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| Doris Day in the 1940's |
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| Doris Day, still radiant at 97 |
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Beneath Wholesome Image, Doris Day Was An Actress of Considerable Depth
by Lindsey Bahr (edited and heavily redacted by FT)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — The very name “Doris Day,” cheerful as a sunrise on a studio lot, was an invention.
Born Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff in Cincinnati, Ohio, the beloved singer and actress, who died Monday at 97, was a contemporary of Marilyn Monroe but seemed to exist in a lost and parallel world of sexless sex comedies and the carefree ways of “Que Sera, Sera.” She helped embody the aura of manufactured innocence in the 1950s, a product even she didn’t believe in.
“I’m tired of being thought of as Miss Goody Twoshoes .... I’m not the All-American Virgin Queen, and I’d like to deal with the true, honest story of who I really am,” she said in 1976, when her tell-all memoir “Doris Day: Her Own Story” chronicled her money troubles and failed marriages.
There was more to her, and to her career, than not sleeping with her leading men. She gave acclaimed performances in “Love Me or Leave Me,” the story of songstress Ruth Etting, and in the Alfred Hitchcock thriller “The Man Who Knew Too Much.” Longing ballads such as “Blame My Absent Minded Heart” led critic Gary Giddins to call her “the coolest and sexiest female singer of slow-ballads in movie history.”
But millions loved her for her wholesome, blond goo looks and for her string of frothy, stylish comedies, beginning with her Oscar-nominated role in “Pillow Talk” in 1959. . . . “The Thrill of It All” with James Garner followed . . .
Her on-screen chastity was a gag for comedians prompting Osar Levant to quip, “Doris Day? Oh yeah, I knew her before she became a virgin.” . . . Her audiences, however, preferred to take her at face value. The nation’s theater owners voted her the top moneymaking star in 1960, 1962, 1963 and 1964. . . .
In truth Doris Day was one of the greatest born movie stars ever to grace the screen. Beloved by co-stars and directors for her natural gifts, honesty and charisma. Director Michael Curtiz advised her against taking acting lessons. James Garner told Vanity Fair that she was the “Fred Astaire of comedy.”
“Whether it was Rock Hudson or Rod Taylor or me or whoever,” Garner said, “We all looked good because we were dancing with Clara Bixby,” using one of the actress’ affectionate nicknames .dremt up by her colleagues.
Her last film the 1968 comedy “With Six You Get Eggroll,” a was also the time her third husband, Martin Melcher, who was as widely disliked as she was lloved, died, . . .
Melcher, whom she married in 1951, left her deeply in debt. He acted as her manager and often received producing credits on her movies, much to the irritation of her co-stars who saw him as a no-talent hustler.
Largely ecause of Melcher the $20 million she had earned had vanished and she owed around $450,000, mostly for taxes. In 1974, Day won a $22.8 million judgment against her lawyer and business manager for mishandling of her assets.
After that she turned her attentions wholly to the welfare of animals, which would occupy her for the rest of her life. . . .
Although Day was absent from the screen for decades, she was never forgotten. In 2004 she was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom, which she said she accepted with grtitude, but didn’t claim in person because she “didn’t fly.” That unwillingness to travel also prevented her from getting a Kennedy Center Honor sand other awards.
Even so, she still had enough of a following that a 2011 collection of previously unreleased songs, “My Heart” hit the top 10 in the United Kingdom. The same year, she received a lifetime achievement honor from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Friends and supporters lobbied for years to get her an honorary Oscar. . . .
She lived in Monterey, California, devoting much of her time to the Doris Day Animal Foundation . . .
[NOTE: The late Associated Press writer Bob Thomas contributed biographical material to this report.]
Doris Day's life was well spent, and should be an inspiration to all. She achieved great and lasting success as a singer, dancer, –– and a surprisingly good actress –– after overcoming many obstacles, much heartbreak and many disappointmnts along the way.
ReplyDeleteShe gave us untold hours of pleasant diversion and genuine pleasure in a lengthy career.
In latter years she devoted herself to providing care, shelter and affection to the animals, bless her heart.
I may not have been her biggest fan way back when, but my appreciation for her talent and unique brand of wholesome feminine charm grew over several decades, and I shall always remember her with smiling affection and gratitude.
Off topic...
ReplyDeleteFranco,
Please check your email. Poems from each of my nine students await you -- as well as a personal note from me.
Doris Day once said:
ReplyDelete“I have never found in a human being loyalty comparable to that of any pet.”
True, IMO!
My mother's favorite popular tune was "Qué Será, Será (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)". I often played and sang that song for Mom.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was just a lttle boy
DeleteI ske my mther, "What will I be?
Will I be handsome, will I be rich?
Here's what she said to me:
"Que sera sera! Whatever will be will be.
"The future's not ours to see.
"Que sera sera!"
I first heard that on Your Hit Parade long before Doris Day made The Man Who Knew Too Much with Jimmy Stewart directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
Gisele MacKenzie, a pert brunette with a winnng smile was a regular on the show along with Russell Arms, Dorothy Collins and Snooky Lanson.
[INTRESTING SIDETNOTE: I leanred just a few years ago that Gisele Mackenzie was a very well-trained concert violinist, who displyed her remarkabe skills on the fiddle alongside Jack Benny's less virtuosic, always comedic efforts. I can tell you after hearing the old video of the two in duet that GISELE was GOOD.]
Doris Day Will Have No Funeral, Memorial or Grave Marker
ReplyDeleteFox News
by Tyler McCarthy
Legendary actress and singer Doris Day will reportedly not have a funeral, memorial service or grave marker, per a stipulation in her will. The star died on Monday at age 97, the Doris Day Animal Foundation confirmed to Fox News. In an emailed statement, the foundation said Day was surrounded by close friends at her Carmel Valley, Calif., home and “had been in excellent physical health for her age, until recently contracting a serious case of pneumonia.” As celebrities and fans across the country take time to mourn her loss, A statement from the foundation reveals that Day made . . .
She looks pretty good at 97. All the boomers I've met had a crush on her back in the day.
ReplyDeleteI like how she wanted no funeral, memorial, marker. I respect that. When you are gone, you are gone.
I like how she wanted no funeral, memorial, marker. I respect that. When you are gone, you are gone.
DeleteDitto...
When I was an adolescent boy I would lie in bed at night having fantasies of Doris Day!
ReplyDeleteI heard one report that Day had tremendous stage fright and hated performing in front of audiences. During her Big Band days, the usual method was that the band started and then the singer came in later. The biographer said in that way, for her, the band, and not Day was the focus. Same thing on camera... she felt like she was singing to the camera and not the millions watching, or listening.
ReplyDeleteSuch an interesting tidbit and a giant addition to her legacy.