DORIS DAY (born: Doris Mary Anne Von Kappelhoff - 3rd April 1924 - Cincinnati Ohio, USA) "Pop icon" and "movie legend" are probably fair descriptions of the American sweetheart who dominated much of the 1950s and ‘60s with her 39 feature films and 16 top40 singles in the UK alone. Who else could I mean but everyone’s favourite girl-next-door Doris Day.
It was in 1946, after a successful run as a band singer, that Doris signed a solo record contract with music giant Columbia Records. This would herald the start of a very productive partnership which would see her capitalise on the popularity she had earned through her work with Les Brown’s band. Already having scored with him a huge million-seller Sentimental Journey (1945), her singing career continued to flourish over an intense 3 decades. This meant hundreds more beautiful Day recordings (some of which are exemplified here) with a variety of hit singles like It’s Magic (1948), Secret Love (1954), Que Sera Sera (1956) and Move Over Darling (1964), as well as countless studio albums which received critical and commercial acclaim.
If this wasn’t impressive enough, in 1947 a very young Doris Day also began her transition into motion pictures, initially signing to Warner Bros. A score of musical and dramatic roles followed, with her career reaching new heights as a result of a glowing performance alongside leading man Rock Hudson in romantic-comedy Pillow Talk (1959). For this role she was nominated at the Oscars for "Best Actress". Soon after Ms. Day had established herself as America’s #1 box-office attraction retaining this prestigious position with further releases such as Lover Come Back (1961) and That Touch of Mink (1962).
During the late 1960s, Doris began slowly but surely taking a step back from Hollywood’s fast paced showbiz world. Leaving the big screen for a succession of hugely popular prime time television shows.
By the mid 1970s, she was all but ready to leave the glitzy spotlight of Tinseltown for the serene comforts of Carmel-by-the-sea. Publishing her memoirs in her #1 best-seller Her Own Story (1975) was her way to close one chapter in order to begin something just as exciting and rewarding.
The now homey star focused her new found time and energy on a cause she had felt for many years very impassioned over. This was the provision of animal welfare for which over subsequent years she was instrumental in establishing animal charities like her current day organisations the Doris Day Animal Foundation and Doris Day Animal League.
No matter whether the Doris Day of today [who fast approaches her landmark 80th birthday in 2004] ever chooses to return to the world of entertainment there is no denying her legacy of music and film will remain forever young in the hearts of the people who discover it.
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