Doris Day: Why She Left Hollywood - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Zoneboy · 07-16-2008, 01:57 AM

Link

(CBS) When life seemed so much simpler in America - a half century or so ago - Doris Day was America's sweetheart, the beloved "girl next door" and a huge recording and movie star.

"Doris Day is, to this day, the number one female box office star of all time, she's the only one who was number one for four years in a row," David A. Kaufman, author of a new biography about the star, told Sunday Morning correspondent Jerry Bowen. "That was never true of Elizabeth Taylor, Greta Garbo, Katherine Hepburn, of anyone else!"

In the 1950s and 60s it was hard to find a movie magazine without her beaming face on the cover.

And her leading men came from the "A-list" of the day, says Kaufman, whose new unauthorized biography "Doris Day, The Untold Story Of The Girl Next Door," was released in June.

"Well, famously Rock Hudson, Cary Grant, James Cagney, Jimmy Stewart," said Kaufman.

Add Frank Sinatra, Kirk Douglas and Jack Lemmon to the list, too.

But Doris Day's reality, like that of that long ago America, was more complex and in some ways darker than the bubbling, everything's coming up roses public image.

At the end of her career she not only left Hollywood. She stopped being Doris Day.

For nearly 30 years now she's lived near Carmel, California. She's an avid animal rights advocate nursing strays back to health on her small ranch. And she's known as "Clara" to most friends - a nickname given to her early in her career.

She's rarely seen in public and rarely heard except for one day each year.

On her birthday a local radio station plays the songs she made famous...and Doris and her alter ego, Clara call in to say thanks.

"Well, her first big hit was 'Sentimental Journey' which she recorded at the very end of the Second World War," Kaufman said. "And it became very popular for that reason with the, with the soldiers abroad who wanted to come home and with their wives here who wanted them home."

It was 1939 when a 17-year-old Doris Kappelhoff of Cincinnati, Ohio began her singing career with the big bands of that era. Her stage name became Day and she was off on the ride of her life.

But for all the success that would follow in song and film, she never found what she wanted most.

"The only thing she ever really wanted was to have a happy marriage and a happy family life," Kaufman said. "And it's the one thing she never had. She was married four times, but she was ultimately not happy with any of her husbands."

By the time she'd won acclaim for her first film, "Romance On The High Seas" in 1948, Day had been married and divorced twice and left with a baby boy. Her first husband beat her. Her second abandoned her.

At age 25 her search for Mr. Right had gone very wrong. But her film career was taking off. And her films were giving a boost to her recordings.

"'It's Magic,' which is in her first film, 'Romance On The High Seas' and then after that the next biggest song is 'Secret Love' from 'Calamity Jane.' And after that comes 'Que Sera, Sera,' which ends up being the biggest of all, of her entire career," said Kaufman.

Cabaret singer Mary Cleere Haran created a one woman show dedicated to the songs of Doris Day.

"She had a lovely lullaby quality to her voice and I think everybody responds to that. And I think it's universal" said Haran.

Haran also wrote and produced a PBS documentary "Sentimental Journey." Now 17 years old, it features a rare interview in which Day reflected on her two decades of filmmaking - 39 films in all - and the one she liked most.

"'Calamity Jane' (was) probably my favorite movie," Day said in the interview. "Because that's the real me. But when I was a little girl I'd stumble. I loved climbing trees and you know skating and doing all the things that the boys did. Yet I loved dolls."

Her most popular film may have been "Pillow Talk," the first of three movies she did with Rock Hudson when both stars were number one at the box office.

Their on screen chemistry was matched by a lifelong off screen friendship. Founded in part, said Kaufmann, on the secret lives they shared, which included her troubled marriages and his homosexuality.

"I think, without ever discussing it, that they could relate to being basically the opposite to what their images suggested," said Kaufman. "For example the girl next door was not above having affairs...at least according to her alleged lovers...baseball player Maury Wills - which she denied - and Mickey Mantle, about which she was silent.

Behind-the-scenes for 17 years of her life was Marty Melcher, agent and husband number three. He tightly managed her career as their marriage quickly became a business relationship.

Day made the money and by accident or design Marty squandered it all. When Melcher died, Day learned her $23 million dollar fortune was actually a $400,000 debt.

The Doris Day show, a situation comedy, saved her. It ran for five years on CBS and paid her legal bills as she fought her late husband's business partners to recover her losses. Eventually she won some of it back:

"I just knew that justice would prevail," Day said at the time. "I've known it all along."

By the early 1970s her career was largely over and her fourth marriage was failing. Despite offers she never took on another TV show until 1985 when she agreed to a cable show devoted to pets. It was called "Doris Day's Best Friends."

The appearance of her human best friend was sad and shocking.

Rock Hudson, gaunt and ghostly pale and gravely ill with AIDS was Day's guest. The illness had opened the door on his secret homosexuality. Hudson died two and a half months after appearing with Day. And she began her retreat from the public eye.

"She looks like Doris Day - a little older, but Doris Day. She still looks great," said actress Kay Ballard, a long-time friend and occasional visitor to Day's Carmel Valley retreat. "She spends time making food for the animals. It's so funny, she has them on a vegetarian diet, and you know she really, she just adores her animals.'

Ballard was a regular on the old Doris Day show. She says her old friend doesn't always answer her phone calls - sometimes doesn't even answer the door. Most days she just wants to be left alone.

"I just think the disappointment she's had in marriages is what turned her off of people and turned her to animals," said Ballard. "And they never disappoint you."

Life may not have been perfect for the girl next door. There were quite a few bumps along the road.

But for Doris Kappelhoff from Cincinnati, Ohio, it's been a pretty amazing journey.

catlover79 · 07-18-2008, 01:56 PM

Interesting article!! I'm glad to hear that Ms. Day is healthy and keeping busy with her menagerie. I can relate to her a little bit. I wish her all the best!

Jude The Obscure · 07-18-2008, 11:06 PM

Thanks for posting this!!

Did ya know that in the late 80s/early 90s CBS tried very hard to lure Ms Day back to series television ala a "Murder, She Wrote" mystery series?

Zoneboy · 07-18-2008, 11:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jude86

Thanks for posting this!!

You're Welcome.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jude86

Did ya know that in the late 80s/early 90s CBS tried very hard to lure Ms Day back to series television ala a "Murder, She Wrote" mystery series?

Along with Jean Stapleton who also turned it down.

Jude The Obscure · 07-18-2008, 11:19 PM

Interesting factoid there!

catlover79 · 07-18-2008, 11:49 PM

My mom still has some DD albums on vinyl that she bought back in the day. I've never seen her TV show, but I see all 5 seasons are on DVD. I'll have to check them out of the library sometime.

Jude The Obscure · 07-21-2008, 11:29 AM

I have the Greatest Hits CD

I think you will enjoy watching her show, Monika!

catlover79 · 07-21-2008, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jude86

I have the Greatest Hits CD

I think you will enjoy watching her show, Monika!

When I see it, I will be sure to post my thoughts here!!

Jude The Obscure · 07-22-2008, 11:14 AM

oh please do........I've been dying for someone, anyone to revive this board!!!

catlover79 · 07-22-2008, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jude86

oh please do........I've been dying for someone, anyone to revive this board!!!

Will do.

AB · 07-22-2008, 05:40 PM

Great article! Its been years since I've seen her show or any of her movies.

The Great One · 07-23-2008, 05:53 PM

Very nice article! Thanks for posting it here.

Big3sCompanyFan · 03-31-2010, 07:18 PM

I'm glad to hear Doris is a vegetarian and keeps the faith by feeding her animals a vegetarian diet as well.

It's pretty shocking she totally shuns the public and her previous life of being such a MEGA star.

But she can do what she wants and if that's how she chooses to spend her golden years then so be it!!

TMC · 04-03-2017, 12:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jude The Obscure

Thanks for posting this!!

Did ya know that in the late 80s/early 90s CBS tried very hard to lure Ms Day back to series television ala a "Murder, She Wrote" mystery series?

In a nutshell, after her third husband took her to the cleaners financially and signed her to do her television show, which she didn't want to do, I think Doris was soured on show business, period, and just wanted to have a quiet, personal life, working with her beloved animals. She was offered a lot of movies scripts but turned them all down.

TMC · 04-03-2017, 12:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jude The Obscure

Thanks for posting this!!

Did ya know that in the late 80s/early 90s CBS tried very hard to lure Ms Day back to series television ala a "Murder, She Wrote" mystery series?

In a nutshell, after her third husband took her to the cleaners financially and signed her to do her television show, which she didn't want to do, I think Doris was soured on show business, period, and just wanted to have a quiet, personal life, working with her beloved animals. She was offered a lot of movies scripts but turned them all down.

07-16-2008, 01:57 AM	#1
Zoneboy RIP, I'LL NEVER FORGET YOU :( Moderator Forum Superstar Join Date: Jul 13, 2003 Location: AT HOME WISHING ALL THIS WAS JUST A DREAM AND THAT I'LL WAKE UP FROM THIS NIGHTMARE. Posts: 34,338	Doris Day: Why She Left Hollywood Link (CBS) When life seemed so much simpler in America - a half century or so ago - Doris Day was America's sweetheart, the beloved "girl next door" and a huge recording and movie star. "Doris Day is, to this day, the number one female box office star of all time, she's the only one who was number one for four years in a row," David A. Kaufman, author of a new biography about the star, told Sunday Morning correspondent Jerry Bowen. "That was never true of Elizabeth Taylor, Greta Garbo, Katherine Hepburn, of anyone else!" In the 1950s and 60s it was hard to find a movie magazine without her beaming face on the cover. And her leading men came from the "A-list" of the day, says Kaufman, whose new unauthorized biography "Doris Day, The Untold Story Of The Girl Next Door," was released in June. "Well, famously Rock Hudson, Cary Grant, James Cagney, Jimmy Stewart," said Kaufman. Add Frank Sinatra, Kirk Douglas and Jack Lemmon to the list, too. But Doris Day's reality, like that of that long ago America, was more complex and in some ways darker than the bubbling, everything's coming up roses public image. At the end of her career she not only left Hollywood. She stopped being Doris Day. For nearly 30 years now she's lived near Carmel, California. She's an avid animal rights advocate nursing strays back to health on her small ranch. And she's known as "Clara" to most friends - a nickname given to her early in her career. She's rarely seen in public and rarely heard except for one day each year. On her birthday a local radio station plays the songs she made famous...and Doris and her alter ego, Clara call in to say thanks. "Well, her first big hit was 'Sentimental Journey' which she recorded at the very end of the Second World War," Kaufman said. "And it became very popular for that reason with the, with the soldiers abroad who wanted to come home and with their wives here who wanted them home." It was 1939 when a 17-year-old Doris Kappelhoff of Cincinnati, Ohio began her singing career with the big bands of that era. Her stage name became Day and she was off on the ride of her life. But for all the success that would follow in song and film, she never found what she wanted most. "The only thing she ever really wanted was to have a happy marriage and a happy family life," Kaufman said. "And it's the one thing she never had. She was married four times, but she was ultimately not happy with any of her husbands." By the time she'd won acclaim for her first film, "Romance On The High Seas" in 1948, Day had been married and divorced twice and left with a baby boy. Her first husband beat her. Her second abandoned her. At age 25 her search for Mr. Right had gone very wrong. But her film career was taking off. And her films were giving a boost to her recordings. "'It's Magic,' which is in her first film, 'Romance On The High Seas' and then after that the next biggest song is 'Secret Love' from 'Calamity Jane.' And after that comes 'Que Sera, Sera,' which ends up being the biggest of all, of her entire career," said Kaufman. Cabaret singer Mary Cleere Haran created a one woman show dedicated to the songs of Doris Day. "She had a lovely lullaby quality to her voice and I think everybody responds to that. And I think it's universal" said Haran. Haran also wrote and produced a PBS documentary "Sentimental Journey." Now 17 years old, it features a rare interview in which Day reflected on her two decades of filmmaking - 39 films in all - and the one she liked most. "'Calamity Jane' (was) probably my favorite movie," Day said in the interview. "Because that's the real me. But when I was a little girl I'd stumble. I loved climbing trees and you know skating and doing all the things that the boys did. Yet I loved dolls." Her most popular film may have been "Pillow Talk," the first of three movies she did with Rock Hudson when both stars were number one at the box office. Their on screen chemistry was matched by a lifelong off screen friendship. Founded in part, said Kaufmann, on the secret lives they shared, which included her troubled marriages and his homosexuality. "I think, without ever discussing it, that they could relate to being basically the opposite to what their images suggested," said Kaufman. "For example the girl next door was not above having affairs...at least according to her alleged lovers...baseball player Maury Wills - which she denied - and Mickey Mantle, about which she was silent. Behind-the-scenes for 17 years of her life was Marty Melcher, agent and husband number three. He tightly managed her career as their marriage quickly became a business relationship. Day made the money and by accident or design Marty squandered it all. When Melcher died, Day learned her $23 million dollar fortune was actually a $400,000 debt. The Doris Day show, a situation comedy, saved her. It ran for five years on CBS and paid her legal bills as she fought her late husband's business partners to recover her losses. Eventually she won some of it back: "I just knew that justice would prevail," Day said at the time. "I've known it all along." By the early 1970s her career was largely over and her fourth marriage was failing. Despite offers she never took on another TV show until 1985 when she agreed to a cable show devoted to pets. It was called "Doris Day's Best Friends." The appearance of her human best friend was sad and shocking. Rock Hudson, gaunt and ghostly pale and gravely ill with AIDS was Day's guest. The illness had opened the door on his secret homosexuality. Hudson died two and a half months after appearing with Day. And she began her retreat from the public eye. "She looks like Doris Day - a little older, but Doris Day. She still looks great," said actress Kay Ballard, a long-time friend and occasional visitor to Day's Carmel Valley retreat. "She spends time making food for the animals. It's so funny, she has them on a vegetarian diet, and you know she really, she just adores her animals.' Ballard was a regular on the old Doris Day show. She says her old friend doesn't always answer her phone calls - sometimes doesn't even answer the door. Most days she just wants to be left alone. "I just think the disappointment she's had in marriages is what turned her off of people and turned her to animals," said Ballard. "And they never disappoint you." Life may not have been perfect for the girl next door. There were quite a few bumps along the road. But for Doris Kappelhoff from Cincinnati, Ohio, it's been a pretty amazing journey.
	__________________ 'Twas The Night Before Christmas And All Through The Full House Not A Creature Was Stirring, Not Even Mighty Mouse. All My Children We're Nestled All Snug In Their Beds While Visions Of Sugarbakers Danced In Their Heads.

07-18-2008, 01:56 PM	#2
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,376	Interesting article!! I'm glad to hear that Ms. Day is healthy and keeping busy with her menagerie. I can relate to her a little bit. I wish her all the best!
	__________________ "Jesus loves you and He approves this message." "I'm alive. I'm feeling good. I'm trying to live every moment as much as I can." - Valerie Harper, March 2013

07-23-2008, 05:53 PM	#12
The Great One Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Aug 29, 2006 Posts: 6,378	Very nice article! Thanks for posting it here.
	__________________ .

07-18-2008, 11:06 PM	#3
Jude The Obscure Retired Eternal Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Dec 10, 2006 Posts: 7,519	Thanks for posting this!! Did ya know that in the late 80s/early 90s CBS tried very hard to lure Ms Day back to series television ala a "Murder, She Wrote" mystery series?

07-18-2008, 11:19 PM	#5
Jude The Obscure Retired Eternal Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Dec 10, 2006 Posts: 7,519	Interesting factoid there!

07-18-2008, 11:49 PM	#6
catlover79 God Bless Val Forum Addict Join Date: May 29, 2006 Location: Bewitched in Ohio Posts: 70,376	My mom still has some DD albums on vinyl that she bought back in the day. I've never seen her TV show, but I see all 5 seasons are on DVD. I'll have to check them out of the library sometime.

07-21-2008, 11:29 AM	#7
Jude The Obscure Retired Eternal Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Dec 10, 2006 Posts: 7,519	I have the Greatest Hits CD I think you will enjoy watching her show, Monika!

07-22-2008, 11:14 AM	#9
Jude The Obscure Retired Eternal Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Dec 10, 2006 Posts: 7,519	oh please do........I've been dying for someone, anyone to revive this board!!!

07-22-2008, 05:40 PM	#11
AB Member Eternal Member Forum Icon Join Date: Dec 26, 2006 Location: The South Posts: 59,426	Great article! Its been years since I've seen her show or any of her movies.

03-31-2010, 07:18 PM	#13
Big3sCompanyFan Member Senior Member Join Date: Sep 16, 2003 Posts: 2,493	I'm glad to hear Doris is a vegetarian and keeps the faith by feeding her animals a vegetarian diet as well. It's pretty shocking she totally shuns the public and her previous life of being such a MEGA star. But she can do what she wants and if that's how she chooses to spend her golden years then so be it!!