Doris was born to German Catholic parents in 1924. She had two brothers, Richard, who died before she was born and Paul, a few years older. Her father and mother split when she was about eight. At twelve, she had a dance act with a boy called Jerry Doherty, with whom - after winning $500 in a talent contest - she went to Hollywood. On returning to Cincinnati, aged 14, she was in a terrible car crash which almost ended her dancing career. At 16, she discovered that she could sing and began touring with the Les Brown Band, where she met Al Jordan, who she later married. He turned out to be a violent and abusive husband and, soon after the birth of her son Terry in 1942, she initiated divorce proceedings. In 1946, after entertaining the troops for a couple of years, she met and married George Weidler but this liaison lasted only eight months. In 1948, she made her first film, Romance on the High Seas. While filming for Warner Brothers, she met Martin Melcher, who became her agent and later, on her 27th birthday, her husband. In 1958, her brother Paul died and it was around this time that her husband started to make her sign to do films that she did not want to make. This eventually led to her becoming ill from nervous exhaustion. By the time he died in 1968, Doris was bankrupt and owed thousands of dollars - it turned out that he had squandered virtually all the money she had ever made - but she was eventually awarded $22 million by the courts. She married for the fourth time in 1976 and since her divorce in 1980 has devoted her life to animals.
Vegetarian She and her son Terry Melcher (along with a partner) co-own the Cypress Inn in Carmel-By-The-Sea, California, a small "Hotel California-esque" inn built in a beautiful Mediterranean motif. According to her autobiography, she got the nickname Clara Bixby when Billy De Wolfe told her, on the Tea for Two set, that she didn't look like a "Doris Day," but more like a "Clara Bixby." To this day, that remains her nickname among a close circle of old friends, such as Van Johnson. Rock Hudson called her 'Eunice' because he said that whenever he thought of her as Eunice, it made him laugh. Turned down the role of Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate. The role went to Anne Bancroft. She is referenced in the song "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" by pop band Wham!, a single that hit Billboard's #1 in 1984. Measurements: 36-25-36 (in 1953) (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine) When her husband and manager of 17 years, Martin Melcher, died suddenly in April of 1968, she professed not to have known that he had negotiated a multimillion-dollar deal with CBS to launch The Doris Day Show the following fall. After an abbreviated period of mourning, she went ahead with the series, which ran successfully for five seasons. It was during the location filming of The Man Who Knew Too Much, when she saw how camels, goats and other "animal extras" in a marketplace scene were being treated, that Day began her lifelong commitment to preventing animal abuse. She is also referenced in the song, "We Didn't Start The Fire", by Billy Joel. Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith. Pg. 133-134. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387 Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George W. Bush [June 2004]. She did not attend the White House award ceremony because of her intense fear of flying. Referenced in the song "Dig It" by The Beatles. Referenced in the song "Wrap Her Up" by Elton John. She was born on the same day as Marlon Brando. In order to make a political statement regarding the platform of the Canadian Alliance Party, in 2000 Canadian Satirist Rick Mercer launched an attempt to hold a national referendum on the question of whether or not Stockwell Day should be forced to change his first name to "Doris". Within days he had the required number of signatures under the Alliance Parties current platform to launch a federal referendum. Doris, according to her publicist, was amused by this. Was named the top box-office star of 1963 by the Motion Picture Herald, based on an annual poll of exhibitors as to the drawing power of movie stars at the box-office, conducted by Quigley Publications. Her son Terry Melcher had rented the house at 10050 Cielo Drive in Bel Air, California, at which Sharon Tate and her friends were murdered by the Manson Family. On March 23, 1969, Charles Manson had visited the house looking for Melcher, a music producer and composer who had worked with The Beach Boys, Bobby Darin and The Byrds. The house was now sub-leased by Tate, and her photographer told Manson to leave by "the back alley," possibly giving Manson a motive for the later attack. Melcher had auditioned Manson for a recording contract but rejected him, and there was a rumor after the murders that Manson had intended to send a message to Melcher, a theory that police later discounted. When Sandra Dee died in 2005, Day and Annette Funicello became the last living American cinema sweethearts mentioned in the popular song "Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee", from the movie Grease. The other sweethearts mentioned--Troy Donahue, Rock Hudson and Elvis Presley--all died in later years following the release of the film. Premiere Magazine ranked her as #24 on a list of the Greatest Movie Stars of All Time in their Stars in Our Constellation feature (2005). Is referenced in the song "Life Is a Rock But the Radio Rolled Me" by Reunion. Reportedly did not like "swear words." As a recording artist, she would require anyone who said a swear word to put a quarter in a "swear jar." In addition, she does not allow her songs to be used in movies that contain swear words. Has often cited Calamity Jane as her personal favorite of the 39 films she appeared in. Her mother named her after her favorite silent film star, Doris Kenyon. Her great-niece Pia Douwes is also a critically acclaimed actress. Is portrayed by Diane Behrens in Rock Hudson Referenced in the song "Dirty Epic" by Underworld. Also referenced in the song, "What do we do? We fly!" from the musical "Do I Hear A Waltz?" by Richard Rodgers and Stephen Sondheim. Has a 1982 hit song by the hugely popular Dutch 80s ska-pop band 'Doe Maar' named after her. Son Terry Melcher was born February 8, 1942; died November 19, 2004. Her only UK appreciation club is called 'Friends of Doris Day' and is based in Oxford UK. She lived for years in the star-laden Crescent Drive at 713 Crescent. Her good friend Louis Jourdan lived just across the street at 714. She is a staunch supporter of the Republican Party, and told the press she voted for George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential election. Telephoned the White House to personally explain to President George W. Bush her reasons for not attending her award presentation in June 2004, and said she was praying hard that he would be elected to a second term of office in November. After her Pillow Talk co-star Rock Hudson died of AIDS in 1985, Day told the press that she had never known he was a homosexual. In Italy, most of her films were dubbed by Rosetta Calavetta. She was occasionally dubbed by Dhia Cristiani, Rina Morelli and once by Lidia Simoneschi in The Man Who Knew Too Much.