Oscar Profile #180: Doris Day

Born April 3, 1924 in Cincinnati, Ohio to William Kappelhoff, a music teacher and choir master, and his wife Alma, a housewife, Doris Kappelhoff was the third of three children and the only girl. Her parents separated when she was ten and she lived thereafter with her mother. Intent on becoming a professional dancer, young Doris won a contest with partner Jerry Doherty that led to a planned relocation to Hollywood in 1937. An auto accident the night before they were to leave crushed her legs, ending her dreams of a career in dancing.

Young Doris turned to her second love, singing and by 1939 was singing with band leader Barney Rapp who suggested she change her name to Day after hearing her sing “Day by Day”. She married trombonist Al Jordan in 1941, but divorced her abusive husband soon after giving birth to son Terry in 1942. She later joined the Bob Crosby band, then the Les Brown band and performed on radio for two years on The Bob Hope Show. She had her first major hit with her recording of “Sentimental Journey” with Les Brown in 1945. She married actor George Weidler, brother of former child star Virginia Weidler in 1946. They were divorced in 1948.

Day made her film debut in 1948’s Romance on the High Seas in which she replaced a pregnant Betty Hutton. Her song, “It’s Magic”, was an Oscar nominee for Best Song as was the title song from her follow-up film, 1949’s It’s a Great Feeling.

A major player now, Day starred in three films in 1950 and five in 1951, the year she married third husband Martin Melcher, ex-husband of Patty Andrews of the Andrews Sisters. Her early hits included Young Man With a Horn; Tea for Two and Lullaby of Broadway. 1952 saw her star opposite Ronald Reagan, who she had dated briefly after his divorce from Jane Wyman, in The Winning Team.

“Secret Love” from Day’s own favorite film, 1953’s Calamity Jane won the Oscar for Best Song. Day herself, would come up empty-handed for an Oscar nomination of her own for that as well as 1955’s Love Me or Leave Me, generally regarded as her best on-screen performance. Another Day song, “Que Sera Sera” from 1956’s The Man Who Knew Too Much would win another Oscar for Best Song. Day finally received an Oscar nomination of her own for 1959’s Pillow Talk.

The actress would enter the list of the top ten box office stars for the first time in 1959 when she placed fourth behind Rock Hudson, Cary Grant and James Stewart, all of whom had been or would soon be her co-stars. She zoomed to number one in 1960 ahead of Hudson and Grant. Elizabeth Taylor would take the top spot in 1961, followed by Hudson and Day at third, but she would zoom back to number one in 1962, a spot she held through 1964. She slipped to number three in 1965 and number eight in 1966.

Her hits in this period included 1960’s Please Don’t Eat the Daisies and Midnight Lace; 1961’s Lover Come Back; 1962’s That Touch of Mink and Jumbo; 1963’s Move Over, Darling; 1964’s Send Me No Flowers; 1966’s The Glass Bottom Boat and 1968’s With Six You Get Eggroll. After Melcher death in 1968, she moved to TV for The Doris Day Show which lasted from 1968 to 1973. She married fourth husband, Barry Comden, a former maître d’ in 1976 but the marriage ended in 1981 because, he said, she was more interested in her dogs than in him. He died in 2009 at 74. Day’s son Terry died in 2004 at 62. She has a grandson, Ryan Melcher, born 1983. Day herself, now a fierce animal rights advocate, happily celebrates her 90th birthday today.

ESSENTIAL FILMS

CALAMITY JANE (1953), directed by David Butler

Doris Day’s own favorite film is a tune-filled romp with an infectious score by Sammy Fain and Paul Francis Webster that includes Day’s warbling of the Oscar winning “Secret Love”. It also includes such ditties as “The Deadwood Stage”; “It’s Harry I’m Planning to Marry”; “Just Blew in from the Windy City” and “The Black Hills of Dakota”.

Day stars as the fabled title character with Howard Keel as Wild Bill Hickok and Allyn Ann McLerie as Katie Brown. The film also received Oscar nominations for Best Score and Best Sound Recording and has since been adapted for the stage.

LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME (1959), directed by Charles Vidor

Day knew from abusive marriages which may be why her portrayal of 1920s and 30s singer Ruth Etting seems so real. The film, which is a somewhat fictionalized account of the singer’s career and marriage to Marty “the gimp” Snyder, provided juicy roles for both Day and James Cagney who received an Oscar nomination for his performance, something that oddly eluded Day.

The star gets to sing such Etting hits as “I’m Sitting on Top of the World”; “You Made Me Love You”; “Shaking the Blues Away”; “Ten Cents a Dance”; “(What Can I Say) After I Say I’m Sorry”; “My Blue Heaven” and the title song as well as two new songs, “Never Look Back” and “I’ll Never Stop Loving You”. The latter became the fourth song introduced by Day to be nominated for an Oscar. The film was nominated for six Oscars in all including Best Motion Picture Story, which it won.

THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1956), directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Day’s latter day animal rights activism was a result of her horror at seeing how badly the camels, goats and other animals were treated in a marketplace scene in Marrakesh.

Day almost turned down the role of James Stewart’s wife in Alfred Hitchcock’s remake of his own 1934 film because of its location filming in London and Marrakesh. She had a fear of flying borne out of her wartime near-death experiences flying with Bob Hope during his wartime USO tours.

Day’s singing of the Oscar winning “Que Sera Sera” during the film’s climax is one of the film’s highlights.

PILLOW TALK (1959), directed by Michael Gordon

Day is at her comedic best swapping one-liners dripping with double entendre with Rock Hudson in this clever comedy directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s grandfather. Day, playing a woman in defense of her virginity at 35 prompted comedian Oscar Levant to quip “I knew Doris Day before she became a virgin”, a line that has done more than anything to underscore Day’s reputation as a clean-cut goody two-shoes. That reputation was cemented when Day later turned down the role of Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate which may well have expanded her career.

Pillow Talk was nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Original Screenplay, which it won. Day’s nomination for Best Actress was the only one she would receive.

MIDNIGHT LACE (1960), directed by David Miller

A rare straight dramatic role for Day resulted in her only Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress – Drama to go along with her four nominations for Best Actress – Musical or Comedy; one for Best TV Star – Female and four wins for World Film Favorite – Female.

You’d have to be pretty naïve not to figure out who’s stalking Day in this stylish London set thriller, but audiences of the day didn’t mind as long as they could get a gander at Day in her beautiful Oscar nominated wardrobe by Irene and wallow in her luxurious surroundings.

The story may be a bit on the light side, but the casting is first rate. It includes Rex Harrison; John Gavin; Myrna Loy; Roddy McDowall; Herbert Marshall; Natasha Parry; Hermione Baddeley; John Williams; Richard Ney and Doris Lloyd.