Doris Day

Lore & Background

Day began her career as a big band singer in 1937, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, 'Sentimental Journey' and 'My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time' with Les Brown and His Band of Renown. She left Brown to embark on a solo career and recorded more than 650 songs from 1947 to 1967. Her recording of 'Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)' became known as her signature song and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2011.

Day made her film debut with the musical Romance on the High Seas (1948). She played the title role in the musical Calamity Jane (1953) and starred in the thriller The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956). She co-starred with Rock Hudson in three successful comedies: Pillow Talk (1959), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, Lover Come Back (1961) and Send Me No Flowers (1964). After ending her film career in 1968, she starred in her own television sitcom The Doris Day Show (1968–1973).

Reader's Guide

Doris Day's significance lies in her dual success as a top-selling recording artist and a leading Hollywood actress, a rare achievement that made her one of the most recognizable entertainers of the mid-20th century. Her career began in the big band era, and she became a symbol of wholesome American femininity through her film roles and her clear, warm singing voice. Her signature song 'Que Sera, Sera' remains a cultural touchstone. Day's legacy includes numerous lifetime achievement awards: the Golden Globe and Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1989, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004, and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. As of 2020, she was one of eight recording artists to have been the top box-office earner in the United States four times. Beyond entertainment, she was a prominent advocate for animal welfare, founding the Doris Day Animal League and the Doris Day Animal Foundation.

Did You Know?

• Day was named after actress Doris Kenyon.
• She broke her right leg in a car accident on October 13, 1937, ending her prospects as a professional dancer.
• Her stage name 'Doris Day' was suggested by bandleader Barney Rapp in 1939 because her surname Kappelhoff was too long for marquees.
• Day stated for most of her life that she was born in 1924, but her birth certificate found by the Associated Press on her 95th birthday showed a 1922 year of birth.

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"Doris Day (born Doris Mary Anne Kappelhoff; 3 April 1922 – 13 May 2019) was an American actor, singer, and animal welfare advocate." — Doris Day "The really frightening thing about middle age is the knowledge that you'll grow out of it." — Doris Day