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Biography
One of America's most prolific actresses was born Doris Mary Ann
Von Kapplehoff on April 3, 1924 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her parents
divorced while Doris was still a child and her mother gained
custody. Like most little girls, Doris liked to dance. She would,
sometimes, dance with friends and, sometimes, just by herself. Soon
enough she began the transition to have her dancing take her
loftier heights. She had dreamed of being a ballerina, but an
automobile accident ended what hopes she had of dancing on stage.
It was a terrible setback. However, after taking singing lessons,
Doris seemed to find a new vocation. She sang with local bands. It
was while on one singing engagement, she met Al Jorden whom she
eventually married in 1941. Jorden was very prone to violence and
they split after two years, not long after the birth of their son
Terry who would later become a record producer. In 1946, Doris met,
wed, and divorced George Weidler. This union lasted less than a
year. As with most singers, Doris had an agent and it was he who
talked her into taking a screen test with the possibility of making
motion pictures. The movie moguls of Warner Brother's Studios liked
what they saw and signed Doris to a contract. Her first feature
film was as Georgia Garrett in 1948's ROMANCE ON THE HIGH SEAS. In
1949, Doris made two films, MY DREAM IS YOURS and IT'S A GREAT
FEELING. The contract between Doris and Warner's seemed a perfect
match. All during the 1950's Doris turned in fine performances for
Warner which in turn helped her to become a wonderful solo artist
with hit after musical hit. Her filmmaking pace was picking up with
three films in 1950 and five in 1951. It was during the latter that
Doris met Marty Melcher and he adopted her young son. In 1953,
Doris starred in the title role in CALAMITY JANE. The film was a
success and more followed. LUCKY ME (1954), THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO
MUCH (1956), and PILLOW TALK (1959) kept movie goers entertained.
During the 1960's there was to be more success. The decade dawned
bright with 1960's PLEASE DON'T EAT THE DAISIES. It was during the
60's that Doris began to slow down the pace somewhat. Her husband
Marty had made deals for her to star in films she didn't really
care about which led to a bout with exhaustion. The 60's wasn't to
be a repeat of the previous, busy decade. Again, the films in which
she appeared in were box-office success stories. Films such as DO
NOT DISTURB (1965), THE GLASS BOTTOM BOAT (1966), WHERE WERE YOU
WHEN THE LIGHTS WENT OUT? and WITH SIX, YOU GET AN EGGROLL (both in
1968), delighted the legions of Doris Day fans. With the death of
Marty in 1968, Doris never appeared on the silver screen, but she
had been signed to do THE DORIS DAY SHOW, on television, in which
she played Doris Martin. The hit was, what else, a big TV hit. The
run lasted from 1968-1973, whereupon Doris did only occasional
appearances. Today at 75, she runs the Doris Day Animal League in
Carmel, California which advocates homes and proper care of
household pets. What else would you expect of America's sweetheart?
Biography courtesy of the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com).
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Doris Day
