From an early dream of being a dancer to a successful singing and acting career, Doris Day entertained millions with her recordings and movies.
Doris Day Record “Sentimental Journey” Favorite of Troops
Born April 3, 1922 in Cincinnati, Ohio, Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff’s dreams of being a professional dancer were curtailed when she sustained leg injuries in a car accident. While recovering, she studied singing and, at age 17, joined the Al Jorden band. During her marriage to Jorden who was very abusive, she gave birth to son Terry.
After divorcing Jorden, she joined Les Brown and His Band of Renown as Doris Day. Their recording of “Sentimental Journey” made in November 1944 was a spectacular hit. It quickly became the theme for overseas military personnel yearning for home at the end of World War II.
Dramatic and Nostalgic Musical Movies of Doris Day
Doris’ popularity increased through radio performances and band tours. When composers Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn heard her rendition of “Embraceable You”, they recommended Doris Day for a movie role.
Betty Hutton was originally named to star in Romance of the High Seas, but withdrew due to pregnancy. Doris, cast opposite Jack Carson, had another hit recording, “It’s Magic”.
Under contract to Warner Brothers, Doris made musical films, frequently with nostalgic period themes. She and singer Gordon MacRae were teamed in On Moonlight Bay, By the Light of the Silvery Moon, and Tea for Two which was her first top billing role. Her first dramatic role was in the 1950 Young Man with a Horn starring Kirk Douglas and Lauren Bacall.
Calamity Jane Movie and Feature Song “Secret Love”
In 1951, Doris was cast in Storm Warning with Ginger Rogers and Ronald Reagan. The thriller was billed as the motion picture that dared to rip the mask off the KKK.
A delightful change of pace for Doris Day was the ‘musical comedy western’, Calamity Jane, made in 1953. The fantasy tale features Doris in the title role, with Howard Keel as Wild Bill Hickok. Exploring the possibility of romance between the two legendary characters, the film featured Doris singing “Secret Love”.
After starring with Frank Sinatra in Young at Heart in 1954, Doris decided against renewing her contract with Warner Bros. She and her third husband, Marty Melcher, began their own production company with Marty as manager. Doris took on more dramatic roles such as the fictionalized biography of torch singer Ruth Etting in Love Me or Leave Me.
Drama and Academy Award Song by Doris Day
While affording Doris plenty of opportunity to display her dramatic talents, it also showcased many Etting songs from the 1920s and 1930s. Perhaps the most well-known was “Ten Cents a Dance”. Etting’s relationship with a gangster (played by James Cagney) ended in a scandalous trial that effectively finished the singer’s career.
Doris Day’s signature song “Que Sera, Sera” (“Whatever Will Be, Will Be”) was featured in her only Hitchcock film, The Man Who Knew Too Much with James Stewart. The Academy Award winner was also used briefly in her films, Please Don’t Eat the Daisies and The Glass Bottom Boat. It then became her signature song with the Doris Day Show on television (1968-1973).
“Pillow Talk” Movie with Rock Hudson
Doris received an Oscar nomination for her work in Pillow Talk, the first of her three films with Rock Hudson. The others were Lover Come Back (1961) and Send Me No Flowers (1964). The 1968 family comedy With Six You Get Eggroll with Brian Keith was Doris Day’s last feature film.
After Marty Melcher’s 1968 death, Doris discovered that he and his business partner had squandered her earnings. She learned also that Marty had signed her to a weekly television show. Deeply in debt, she had to honor the contract. Through extensive legal battles with Marty’s partner she was awarded a large sum of money.
Animal Rights Activism
Doris’ son Terry Melcher, born in 1942 and adopted by Marty Melcher, produced records for groups such as The Byrds, and died of cancer in 2004.
Co-founder of Actors and Others for Animals in 1971, Doris campaigned for animal rights legislation. In 1989, as co-owner of the Cypress Inn in Carmel, California, she changed the establishment’s policy by allowing pets. The Doris Day Animal League which she founded merged in 2006 with the U. S. Humane Society.
Today, the singer-actress who delighted audiences with her many talents and her vivacity holds the record as top female movie star of all time. She lives in California and now uses her given name Doris Kappelhoff.
Source:
Doris Day: Her Own Story as told to A. E. Hotchner, William Morrow & Co., Inc., 1976
Kathleen Airdrie - Kathleen has thirty years' freelance writing experience covering history, biographical profiles, environmental and social issues
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