Doris Day

Doris Day, the saccharine sweet icon of Fifties movies and all that is kitsch, was, believe it or not, 77 years old in April.
Renowned for her on-screen partnership with Rock Hudson, she cemented her place in our hearts when she publicly stood beside him when he announced he had AIDS. In 1968 she retired from the movie world aged 44 following the death of her third husband Marty. However, having already signed to do a TV series she continued working until 1973. In 1976 she married again but since her divorce in 1980 has devoted her life to caring for animals.
Doris Day was born Doris Mary Ann Von Kapplehoff to German Catholic parents on April 13 in Cincinnatti. Her early aspirations to be a dancer were dashed when she was badly injured in a car crash. Desperate to perform she was sent for singing lessons and performed with local bands. She met her first husband Al Jordan, a trombonist, while touring with the Les Brown Band. Shortly after the birth of their son, Terry, in 1942 Doris decided she had had enough of Al's physical abuse and mental problems and divorced him.
This started a cycle of unsuitable marriages and she was scarcely out of Al's grips than she was marrying George Weidler in 1946. This lasted all of 8 months before he was dispatched via the divorce courts.
With two marriages behind her Doris needed a fresh start. Doing a screen test for Warner Brothers led to her being put under contract by them and in 1948 she made her first film, Romance of the High Seas. This was quickly followed by It's a Great Feeling and My Dream is Yours in 1949, 3 more in 1950 and 5 in 1951.
It was in 1951 she met and married Marty Melcher. Marty took over guiding her career and pushed her to make more and more films through the fifties and sixties until she became ill with exhaustion after making an astounding 39 movies in 20 years and accumulating 11 awards in the process. On his death she found that he had signed her to do a TV series and a number of TV specials.
When Marty died in 1968 Doris suddenly found that somehow she was bankrupt. However, court action finally reunited her with $22 million. Her last marriage was to Barry Comden and again only lasted 4 years.
Since then Doris has devoted her time and money to running the Cyprus Inn, a hotel, in Carmel, promoting the Doris Day Animal League and raising funds for the Doris Day Pet Foundation.

First published on Gay UK Net
© Paul Towers 2000