Doris Day

For many, Doris Day will always be the inseparable companion of the heartthrob Rock Hudson . With him she shot three of her most romantic and remembered films, and of course both make up one of the most empathetic and fun couples in the history of cinema. However, Doris Day also knew what drama was, and really, and she stood out incomparably as a singer, for she had a beautiful, limpid voice, with perfect diction and in keeping with the attractiveness of her always vivid and luminous face, always smiling. .

Doris Mary Anne Kappelhof was born on April 3, 1924 in Evanston, Ohio. She was the second daughter of a German immigrant couple, who divorced when Doris was still a child. Apparently her given name was chosen by her mother in honor of silent film actress Doris Kenyon .. She very soon showed that hers was the show, and to fulfill her dreams of being a dancer, she landed in Hollywood when she was only twelve years old. However, a year later she damaged her legs in a traffic accident, for which she had to give up dancing. She decided to take singing lessons and little by little she was acquiring a wonderful diction, until she debuted in a performance at the age of 17. She changed her German last name to Day, apparently because the first song she performed in public was “Day After Day.” In 1941 she married for the first time, as three more marriages would come with time. Her voice began to be noticed and she began to sing in the Big Bands of Jimmy James, Bob Crosbyand especially in that of Les Brown. With the latter he recorded a theme for the soundtrack of the film Sentimental Journey (1946). And two years later he made his big screen debut at the hands of Michael Curtiz , in the romantic musical Romance on the High Seas .

She began to succeed immediately, because her beauty, her joy and her voice had an undeniable hook. In 1949 she starred inIt’s a Great Feeling and in 1950 he accompanied Kirk Douglas in the magnificent drama about the world of jazzThe trumpet player , where he gave a good account of his wonderful voice in songs like “With a Song in My Heart” or “I May Be Wrong”. That same year he demonstrated his comedian skills inTea for Two and in the musicalThe West Point Story , opposite James Cagney . She later reunited with Curtiz for the third time in the musical comedyI’ll See You in My Dreams . In 1952 she was paired with dancer Ray Bolger in the sweet April in Paris and a year later she was Calamity Jane in the musicalDoris Day in the west (terrible title imposed in Spain), where the specialist Howard Keel accompanied him . In 1955 she shared the bill with James Cagney inLove me or leave me , delicious romantic musical. Doris Day dazzled with those happy and optimistic roles, where songs and love dominated the plot. However, she also knew how to play dramatic roles, as she did inAlways you and me (1954), with a great Frank Sinatra and above all withThe Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) , directed by the teacher Alfred Hitchcock . In the memory of the film buff and almost anyone there remain the notes of the song of a long-suffering Doris Day singing “What will it be, will it be…” to recover her son… The song won the Oscar.

Doris Day continued her optimistic career with films likePajama Game (1957) orTeach me to love , with the heartthrob Clark Gable . And in full swing came his collaboration with Rock Hudson. Both formed a difficult duo to match in films to remember asMidnight Confidences (1959),Pajamas for Two (1961) andDon’t send me flowers (1964). Between arguments, love always triumphed. In between, she shot one of the few thrillers in his filmography,A Cry in the Mist , opposite Rex Harrison and John Gavin . And in 1967 she even dared to star in nothing less than a western,Showdown at the Ranch , directed in a comedy key by one of John Ford ‘s gifted students, Andrew V. McLaglen . That same year she turned down the role of Mrs. Robinson inThe Graduate (ultimately played by Anne Bancroft ). In her memoirs, Doris Day explained that her decision was due to moral reasons. In 1968 she starred in her last film, before retiring forever from the cinema, Mom’s Boyfriend (1968) .

The end of his career coincided with a not entirely happy story. When her third husband, Martin Melcher, died, the actress was stunned to discover that he and his partner, Jerome Bernard Rosenthal, who had been her lawyer since the 1940s, had squandered their fortune, leaving her in ruin and covered in debt. Doris Day filed a lawsuit against Rosenthal and won the lawsuit. The actress then received about 20 million dollars. We do not know if that story was the reason for her goodbye, but the truth is that she never returned to the big screen.