Biography for
Doris Day (I) More at IMDb Pro »

Date of Birth

3 April 1922, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

Birth Name

Doris Mary Ann Von Kappelhoff

Nickname

Do-Do
Clara Bixby
Eunice

Height

5' 7" (1.70 m)

Mini Biography

One of America's most prolific actresses was born Doris Mary Ann Von Kapplehoff on April 3, 1922, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her parents divorced while she was still a child and her mother gained custody. Like most little girls, Doris liked to dance. She would sometimes dance with friends and, sometimes, just by herself. She had dreamed of being a ballerina, but an automobile accident ended whatever hopes she had of dancing on stage. It was a terrible setback, but after taking singing lessons, she seemed to find a new vocation, and began singing with local local bands. It was while on one singing engagement that she met Al Jordan, whom she married in 1941. Jordan was prone to violence and they split after two years, not long after the birth of their son Terry Melcher, who later became a record producer. In 1946, Doris married George Weidler, but this union lasted less than a year. Day's agent talked her into taking a screen test at Warner Bros. The executives there liked what they saw and signed her to a contract (her early credits are often confused with that of another actress named Doris Day, who appeared mainly in B westerns in the 1930s and 1940s). Her first starring movie role was as "Georgia Garrett" in Romance on the High Seas (1948). The next year, she made two more films, My Dream Is Yours (1949) and It's a Great Feeling (1949). Audiences took to her beauty, terrific singing voice and bubbly personality, and she turned in fine performances in the movies she made for Warners (in addition to having several hit records). She made three films for the studio in 1950 and five more in 1951. In that year, she met and married Martin Melcher, who adopted her young son. In 1953, she starred in the title role in Calamity Jane (1953), which was a major hit, and several more followed: Lucky Me (1954), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) and what is probably her best-known film, Pillow Talk (1959). She began to slow down her filmmaking pace in the 1960s, even though she started out the decade in a hit, Please Don't Eat the Daisies (1960).

Her husband, who had also taken charge of her career, had made deals for her to star in films she didn't really care about, which led to a bout with exhaustion. The 1960s weren't to be a repeat of the previous busy decade. She didn't make as many as she had in that decade, but the ones she did make were successful: Do Not Disturb (1965), The Glass Bottom Boat (1966), Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? (1968) and With Six You Get Eggroll (1968). Her husband died in 1968, and Doris never made another film, but she had been signed to do her own TV series, "The Doris Day Show" (1968). That show, like her movies, was also successful, lasting until 1973. After her series went off the air, she made only occasional TV appearances. Today, at 86, she runs the Doris Day Animal League in Carmel, California, which advocates homes and proper care of household pets. What else would you expect of America's sweetheart?

IMDb Mini Biography By: Denny Jackson

Mini Biography

Doris was born to German Catholic parents in 1922. She had two brothers, Richard, who died before she was born and Paul, a few years older. Her father and mother split when she was about ten. At fourteen, she had a dance act with a boy called Jerry Doherty, with whom - after winning $500 in a talent contest - she went to Hollywood. On returning to Cincinnati, aged 16, she was in a terrible car crash which almost ended her dancing career. At 18, she discovered that she could sing and began touring with the Les Brown Band, where she met Al Jordan, who she later married. He turned out to be a violent and abusive husband and, soon after the birth of her son Terry in 1942, she initiated divorce proceedings. In 1946, after entertaining the troops for a couple of years, she met and married George Weidler but this liaison lasted only eight months. In 1948, she made her first film, Romance on the High Seas (1948). While filming for Warner Brothers, she met Martin Melcher, who became her agent and later, on her 29th birthday, her husband. In 1958, her brother Paul died and it was around this time that her husband started to make her sign to do films that she did not want to make. This eventually led to her becoming ill from nervous exhaustion. By the time he died in 1968, Doris was bankrupt and owed thousands of dollars - it turned out that he had squandered virtually all the money she had ever made - but she was eventually awarded $22 million by the courts. She married for the fourth time in 1976 and since her divorce in 1980 has devoted her life to animals.

IMDb Mini Biography By:

Spouse

Barry Comden	(14 April 1976 - 1981) (divorced)
Martin Melcher	(3 April 1951 - 20 April 1968) (his death)
George Weidler	(30 March 1946 - 31 May 1949) (divorced)
Al Jorden	(March 1941 - 1943) (divorced) 1 child

Trade Mark

Theme song: "Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera)", which she introduced in the 1956 film, The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956).

Trivia

Vegetarian

She and her son Terry Melcher (along with a partner) co-own the Cypress Inn in Carmel-By-The-Sea, California, a small "Hotel California-esque" inn built in a beautiful Mediterranean motif.

According to her autobiography, she got the nickname Clara Bixby when Billy De Wolfe told her, on the Tea for Two (1950) set, that she didn't look like a "Doris Day," but more like a "Clara Bixby." To this day, that remains her nickname among a close circle of old friends, such as Van Johnson.

Rock Hudson called her 'Eunice' because he said that whenever he thought of her as Eunice, it made him laugh.

Turned down the role of Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate (1967). The role went to Anne Bancroft.

She is referenced in the song "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by pop band Wham!, a single that hit Billboard's #1 in 1984.

Measurements: 36-25-36 (in 1953) (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)

When her husband and manager of 17 years, Martin Melcher, died suddenly in April of 1968, she professed not to have known that he had negotiated a multimillion-dollar deal with CBS to launch "The Doris Day Show" (1968) the following fall. After an abbreviated period of mourning, she went ahead with the series, which ran successfully for five seasons.

It was during the location filming of The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), when she saw how camels, goats and other "animal extras" in a marketplace scene were being treated, that Day began her lifelong commitment to preventing animal abuse.

She is also referenced in the song, "We Didn't Start The Fire", by Billy Joel.

Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith. Pg. 133-134. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387

Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George W. Bush [June 2004]. She did not attend the White House award ceremony because of her intense fear of flying.

Referenced in the song "Dig It" by The Beatles.

Referenced in the song "Wrap Her Up" by Elton John.

In order to make a political statement regarding the platform of the Canadian Alliance Party, in 2000 Canadian Satirist Rick Mercer launched an attempt to hold a national referendum on the question of whether or not Stockwell Day should be forced to change his first name to "Doris". Within days he had the required number of signatures under the Alliance Parties current platform to launch a federal referendum. Doris, according to her publicist, was amused by this.

Was named the top box-office star of 1963 by the Motion Picture Herald, based on an annual poll of exhibitors as to the drawing power of movie stars at the box-office, conducted by Quigley Publications.

Her son Terry Melcher had rented the house at 10050 Cielo Drive in Bel Air, California, at which Sharon Tate and her friends were murdered by the Manson Family. On March 23, 1969, Charles Manson had visited the house looking for Melcher, a music producer and composer who had worked with The Beach Boys, Bobby Darin and The Byrds. The house was now sub-leased by Tate, and her photographer told Manson to leave by "the back alley," possibly giving Manson a motive for the later attack. Melcher had auditioned Manson for a recording contract but rejected him, and there was a rumor after the murders that Manson had intended to send a message to Melcher, a theory that police later discounted.

When Sandra Dee died in 2005, Day and Annette Funicello became the last living American cinema sweethearts mentioned in the popular song "Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee", from the movie Grease (1978). The other sweethearts mentioned--Troy Donahue, Rock Hudson and Elvis Presley--all died in later years following the release of the film.

Premiere Magazine ranked her as #24 on a list of the Greatest Movie Stars of All Time in their Stars in Our Constellation feature (2005).

Is referenced in the song "Life Is a Rock But the Radio Rolled Me" by Reunion.

Reportedly did not like "swear words." As a recording artist, she would require anyone who said a swear word to put a quarter in a "swear jar." In addition, she does not allow her songs to be used in movies that contain swear words.

Has often cited Calamity Jane (1953) as her personal favorite of the 39 films she appeared in.

Her mother named her after her favorite silent film star, Doris Kenyon.

Her great-niece Pia Douwes is also a critically acclaimed actress.

Is portrayed by Diane Behrens in Rock Hudson (1990) (TV)

Referenced in the song "Dirty Epic" by Underworld.

Also referenced in the song, "What do we do? We fly!" from the musical "Do I Hear A Waltz?" by Richard Rodgers and Stephen Sondheim.

Has a 1982 hit song by the hugely popular Dutch 80s ska-pop band 'Doe Maar' named after her.

Son Terry Melcher was born February 8, 1942; died November 19, 2004.

Her only UK appreciation club is called 'Friends of Doris Day' and is based in Oxford UK.

She lived for years in the star-laden Crescent Drive at 713 Crescent. Her good friend Louis Jourdan lived just across the street at 714.

She is a staunch supporter of the Republican Party, and told the press she voted for George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential election.

Telephoned the White House to personally explain to President George W. Bush her reasons for not attending her award presentation in June 2004, and said she was praying hard that he would be elected to a second term of office in November.

After her Pillow Talk (1959) co-star Rock Hudson died of AIDS in 1985, Day told the press that she had never known he was a homosexual.

In Italy, most of her films were dubbed by Rosetta Calavetta. She was occasionally dubbed by Dhia Cristiani, Rina Morelli and once by Lidia Simoneschi in The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956).

In Germany Edith Schneider dubbed her voice in most of her films.

Profiled in the book "Film Fatales: Women in Espionage Films and Television, 1962-1973" by Tom Lisanti and Louis Paul (McFarland, 2002).

She is referenced on every chorus of Ringo Starr's last top 40 release in 1999, "La De Da".

Childhood idol was Ginger Rogers, with whom she starred in Storm Warning (1951).

A close friend and vocal supporter of President Ronald Reagan.

Personal Quotes

The happiest times in my life were the days when I was traveling with Les Brown and his band.

Gratitude is riches. Complaint is poverty.

Some of the downbeat pictures, in my opinion, should never be made at all. Most of them are made for personal satisfaction, to impress other actors who say 'Oh, God! what a shot, what camera work!' But the average person in the audience, who bought his ticket to be entertained, doesn't see that at all. He comes out depressed.

I like joy; I want to be joyous; I want to have fun on the set; I want to wear beautiful clothes and look pretty. I want to smile and I want to make people laugh. And that's all I want. I like it. I like being happy. I want to make others happy.

Learning a part was like acting out the lyrics of a song.

[On recording "Secret Love" for the movie Calamity Jane (1953)]: When I first heard "Secret Love" I almost fainted, it was so beautiful. When we finally got around to doing the pre-recording, Ray Heindorf, the musical director at Warner's, said he'd get the musicians in about 12:30 so they could rehearse. That morning I did my vocal warm-up, then jumped on my bike and rode over to Warner's - we lived in Toluca Lake at the time, which was just minutes from the studio. When I got there I sang the song with the orchestra for the first time. When I'd finished, Ray called me into the sound booth, grinning from ear to ear, and said, "That's it. You're never going to do it better." That was the first and only take we did.

[Recalling her only pleasant memories of Julie (1956)]: "Almost all of Julie was shot on location in Carmel, which is a lovely resort town a little south of San Francisco. My co-star was Louis Jourdan, whom I liked very much. An amiable man, very gentle, very much interested in the people around him; we had a good rapport and I found talking to him a joy .... We would take long walks on the beautiful Carmel beach, chatting by the hour".

If there is a Heaven I'm sure Rock Hudson is there because he was such a kind person.

I call him Ernie, because he's certainly no Rock. - On Rock Hudson

[on Ronald Reagan] Ronnie is really the only man I've ever known who loved dancing.

[on Cary Grant] A completely private person, totally reserved, and there is no way into him.

The succession of cheerful, period musicals I made, plus Oscar Levant's widely publicized remark about my virginity, contributed to what has been called my 'image', which is a word that baffles me. There never was any intent on my part either in my acting or in my private life to create any such thing as an image.

I'm pulling for him every step of the way. - On President George W. Bush

Where Are They Now

Doris now lives in Carmel, CA and actively works for the Doris Day Pet Foundation

(June 2008) Today at 86, she runs the Doris Day Animal League in Carmel, California which advocates homes and proper care of household pets.

(1976) Release of the book, "Doris Day: Her Own Story" by A.E. Hotchner.

(2000) Release of the book, "Doris Day: The Biography" by 'Michael Freeland'.

(2001) Release of the book, "Doris Day: The Illustrated Biography" by 'Michael Freeland'.

(January 2007) Special interview for the book "Que Sera Sera The Magic of Doris Day Through Television" by Pierre Patrick and Garry McGee. Published by BearManor Media.

(2008) Release of the book, "Doris Day: The Untold Story of the Girl Next Door" by David M. Kaufman.

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