Doris Day, America's Sweetheart
Author: Trudy Stroup
When I think about Doris Day, I think about two things: her 1968 film with Brian Keith "With Six You Get Eggroll" and her velvet voice singing "Que Sera, Sera". Doris Day was the quintessential "girl next door". I am convinced that whoever coined that phrase was talking about Doris Day. Her perky, effervescent smile and bright, beautiful eyes were simply captivating. Her screen presence was amazing and she brightened my day with her rosy cheeks and melodious voice. When I thought about what I wanted to be when I grew up, I wanted to be Doris Day.
Born Doris Mary Ann Von Kappelhoff on April 3rd, 1924, to Fredrick Wilhelm Von Kappelhoff, a choir master/music teacher fond of classical music and Alma Sophia Welz, a free spirited, outgoing woman who preferred "hillbilly" music, Doris displayed early interest in dance. Her mother, wanting to nurture her interests, enrolled her in dancing lessons. She began to perform with local companies as a child and aspired to become a professional dancer. However, in 1937, at the age of 13, she was in a car that was hit by a train. That accident not only crushed her right leg, but also crushed her desire to dance. During her long recovery, she listened to the radio to pass the time. A young Ella Fitsgerald, just 20 years old, was singing on that radio. Her smooth, jazzy voice drew Doris in and it wasn't long before Doris was singing along with the versatile voice she admired. Doris' mother took notice. Alma was so stricken by her daughters singing that she took her to voice coach Grace Raine. By the time she turned 15, Doris was singing with local bandleader Barney Rapp. As the Big Band Era came rushing in, Rapp suggested that the name Von Kappelhoff might be too large for marquee signs and a little difficult for the people to connect with. So she adopted the moniker Day in its stead.
Soon, Doris Day was working with several different Big Band Leaders, including Bob Crosby, brother of Bing Crosby, and Les Brown of The Les Brown Band. Les was instantly a fan and would later say, "She was every bandleader's dream; a vocalist who had natural talent, a keen regard for the lyrics and an attractive appearance." In 1947, she made a break with the Big Band's and went solo, doing music her way. Her first big hit was "Sentimental Journey". During World War II, Bob Hope's USO touring airplane was named Sentimental Journey.
Song writers adored her. Sammy Cahn recalls watching screen tests of several actresses while working on set during casting. After the first few screen tests viewed "Then on the screen came Doris Day. I can only tell you, the screen just exploded. There was absolutely no question. A great star was born and the rest is history." Doris didn't get the part. Instead, she made her debut in 1948's "Romance on the High Seas" after Betty Hutton had to drop out of production. She went on to make movies in which she played what else, a bandstand singer. She deftly transitioned into musicals taking on a wide variety of parts; dressed to the nines in one movie and buckskin in the next. She was polished and refined, dripping in jewels in one movie and a rough and tumble gun slinger in yet another. Movie musicals allowed her to showcase all of her talents including dancing, her first love.
As time progressed, the 1960's brought on the age of the romantic comedy and Doris' career flourished; starring with Howard Keel in "Calamity Jane", Jimmy Stewart in "The Man Who Knew Too Much" and several times with Rock Hudson including "Pillow Talk", "Lover Come Back", and "Send Me No Flowers". In between movies, she made time to go to the recording studio and her popularity increased. Her silky and sometimes jazzy voice recorded well and she recorded over 600 titles with Columbia Records in a 20 year relationship with the famed studio. Doris enjoyed a long and well awarded career. She was nominated almost every awards season for her work in both movies and music. A list of her awards and nominations can be found on the web at dorisdaytribute.com including her 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 1975, Doris announced her retirement from acting. She decided to follow her heart for animals and began advocating for animal welfare; joining a group of actors working together for the humane treatment of animals. In 1978, she founded her own non-profit, The Doris Day Pet Foundation.
In contrast to her happy career, her personal life wasn't always as joyful. She had only one child, Terrence "Terry", the product of her first marriage to Al Jordan. Sadly, she had to bury her beloved son after a long fight against skin cancer in 2004. In the late 1960's, third husband, Martin Melcher, invested her money through a crooked lawyer and not only lost her fortune but also put her millions of dollars in debt. Doris didn't find out how bad her situation was until Melcher died. She was forced to file bankruptcy and had a nervous breakdown from the experience. In 1974, her lawyer was able to recover almost $22 million of her lost fortune in a suit against the lawyer who made the investments. Married four times, she chose to remain single after her last union ended in 1980 devoting her life to animals.
Doris currently lives in southern California. She celebrated her 91st birthday this year.
© 2015-2016 Trudy Stroup. All rights reserved.
Author: Trudy Stroup
When I think about Doris Day, I think about two things: her 1968 film with Brian Keith "With Six You Get Eggroll" and her velvet voice singing "Que Sera, Sera". Doris Day was the quintessential "girl next door". I am convinced that whoever coined that phrase was talking about Doris Day. Her perky, effervescent smile and bright, beautiful eyes were simply captivating. Her screen presence was amazing and she brightened my day with her rosy cheeks and melodious voice. When I thought about what I wanted to be when I grew up, I wanted to be Doris Day.
Born Doris Mary Ann Von Kappelhoff on April 3rd, 1924, to Fredrick Wilhelm Von Kappelhoff, a choir master/music teacher fond of classical music and Alma Sophia Welz, a free spirited, outgoing woman who preferred "hillbilly" music, Doris displayed early interest in dance. Her mother, wanting to nurture her interests, enrolled her in dancing lessons. She began to perform with local companies as a child and aspired to become a professional dancer. However, in 1937, at the age of 13, she was in a car that was hit by a train. That accident not only crushed her right leg, but also crushed her desire to dance. During her long recovery, she listened to the radio to pass the time. A young Ella Fitsgerald, just 20 years old, was singing on that radio. Her smooth, jazzy voice drew Doris in and it wasn't long before Doris was singing along with the versatile voice she admired. Doris' mother took notice. Alma was so stricken by her daughters singing that she took her to voice coach Grace Raine. By the time she turned 15, Doris was singing with local bandleader Barney Rapp. As the Big Band Era came rushing in, Rapp suggested that the name Von Kappelhoff might be too large for marquee signs and a little difficult for the people to connect with. So she adopted the moniker Day in its stead.
Soon, Doris Day was working with several different Big Band Leaders, including Bob Crosby, brother of Bing Crosby, and Les Brown of The Les Brown Band. Les was instantly a fan and would later say, "She was every bandleader's dream; a vocalist who had natural talent, a keen regard for the lyrics and an attractive appearance." In 1947, she made a break with the Big Band's and went solo, doing music her way. Her first big hit was "Sentimental Journey". During World War II, Bob Hope's USO touring airplane was named Sentimental Journey.
Song writers adored her. Sammy Cahn recalls watching screen tests of several actresses while working on set during casting. After the first few screen tests viewed "Then on the screen came Doris Day. I can only tell you, the screen just exploded. There was absolutely no question. A great star was born and the rest is history." Doris didn't get the part. Instead, she made her debut in 1948's "Romance on the High Seas" after Betty Hutton had to drop out of production. She went on to make movies in which she played what else, a bandstand singer. She deftly transitioned into musicals taking on a wide variety of parts; dressed to the nines in one movie and buckskin in the next. She was polished and refined, dripping in jewels in one movie and a rough and tumble gun slinger in yet another. Movie musicals allowed her to showcase all of her talents including dancing, her first love.
As time progressed, the 1960's brought on the age of the romantic comedy and Doris' career flourished; starring with Howard Keel in "Calamity Jane", Jimmy Stewart in "The Man Who Knew Too Much" and several times with Rock Hudson including "Pillow Talk", "Lover Come Back", and "Send Me No Flowers". In between movies, she made time to go to the recording studio and her popularity increased. Her silky and sometimes jazzy voice recorded well and she recorded over 600 titles with Columbia Records in a 20 year relationship with the famed studio. Doris enjoyed a long and well awarded career. She was nominated almost every awards season for her work in both movies and music. A list of her awards and nominations can be found on the web at dorisdaytribute.com including her 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 1975, Doris announced her retirement from acting. She decided to follow her heart for animals and began advocating for animal welfare; joining a group of actors working together for the humane treatment of animals. In 1978, she founded her own non-profit, The Doris Day Pet Foundation.
In contrast to her happy career, her personal life wasn't always as joyful. She had only one child, Terrence "Terry", the product of her first marriage to Al Jordan. Sadly, she had to bury her beloved son after a long fight against skin cancer in 2004. In the late 1960's, third husband, Martin Melcher, invested her money through a crooked lawyer and not only lost her fortune but also put her millions of dollars in debt. Doris didn't find out how bad her situation was until Melcher died. She was forced to file bankruptcy and had a nervous breakdown from the experience. In 1974, her lawyer was able to recover almost $22 million of her lost fortune in a suit against the lawyer who made the investments. Married four times, she chose to remain single after her last union ended in 1980 devoting her life to animals.
Doris currently lives in southern California. She celebrated her 91st birthday this year.
© 2015-2016 Trudy Stroup. All rights reserved.