Let's stroll back to a simpler time, when movies made us feel good, when movie stars were glamorous......



When Doris Day was America's Sweetheart, and freckles were in style... 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 show was, what else, a big TV hit. The run lasted from 1968-1973, whereupon Doris did only occasional appearances.

Today at 85, 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?


Que Sera Sera
Doris Day

That's it for this month gang...Keep those sneakers dusted off for our next Stroll Down Memory Lane



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