Historical Figures Codexery

Doris Day

The girl next door with a voice that defined an era.

Day was a prominent advocate for animal welfare and founded the Doris Day Animal League and the Doris Day Animal Foundation.[1] Born on April 3, 1922, in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Alma Sophia Welz and William Joseph Kappelhoff, Doris Day's birth name was Doris Mary Anne Kappelhoff.[2] Day was among eight recording artists who achieved the top box-office earner position in the United States on four separate occasions.[1]

Quick Facts

Birth name
Doris Mary Anne Kappelhoff
Born
3 April 1922
Birthplace
Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Died
13 May 2019
Place of death
Carmel Valley, California, U.S.
Occupation
Actress, singer
Years active
1937–2012
Children
Terry Melcher

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

Day said Raine had a greater effect on her singing style than anyone else.[3] Day received her only Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for Pillow Talk (1959).[4] Day was married four times, including to Martin Melcher from 1951 until his death in 1968.[5][6] After Melcher's death, Day discovered he and his business partner had squandered her earnings, leaving her deeply in debt.[7]

William Joseph Kappelhoff, Day's father, worked as a music teacher and choirmaster; his infidelity caused Day's parents to separate in 1932, when she was ten years old.[2][8] A car collision with a freight train on October 13, 1937, broke Day's right leg, ending her dance career; her mother Alma then arranged for her to take singing lessons from Grace Raine.[9][3] Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn were impressed by Day's performance of "Embraceable You", which led to her being recommended for and making her film debut in Romance on the High Seas (1948).[10]

What the cited sources add

The "About" page on Day's official website notes that her personal life was the very antithesis of her super-stardom.[11] The same source states that Day credits Grace Raine with having the greatest impact on her singing career.[11] A 2015 article from Dorisday.net reports that nine times in 10 years (1949-1958), disc jockeys rated Day as the top female singer in the U.S.[12] The CNN Fast Facts record lists her birth name as Doris Mary Kappelhoff and her birth date as April 3, 1922.[13]

The same record notes that Day was awarded $22.8 million in a fraud and malpractice lawsuit against her former attorney in 1974.[13] According to biographer David A. Kaufman, Day is the top-earning female box office star ever and the only one to hold the number one position for four consecutive years.[14]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Doris Day" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Doris Day", Biography in Context, 2013; Hotchner, "Doris Day: Her Own Story", William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1976; "Doris Day: Why she left Hollywood", CBS News, July 14, 2008 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Doris Day" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Harmetz, "Doris Day, Movie Star Who Charmed America, Dies at 97", The New York Times, May 13, 2019; Elber, "Birthday surprise for ageless Doris Day: She's actually 95", Associated Press, April 2, 2017; Actress Doris Day dies at 97 Philly.com May 13, 2019.; Leidinger, "Doris Day heißt eigentlich Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff", Westfälische Nachrichten, May 13, 2015; Reitwiesner, "Ancestry of Doris Day", WARGS.COM home page, April 3, 1924; "W. Kappelhoff, Father of Movie Star Doris Day", The Los Angeles Times, April 3, 1967, p. 34; "Singer's Dad Di en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Doris Day" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hotchner 1975, p. 18 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Doris Day" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Finler, "The Hollywood Story", Wallflower Press, 2003, p. 281; Higgins, "Hollywood Flashback: Doris Day Earned an Oscar Nom for 1959's 'Pillow Talk'", The Hollywood Reporter, May 15, 2019; Glitre, "Hollywood Romantic Comedy: States of the Union, 1934–1965", Manchester University Press, 2006, p. 159 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Doris Day" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Doris Day: Why she left Hollywood", CBS News, July 14, 2008; "Doris Day Fast Facts", CNN, March 20, 2018 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Doris Day" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Radio Best 5-Star Bulletin." Radio and Television Best 2:9 (October 1949), 8. ("Gossips report keen interest between Doris Day and Marty Melcher, husband of Pa; "Doris Day Fast Facts", CNN, March 20, 2018; "Producer Terry Melcher Dies at 62", Billboard (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Doris Day" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Sonneborn, "A to Z of American Women in the Performing Arts", Infobase Publishing, 2002, p. 52 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Doris Day" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Kappelhoff", The Cincinnati Post, January 27, 1919, p. 8; "Kappel", Valley Times, April 9, 1957, p. 21; Hotchner 1975, p. 18; Hotchner, "Doris Day: Her Own Story", William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1976; Amory, "Doris Day talks about Rock Hudson, Ronald Reagan and her own story", Pittsburgh Press, August 3, 1986; Parish, "Hollywood songsters. 1. Allyson to Funicello", Routledge, January 1, 2003, p. 235 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Doris Day" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hodges, "Hamilton's Most Famous Car/Train Collision Free Consultation", Kruger & Hodges Accident Attorneys, February 21, 2022; "Trenton Friends Regret Injury to Girl Dancer", Hamilton Daily News Journal, October 18, 1937, p. 7}} {{Free access; Browne, "The Guide to United States Popular Culture", Popular Press, 2001, p. 220–221; "Broken leg perils career of Cincinnati Dancer--Girl, 16, Is Injured On Eve Of Trip To Hollywood", Cincinnati Enquirer, October 15, 1937, p. 22 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Doris Day" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hotchner 1975, p. 18; Gentry, "The Age of Anxiety: Music, Politics, and McCarthyism, 1948–1954", 2008, p. 104; "Michael Curtiz Services Set", The Tennessean, April 12, 1962, p. 58}} {{Free access (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. "About". facts only, no text reused. dorisday.com
  12. "The Films of Doris Day: recordings", Dorisday.net, October 14, 2015. facts only, no text reused. dorisday.net
  13. "Doris Day Fast Facts", CNN, March 20, 2018. facts only, no text reused. edition.cnn.com
  14. "Doris Day: Why she left Hollywood", CBS News, July 14, 2008. facts only, no text reused. cbsnews.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Doris Day (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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