Happening This Month

4 Movies and 6 Specials | April 3

With her dreamy voice, natural self-confidence and charisma, Doris Day lit up the screen in the 39 films she made during her three decade run in Hollywood. She sang in glossy Warner Bros. musicals, starred opposite Rock Hudson in a trio of sex comedies and showcased her acting chops in a variety of serious dramas. Day demonstrated that she had the talent and versatility to make a success out of any project she was assigned. The sheer magnitude of her fame and success that she achieved throughout the 1950s and 1960s is unmatched. At one time in her career she was the top box office attraction as well as a bestselling recording artist for several years in a row. 

Many factors contributed to Doris Day’s success. Her girl-next-door persona resonated with audiences and created a wholesome, non-threatening image that followed her throughout her career. According to biographer Tom Santopietro, Day was the “perfect embodiment of post-WWII America, when problems were deemed solvable with a little determination and a lot of straightforward positive thinking.” Beyond her talents as a singer, Day excelled at comedy but could effectively pivot into drama. She paired beautifully with her leading men including Jack Carson, Gordon MacRae, James Garner and Jimmy Stewart. With her 5’7 frame and her shock of blonde hair, she wore clothes well and became known for her shorter hairstyle and updos. Day did not let her fame dictate how she lived her life and often kept her audience at a distance, making her even more alluring to fans.

Becoming an actress was not something Doris Day envisioned for herself. Rather it was an opportunity that just fell in her lap. After a car accident shattered her right leg, Day gave up her dream of becoming a dancer and pursued music instead. While convalescing, she would sing to radio tunes and was particularly influenced by jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald. By the age of 17, Doris Day was touring with the Les Brown Band. It was around this time that she dropped her surname Kappelhoff for the much shorter Day, a suggestion made by orchestra leader Barney Rapp. Day caught the attention of songwriting partners Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn who had recommended her to film director Michael Curtiz. She was soon cast in her very first picture Romance on the High Seas (1948), a musical comedy for Warner Bros. Worried about her lack of acting experience, she inquired about acting lessons but was quickly discouraged by Curtiz from doing so. He felt that her natural charm and vivacity would be diminished by formal training. This advice was a game changer for Day. In a 2012 TCM interview, Day said “the one thing I always wanted to do was enjoy myself. I like to have fun on the set because when you’re having fun your coworkers and the audience feel that way too.” 

Day was contracted by Warner Bros. and made 18 movies for them, 14 of which were musicals. On Moonlight Bay (1951), a homespun musical co-starring Gordon MacRae, was a huge hit and spawned a sequel By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953). Her favorite movie she made for Warner Bros. was Calamity Jane (1953), a musical Western that has Day playing a 19th century frontiersman with a penchant for guns, booze and fibbing. It was unlike any role she had ever performed then or since. During her time at the studio, she occasionally appeared in serious dramas like Young Man with a Horn (1950) with Kirk Douglas and Lauren Bacall and Storm Warning (1951) with her childhood idol Ginger Rogers.

By the time she made Young at Heart (1954) with Frank Sinatra, a loose remake of Four Daughters (1938), she and her agent/husband Martin Melcher decided not to renew her contract with Warner Bros. Her independence from the studio allowed her to pursue more challenging projects. Love Me or Leave Me (1955), an intense biopic of torch singer Ruth Etting, co-starring James Cagney, gave Day an opportunity to flex her acting muscles. Looking back at her career, she often pointed to this role as her best performance. The following year she starred in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), a remake of his own film from 1934. Day performed the song “Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)” twice in the thriller and the song soon became synonymous with the star. It won the Academy Award for Best Song. She later performed the song in The Glass Bottom Boat (1966) and it was the theme song for her television series The Doris Day Show.

By this time Day had matured into more sophisticated roles in romantic comedies. Movies like Teacher’s Pet (1958), It Happened to Jane (1959) and That Touch of Mink (1962) cast her alongside some of the biggest male stars in the movie business. However, it was the trio of sex comedies with co-stars Rock Hudson and Tony Randall that redefined Day’s public image. In her autobiography, she wrote that her new persona became "a new kind of sex symbol—the woman men wanted to go to bed with, but not until they married her.’” In Pillow Talk (1959), she plays an ambitious career woman who shares a party line with a womanizing song writer. The film was such a hit that Doris Day and Rock Hudson became the silver screen’s new dynamic duo. Their performances were aided by Tony Randall as the lovable third wheel. Doris Day earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role. The trio tried to recapture the magic with Lover Come Back (1961) and Send Me No Flowers (1964).

Day’s virginal persona persisted despite her move into sex comedies. But this did not stop her from seeking out roles that showcased her particular brand of sexiness. And despite her no longer appearing in musicals, Day always either sang the title song or would perform a song or two in each film. She continued making comedies including Move Over, Darling (1963) and The Thrill of it All (1963) with co-star James Garner. 

By the late 1960s, Day’s movies were not performing well. By the time she made what would be her final film With Six You Get Eggroll (1968), her husband Martin Melcher, who took control over her career and finances, suddenly passed away. Unbeknownst to her, Melcher had signed a contract with CBS for a five season television series and two television movies. He also left her in debt, a result of mismanaged funds and poor investments. Day had no choice to but to start production on The Doris Day Show just six weeks after Melcher’s death.

Taking back some control, she and her son Terry Melcher renegotiation the contract with CBS. Doris Day was also given more control on script and series direction for The Doris Day Show series. The show became infamous for its radical pivots from season to season. It morphed from a rural family comedy with gentle life lessons to an urban comedy about a career woman in San Francisco. According to Tom Santopietro, “Day instinctively knew how to scale down her performance for the small screen, no easy feat for a larger-than-life icon…” The show was a success and later seasons showcased a bevy of guest stars including Tony Bennett, Ricardo Montalban and Henry Fonda. Peter Lawford had a recurring role as a doctor and the protagonist’s boyfriend.

Day’s television series and specials helped get her out of debt and ensured her financial security for years to come. After her contract with CBS ended, she hosted a talk show on the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) from 1985 to 1986 called Doris Day’s Best Friends. She later refocused her efforts on animal activism, a cause she was very passionate about. In 1978 she started the Doris Day Pet Foundation which was later rebranded as the Doris Day Animal Foundation. Her Doris Day Animal League became part of The Human Society of the United States where she founded World Spay Day. In 2011, she released a music record entitled My Heart, the proceeds of which helped fund her Doris Day Horse Rescue and Adoption Center. 

Doris Day had always been a fiercely private individual and in her later years she became a recluse. Her activism as well as her legacy as a movie and recording star helped keep her name in the public arena. In 2017, the Associated Press dug up her birth certificate and it was discovered that she was in fact 2 years older than she had thought. She was in fact born in 1922 rather than 1924. We would be celebrating her 100th birthday two years from now had it not been for this revelation. Day passed away in May of 2019 and her joy and verve lives on with her films, television shows and music records for present and future generations to enjoy.