1956), Day sang "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" which won an Academy Award for Best Original Song
Academy Award for Best Original Song
The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . It is presented to the songwriters who have composed the best original song written specifically for a film...
and became her signature song. According to Jay Livingston
Jay Livingston
Jay Livingston was an American composer and singer best known as half of a songwriting duo with Ray Evans that specialized in songs composed for films. Livingston wrote the music and Evans the lyrics....
, who wrote the song with Ray Evans
Ray Evans
Raymond Bernard Evans was an American songwriter. He was a partner in a composing and songwriting duo with Jay Livingston, known for the songs they composed for films...
, Day preferred another song used briefly in the film, "We'll Love Again" and skipped the recording for "Que Sera, Sera". At the studio's insistence she relented. After recording the number, she reportedly told a friend of Livingston, "That's the last time you'll ever hear that song". However, the song appeared again in Please Don't Eat the Daisies
Please Don't Eat the Daisies (film)
Please Don't Eat the Daisies is a comedy film starring Doris Day and David Niven, made by Euterpe Inc., and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer...
(1960), and reprised as a brief duet with Arthur Godfrey
Arthur Godfrey
Arthur Morton Godfrey was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer who was sometimes introduced by his nickname, The Old Redhead...
in The Glass Bottom Boat
The Glass Bottom Boat
The Glass Bottom Boat is an 1966 American romantic comedy movie directed by Frank Tashlin; it is also considered by some people to be musical entertainment. This movie features Doris Day and Rod Taylor as the main entertainers, with assistance from actors Arthur Godfrey and Paul Lynde...
(1966). "Que Sera, Sera" was also the theme song for her CBS television show (1968–73). The Man Who Knew Too Much was her only film for Hitchcock and, as she admitted in her 1975 autobiography, initially his lack of direction concerned her. She finally asked if anything was wrong and Hitchcock said everything was fine — if she weren't doing what he wanted, he would have said something.
She had one more Top Ten hit with "Everybody Loves a Lover
Everybody Loves a Lover
"Everybody Loves a Lover" is a popular song.The writers were both people who were best known for collaborations with other partners. The music was written by Robert Allen and the lyrics by Richard Adler .The recording by Doris Day was released by Columbia Records as catalog...
" in 1958.
Box office success
In 1959, Day entered her most successful phase as a film actress with a series of romantic comedies, starting with Pillow Talk, co-starring Rock HudsonRock Hudson
Roy Harold Scherer, Jr., later Roy Harold Fitzgerald , known professionally as Rock Hudson, was an American film and television actor, recognized as a romantic leading man during the 1950s and 1960s, most notably in several romantic comedies with Doris Day.Hudson was voted "Star of the Year",...
, who became a lifelong friend. Day received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actress
Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
. Day and Hudson made two more films together, Lover Come Back
Lover Come Back
Lover Come Back is a 1961 Eastmancolor romantic comedy released by Universal Pictures. The film stars Doris Day and Rock Hudson in their second film together. The supporting cast includes Tony Randall, Edie Adams, Ann B. Davis, and Donna Douglas....
(1961) and Send Me No Flowers
Send Me No Flowers
Send Me No Flowers: a 1964 American comedy film, directed by Norman Jewison and starring Rock Hudson, Doris Day, and Tony Randall. After Pillow Talk and Lover Come Back, it is the third and final film in which Hudson, Day and Randall starred together.The screenplay by Julius J...
(1964). Day also teamed up with James Garner
James Garner
James Garner is an American film and television actor, one of the first Hollywood actors to excel in both media. He has starred in several television series spanning a career of more than five decades...
, starting with 1963's The Thrill of It All
The Thrill of It All
The Thrill of It All is a romantic comedy film directed by Norman Jewison starring Doris Day, James Garner, Arlene Francis, and ZaSu Pitts. The screenplay was written by Larry Gelbart and Carl Reiner...
, followed later that year by Move Over, Darling
Move Over, Darling
Move Over, Darling is a 1963 remake of the 1940 screwball comedy My Favorite Wife that starred Irene Dunne, Cary Grant and Gail Patrick. The remake stars Doris Day, James Garner, and Polly Bergen.-Plot:...
. Move Over, Darling was originally entitled Something's Got to Give
Something's Got to Give
Something's Got to Give is an unfinished 1962 American feature film, directed by George Cukor and starring Marilyn Monroe, Dean Martin and Cyd Charisse...
, a 1962 comeback vehicle for Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
and featuring Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
. Filming suspended following the firing of Monroe and her subsequent death. A year later, filming resumed, renamed and recast with Day as the lead character.
By the late 1960s, the sexual revolution
Sexual revolution
The sexual revolution was a social movement that challenged traditional codes of behavior related to sexuality and interpersonal relationships throughout the Western world from the 1960s into the 1980s...
of the baby boomer
Baby boomer
A baby boomer is a person who was born during the demographic Post-World War II baby boom and who grew up during the period between 1946 and 1964. The term "baby boomer" is sometimes used in a cultural context. Therefore, it is impossible to achieve broad consensus of a precise definition, even...
generation had refocused public attitudes about sex. Times changed, but Day's films did not. Critics and comics dubbed Day "the world's oldest virgin", and audiences began to shy away from her films. As a result, she slipped from the list of top box office stars, last appearing in the Top 10 in 1966 with the hit film The Glass Bottom Boat
The Glass Bottom Boat
The Glass Bottom Boat is an 1966 American romantic comedy movie directed by Frank Tashlin; it is also considered by some people to be musical entertainment. This movie features Doris Day and Rod Taylor as the main entertainers, with assistance from actors Arthur Godfrey and Paul Lynde...
.
One of the roles she turned down was that of the iconic Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate
The Graduate
The Graduate is a 1967 American comedy-drama motion picture directed by Mike Nichols. It is based on the 1963 novel The Graduate by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from Williams College. The screenplay was by Buck Henry, who makes a cameo appearance as a hotel clerk, and Calder...
, a role that eventually went to Anne Bancroft
Anne Bancroft
Anne Bancroft was an American actress associated with the Method acting school, which she had studied under Lee Strasberg....
. In her published memoirs, Day said that she had rejected the part on moral grounds. Her final feature film, With Six You Get Eggroll
With Six You Get Eggroll
With Six You Get Eggroll is a family comedy, starring Doris Day and Brian Keith. Other cast members include George Carlin, Jamie Farr, William Christopher, Barbara Hershey, Alice Ghostley and Pat Carroll....
, released in 1968.
Recording success
Day's last major hit singleHit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
came in the UK in 1964 with "Move Over, Darling
Move Over, Darling
Move Over, Darling is a 1963 remake of the 1940 screwball comedy My Favorite Wife that starred Irene Dunne, Cary Grant and Gail Patrick. The remake stars Doris Day, James Garner, and Polly Bergen.-Plot:...
", co-written by her son specifically for her. The recording was a notable departure for Day, with its distinctly contemporary-sounding arrangement. In 1967, Day recorded her album, The Love Album, essentially concluding her recording career, though not released until 1994. In September 2011, a new album was released by Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
in the U.K.; an American release was scheduled for December 2011.
1960s
When third husband Marty Melcher died April 20, 1968, a shocked Day discovered that her husband of 17 years and his business partner Jerome Bernard Rosenthal had squandered her earnings, leaving her deeply in debt. Rosenthal had been her attorney since the late 1940s, and he represented her on May 31, 1949, in her uncontested divorce action against her second husband, songwriter George W. Weidler. In February 1969, Day filed suit against Rosenthal and won the then-largest civil judgment (over $20 million) until that time in the state of California.1970s
On September 18, 1974, courts awarded Day $22,835,646 for fraud and malpracticeMalpractice
In law, malpractice is a type of negligence in, which the professional under a duty to act, fails to follow generally accepted professional standards, and that breach of duty is the proximate cause of injury to a plaintiff who suffers harm...
in an hour-long oral decision by Superior Judge Lester E. Olson, ending a 99-day trial that involved 18 consolidated lawsuits and countersuits filed by Day and Rosenthal that involved Rosenthal's handling of her finances after she terminated him in July 1968. The civil trial included 14,451 pages of transcript from 67 witnesses. Represented by attorney Robert Winslow and the law firm of Mitchell, Silberberg & Knupp LLP, courts awarded Day $1 million punitive damages, $5.6 million plus $2 million interest for losses incurred in a sham oil venture; $3.4 million plus $1.2 million interest over a hotel venture; $2.2 million plus $793,800 interest for duplicate or unnecessary fees paid to Rosenthal; more than $2 million to recoup loans to Rosenthal; $3.9 million plus $1 million interest for fraud, and $850,000 attorney fees for Day. Olson also enjoined Rosenthal from prosecuting any more lawsuits against Day or her business operations. (Rosenthal had filed more than 20 suits from 1969 to 1974). Olson, an expert in complex financial marital settlements, read every page of 3,275 individual exhibits and 68 boxes of miscellaneous financial records.
In October 1979, Rosenthal's liability insurer settled with Day for about $6 million payable in 23 annual installments. Rosenthal continued to file an appeal in the 2nd District Court of Appeal. He also filed another half-dozen suits related to the case. Two were libel suits, one against Day and her publishers over comments she made about Rosenthal in her book in which he sought damages. The other suits sought court determinations that insurance companies and individual lawyers failed to defend Rosenthal properly before Olson and in appellate stages. In April 1979, he filed a suit to set aside the $6 million settlement with Day and recover damages from everybody involved in agreeing to the payment supposedly without his permission.
1980s
In October 1985, the state Supreme Court rejected Rosenthal's appeal of the multimillion-dollar judgment against him for legal malpractice, and upheld conclusions of a trial court and a Court of Appeal that Rosenthal acted improperly. In April 1986, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review the lower court's judgment. In June 1987, Rosenthal filed a $30 million lawsuit against lawyers he claimed cheated him out of millions of dollars in real estate investments. He also named Day as a co-defendant, describing her as an "unwilling, involuntary plaintiff whose consent cannot be obtained". Rosenthal claimed that millions of dollars Day lost were in real estate sold after Melcher died in 1968, in which Rosenthal asserted that the attorneys gave Day bad advice, telling her to sell, at a loss, three hotels, in Palo Alto, Dallas and Atlanta and some oil leases in KentuckyKentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
and Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. Rosenthal claimed he had made the investments under a long-term plan, and did not intend to sell them until they appreciated in value. Two of the hotels sold in 1970 for about $7 million, and their estimated worth in 1986 was $50 million. In July 1984, after a hearing panel of the State Bar Court, after 80 days of testimony and consideration of documentary evidence, the panel accused Rosenthal of 13 separate acts of misconduct and urged his disbarment in a 34-page unsigned opinion. The State Bar Court's review department upheld the panel's findings, which asked the justices to order Rosenthal's disbarment. He continued representing clients in federal courts until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against him on March 21, 1988. Disbarment by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals followed on August 19, 1988.
The Supreme Court of California, in affirming the disbarment, held that Rosenthal engaged in transactions involving undisclosed conflicts of interest, took positions adverse to his former clients, overstated expenses, double-billed for legal fees, failed to return client files, failed to provide access to records, failed to give adequate legal advice, failed to provide clients with an opportunity to obtain independent counsel, filed fraudulent claims, gave false testimony, engaged in conduct designed to harass his clients, delayed court proceedings, obstructed justice and abused legal process. Terry Melcher
Terry Melcher
Terrence P. Melcher was an American musician and record producer, who was instrumental in shaping the sound of American West Coast rock music. His greatest contribution to the culture of the time was producing The Byrds' innovative hits "Mr Tambourine Man" and "Turn! Turn! Turn!" and his...
stated that it was only Martin Melcher's premature death that saved Day from financial ruin. It remains unresolved whether Martin Melcher was himself duped. Day stated publicly that she believed her husband innocent of any deliberate wrongdoing, stating that he "simply trusted the wrong person". According to Day's autobiography, as told to A. E. Hotchner
A. E. Hotchner
Aaron Edward Hotchner, is an American editor, novelist, playwright and biographer.-Biography:He was born in St. Louis and attended Soldan High School...
, the usually athletic and healthy Martin Melcher had an enlarged heart
Cardiomegaly
Cardiomegaly is a medical condition wherein the heart is enlarged. It is generally categorized in the following manner:* Cardiomegaly due to dilation* Cardiomegaly due to ventricular hypertrophy** Left ventricular hypertrophy...
. Most of the interviews on the subject given to Hotchner (and included in Day's autobiography) paint an unflattering portrait of Melcher. Author David Kaufman asserts that one of Day's costars, actor Louis Jourdan, maintained that Day herself disliked her husband, but Day's public statements regarding Melcher appear to contradict that assertion.
The Doris Day Show
Upon her husband's death on April 20, 1968, Day learned that he had committed her to a television series, which became The Doris Day ShowThe Doris Day Show
The Doris Day Show is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS network from September 1968 until September 1973. In addition to showcasing Doris Day, the show is remembered for its many abrupt format changes over the course of its five-year run...
.
"It was awful", Day told OK! Magazine in 1996. "I was really, really not very well when Marty [Melcher] passed away, and the thought of going into TV was overpowering. But he'd signed me up for a series. And then my son Terry [Melcher] took me walking in Beverly Hills and explained that it wasn't nearly the end of it. I had also been signed up for a bunch of TV specials, all without anyone ever asking me."
Day hated the idea of doing television, but felt obligated. "There was a contract. I didn't know about it. I never wanted to do TV, but I gave it 100 percent anyway. That's the only way I know how to do it." The first episode of The Doris Day Show aired on September 24, 1968, and, from 1968 to 1973, employed "Que Sera, Sera" as its theme song. Day grudgingly persevered (she needed the work to help pay off her debts), but only after CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
ceded creative control to her and her son.
The successful show enjoyed a five-year run, and functioned as a curtain-raiser for The Carol Burnett Show
The Carol Burnett Show
The Carol Burnett Show is a variety / sketch comedy television show starring Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, Lyle Waggoner, and Tim Conway. It originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 278 episodes and originated from CBS Television City's Studio 33...
, remembered today for its abrupt season-to-season changes in casting and premise. It was not widely syndicated as many of its contemporaries, and re-broadcast very little outside the United States and the United Kingdom. By the end of its run in 1973, public tastes had changed and her firmly established persona regarded as passé. She largely retired from acting after The Doris Day Show, but did complete two television specials, The Doris Mary Anne Kappelhoff Special (1971) and Doris Day to Day (1975). She appeared in a John Denver
John Denver
Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. , known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer/songwriter, activist, and humanitarian. After growing up in numerous locations with his military family, Denver began his music career in folk music groups in the late 1960s. His greatest commercial success...
TV special in 1974.
1990s and renewal of interest
A Greatest Hits CD released in 1994 became another entry into the British charts, The song "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" included in the soundtrack of the Australian film Strictly BallroomStrictly Ballroom
Strictly Ballroom is a 1992 Australian romantic comedy film directed and co-written by Baz Luhrmann and produced by M&A Productions. The film is the first installment in The Red Curtain Trilogy, Luhrmann's trilogy of theatre-motif-related films; the follow-ups were Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!...
, and a theme song for the British TV show "Coupling". Mari Wilson performed the song "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" for the title sequence.
2000s
In 2006, Day recorded a commentary for the DVD release of the fifth (and final) season of her TV show. Recently Day has participated in telephone interviews with a radio station that celebrates her birthday with an annual Doris Day music marathon. In July 2008 she appeared on the Southern California radio show of longtime friend, newscaster George PutnamGeorge Putnam
George Putnam may refer to:*George Putnam , Los Angeles, California, television newsman*George D. Putnam , screenwriter*George F. Putnam, American historian...
, reported in the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
.
While Day turned down a tribute offer from the American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
, she received and accepted the Golden Globe's Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...
Award for lifetime achievement in 1989. In 2004, Day received the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with thecomparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States...
but declined to attend the ceremony because of her fear of flying. Day did not accept an invitation to be a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors for the same reason.
Both columnist Liz Smith
Liz Smith (journalist)
Mary Elizabeth "Liz" Smith is an American gossip columnist. She is known as The Grand Dame of Dish.- Early life and career :...
and film critic Rex Reed
Rex Reed
Rex Taylor Reed is an American film critic and former co-host of the syndicated television show At the Movies. He currently writes the column "On the Town with Rex Reed" for The New York Observer.-Life and career:...
have mounted vigorous campaigns to gather support for an honorary Academy Award for Day to herald her film career and her status as the top female box-office star of all time. Honored in absentia, Day also received a Grammy for Lifetime Achievement in Music in February 2008.
2010s
Day released My HeartMy Heart (Doris Day album)
My Heart is the 29th studio album by Doris Day, released on September 5, 2011. On September 11, 2011 the album entered the UK chart at number nine, making Doris Day the oldest artist to score a UK Top 10 with an album featuring new material....
in the United Kingdom on September 5, 2011, her first new album in nearly two decades. The album is a compilation of previously unreleased recordings produced by Day's son, Terry Melcher, prior to his death in 2004. Tracks include the 1970s Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
hit "You Are So Beautiful
You Are So Beautiful
"You Are So Beautiful" is a song written by Billy Preston and Bruce Fisher and Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys. It was first recorded by Preston and made popular in a version by Joe Cocker....
", the Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
' "Disney Girls
Disney Girls
"Disney Girls " is a song written by Bruce Johnston for the American rock band The Beach Boys. It was released on their 1971 album Surf's Up. The lead vocals are by Johnston, who also plays keyboards, moog bass, and mandolin....
" and jazz standards such as "My Buddy
My Buddy (song)
"My Buddy" is a popular song.The music was written by Walter Donaldson, the lyrics by Gus Kahn. The song was published in 1922.-Recorded versions:*Gene Autry*Chet Baker *Teresa Brewer *Benny Carter*Rosemary Clooney...
", which Day originally sang in her 1951 film I'll See You in My Dreams. Day dedicates this song to her son.
She has become the oldest artist to score a UK Top 10 with an album featuring new material, according to the Official Charts Company, entering at Number 9. British singer Vera Lynn
Vera Lynn
Dame Vera Lynn, DBE is an English singer-songwriter and actress whose musical recordings and performances were enormously popular during World War II. During the war she toured Egypt, India and Burma, giving outdoor concerts for the troops...
reached the top of the chart in August 2009 at the age of 92, but that was with the greatest hits album We'll Meet Again – The Very Best of Vera Lynn.
Personal life
In 1975, Day released her autobiography, Doris Day: Her Own Story, an "as-told-to" work with A. E. HotchnerA. E. Hotchner
Aaron Edward Hotchner, is an American editor, novelist, playwright and biographer.-Biography:He was born in St. Louis and attended Soldan High School...
. The book detailed her first three marriages:
- To Al Jorden, a trombonist whom she first met when he was in Barney Rapp's Band, from March 1941 to 1943. Her only child, son Terry MelcherTerry MelcherTerrence P. Melcher was an American musician and record producer, who was instrumental in shaping the sound of American West Coast rock music. His greatest contribution to the culture of the time was producing The Byrds' innovative hits "Mr Tambourine Man" and "Turn! Turn! Turn!" and his...
, resulted from this marriage. Jorden, who was reportedly physically abusive to Day, committed suicide in 1967 by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. - To George Weidler (a saxophonist), from March 30, 1946 to May 31, 1949. Weidler, the brother of actress Virginia WeidlerVirginia WeidlerVirginia Weidler was an American child actress, popular in Hollywood films during the 1930s and 1940s.-Early life and career:...
, and Day met again several years later. During a brief reconciliation, he helped her become involved in Christian Science. - To Martin MelcherMartin MelcherMartin Melcher was an American film producer. With the exception of one movie, all of his projects were starring vehicles for his wife, actress Doris Day....
, whom she married on April 3, 1951. This marriage lasted until Melcher's death in 1968. Melcher adopted Terry (thus renaming the boy Terry MelcherTerry MelcherTerrence P. Melcher was an American musician and record producer, who was instrumental in shaping the sound of American West Coast rock music. His greatest contribution to the culture of the time was producing The Byrds' innovative hits "Mr Tambourine Man" and "Turn! Turn! Turn!" and his...
), and produced many of Day's movies. Melcher, a practicing Christian Scientist, drew Doris further into it, resulting in her not seeing a doctor for some time after symptoms which suggested cancer. This distressing period ended when finally consulting a physician and, finding the lump was benign, she fully recovered. After publishing her autobiography, Day married one last time. - Her fourth and last marriage was to Barry Comden, who was roughly a decade younger, from April 14, 1976 until 1981. Comden was the maitre d' at one of Day's favorite restaurants. Knowing of her great love of dogs, Comden endeared himself to Day by giving her a bag of meat scraps and bones on her way out of the restaurant. When this marriage unraveled, Comden complained that Day cared more for her "animal friends" than she did for him. Comden died on May 25, 2009, aged 74.
While promoting the book, Day caused a stir by rejecting the 'girl next door' and 'virgin' labels so often attached to her. As she remarked in her book, "The succession of cheerful, period musicals I made, plus Oscar Levant
Oscar Levant
Oscar Levant was an American pianist, composer, author, comedian, and actor. He was more famous for his mordant character and witticisms, on the radio and in movies and television, than for his music.-Life and career:...
's highly publicized comment about my virginity ("I knew Doris Day before she became a virgin.") contributed to what has been called my 'image', which is a word that baffles me. There never was any intent on my part either in my acting or in my private life to create any such thing as an image." Day said she believed people should live together prior to marriage, something that she would do if the opportunity arose. At the conclusion of this book tour, Day seemed content to focus on her charity and pet work and her business interests. (In 1985, she became part-owner with her son of the Cypress Inn in Carmel, California.)
In May 1983, she became a grandmother. In 1985 she briefly hosted her own talk show, Doris Day's Best Friends on CBN
Christian Broadcasting Network
The Christian Broadcasting Network, or CBN, is a fundamentalist Christian television broadcasting network in the United States. Its headquarters and main studios are in Virginia Beach, Virginia.-Background:...
. The network canceled the show after 26 episodes, despite the worldwide publicity her show received. Terry Melcher
Terry Melcher
Terrence P. Melcher was an American musician and record producer, who was instrumental in shaping the sound of American West Coast rock music. His greatest contribution to the culture of the time was producing The Byrds' innovative hits "Mr Tambourine Man" and "Turn! Turn! Turn!" and his...
first made a brief attempt to become a surf music
Surf music
Surf music is a genre of popular music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Orange County and other areas of Southern California. It was particularly popular between 1961 and 1965, has subsequently been revived and was highly influential on subsequent rock music...
singing star, then became a staff producer for Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
in the 1960s, and was famous for producing some latter-day recordings by The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
and The Byrds
The Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
. In November 2004, he died from complications of melanoma
Melanoma
Melanoma is a malignant tumor of melanocytes. Melanocytes are cells that produce the dark pigment, melanin, which is responsible for the color of skin. They predominantly occur in skin, but are also found in other parts of the body, including the bowel and the eye...
, aged 62.
Day is a committed Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
.
Animal welfare activism
Day's interest in animal welfare and related issues apparently dates to her teen years. While recovering from an automobile accident, she took her dog Tiny for a walk without a leash. Tiny ran into the street and was killed by a passing car. Day later confessed guilt and loneliness. In 1971, she co-founded Actors and Others for Animals and appeared in a series of newspaper advertisements denouncing the wearing of fur, alongside Mary Tyler MooreMary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms. Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as...
, Angie Dickinson
Angie Dickinson
Angie Dickinson is an American actress. She has appeared in more than fifty films, including Rio Bravo, Ocean's Eleven, Dressed to Kill and Pay It Forward, and starred on television as Sergeant Suzanne "Pepper" Anderson on the 1970s crime series Police Woman.-Early life:Dickinson, the second of...
, and Jayne Meadows
Jayne Meadows
-Early life:Jayne Meadows was born as Jayne Cotter in Wu-ch'ang, in Heilongjiang, China, to Episcopal missionary parents, the Rev. Francis James Meadows Cotter and his wife, the former Ida Miller Taylor, who had married in 1915. Meadows is the older sister of the late actress Audrey Meadows. She...
. Day's friend, Cleveland Amory
Cleveland Amory
Cleveland Amory was an American author who devoted his life to promoting animal rights. He was perhaps best known for his books about his cat, named Polar Bear, whom he saved from the Manhattan streets on Christmas Eve 1977...
, wrote about these events in Man Kind? Our Incredible War on Wildlife (1974).
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Day promoted the annual Spay Day USA
Spay Day USA
Spay Day USA is an annual observance on the last Tuesday of February that was created by the Doris Day Animal League in 1994 to bring attention to the nationwide pet overpopulation problem, and to encourage animal population control by neutering pets. In 2002, the event's goal was to spay and...
, and on a number of occasions, actively lobbied the United States Congress in support of legislation designed to safeguard animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
. She also founded The Doris Day Animal League
Doris Day Animal League
The Doris Day Animal League is an animal advocacy group based in Washington D.C. It established the annual observance Spay Day USA in 1994, which the group uses to bring attention to the pet overpopulation problem in the United States. On September 1, 2006, the organization merged with the Humane...
, which merged into The Humane Society of the United States in 2006. Staff members of the Doris Day League took positions within The HSUS, and Day recorded public service announcements for the organization. The HSUS now manages Spay Day USA, the one-day spay/neuter event she originated.
A facility to help abused and neglected horses opened in 2011 and bears her name: the Doris Day Horse Rescue and Adoption Center, located in Murchison, Texas, on the grounds of an animal sanctuary started by her late friend, author Cleveland Amory. Day contributed $250,000 toward the founding of the center.
Recent years
Day now lives near Carmel-by-the-Sea, CaliforniaCarmel-by-the-Sea, California
Carmel-by-the-Sea, often called simply Carmel, is a small city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated in 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, the town is known for its natural scenery and rich artistic history...
.
In 2011, Day released My Heart, her first album of new material since 1967's The Love Album. With its debut at No. 9 on the U.K. Billboard charts, Day made history, becoming the oldest female artist to ever have had a top ten album on the U.K. Billboard charts.
In October 2011, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association
Los Angeles Film Critics Association
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association was founded in 1975. Its main purpose is to present yearly awards to members of the film industry who have excelled in their fields. These awards are presented each January...
announced that Day would be the recipient of the 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award.
Further reading
- Barothy, Mary Anne. Day at a Time: An Indiana Girl's Sentimental Journey to Doris Day's Hollywood and Beyond. Hawthorne Publishing, 2007.
- Bret, DavidDavid BretDavid Bret is a French-born British author of showbiz biographies. He chiefly writes on the private life of movie stars and singers in a somewhat sensationalist style.-Life:...
. Doris Day: Reluctant Star. JR Books, London. 2008.} - McGee, Garry. Doris Day: Sentimental Journey. McFarland & Company, Inc., 2005.
- Patrick, Pierre and Garry McGee. Que Sera, Sera: The Magic of Doris Day Through Television. Bear Manor Media, 2005.
- Patrick, Pierre and Garry McGee. The Doris Day Companion: A Beautiful Day (One on One with Doris and Friends). BearManor Media, 2009.
- Braun, Eric. "Doris Day." Orion Books, 1994.
- Santopietro, Tom. "Considering Doris Day". Thomas Dunn Books, 2008.
External links
- Doris Day Animal Foundation
- Doris' Official Website
- Discovering Doris (Longest running fan tribute website)
- Spotlight at Turner Classic MoviesTurner Classic MoviesTurner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
- Doris Day Animal League
- Doris Day on "Solid! The encyclopedia of big band, lounge, classic jazz and space-age sounds"
- Photographs of Doris Day
- Doris Day Official Discography (+78rpm)
- Theatrical tribute to Doris Day (Touring to Hollywood and Scotland in 2011)