Brogan: Another 'Day' for Doris!

Doris Day was 50 years of age when she donned this bikini back in the 1970’s. It was for an episode in the 5th season of her highly popular CBS comedy series, “The Doris Day Show”.

I wrote her a letter after watching the show telling her that she could give Raquel Welch a run for her money. Her response that followed a week or so later, was in the typical Doris Day modestly, unassuming manner. “Actually it’s just about taking care of myself on a regular basis. I watch what I eat and swim and ride my bike whenever time permits.” Like all of the advice Doris has given me over the many years that I have known her, it was spot-on.

This weekend, on April 3rd, Doris Day marks yet another birthday. In the past few years I’ve taught a class for OLLI at Granite State College entitled, “More than Freckles – The Amazing Career of Doris Day”. In every instance the class has filled quickly to capacity and I’ve received more positive feedback than virtually any of the dozens of classes I have presented.

I knew I had hit a homerun when I had an exuberant class member arrive for the third session and ask to speak with me privately.

“You’ll never guess what I did this week?” she exclaimed with the kind of smile on her face that made me think she might have won the Lottery!

Her response had me caught up in her obvious joy as she informed me that she’d gone on-line and spent well over $ 1,000 on Doris Day CD’s and DVD’s.

“I want to find out what I missed. People always said Doris Day was square and I listened. However from the clips you’ve shared and information provided in class, I can see there is much, much more to Doris Day that I’d ever have imagined.”

In a staggeringly successful career that lasted for decades, Doris Day sang with the Big Bands, starred in 39 motion pictures, did 128 episodes of a situation comedy program that often ranked in the top-ten in the Nielsen Ratings, recorded nearly 800 songs, and that’s barely scratching the surface.

The Quigley Poll that has been conducted annually since the early 30’s still finds Doris Day is the number one female box-office movie star of all-time. Even her last film, “With Six You Get Eggroll” proved to be a hit, being one of the top 10 money-earning releases of her 39 films.

In film she played in a cross-section of motion pictures the likes of which have never been equaled by another actress.

There were musicals, musical biographies, film versions of Broadway musicals, dancing musicals, a musical western and musical dramas. There were also suspense thrillers including one directed by the legendary Alfred Hitchcock. There were romantic comedies, slapstick comedies and domestic comedies. Few major stars of the 50’s and 60’s played mothers, on-screen, but Doris did – more than a dozen times.

It was after going to the Concord Drive-In Theatre in the family’s “Beach Wagon” to see “Please Don’t Eat the Daisies”, that I sat down and wrote a letter to Doris Day telling her that if I didn’t have my own mother “I’d love to have you as a mother”, so real was her on-screen portrayal of a mother with four children in the film.

She responded with a handwritten letter and a promise to stay in touch, which she has done.

For many years she was the biggest female recording star with Columbia, amassing many Gold Records for her million-selling hits. The soundtrack album to his smash hit film, “Love Me or Leave Me” went to the top of the charts and remained on Billboard’s album chart for 28 weeks. It also ranks at number 16 of the top-selling albums produced between 1955 and 1996.

Doris Day was never a star who felt the need to promote herself by attending Hollywood parties, premieres or, as it is said about one actress, “going to the opening of a can of Tuna!”

More often Doris could be found at a Dodgers or Lakers game or walking on the beach or playing with her many animals.

When she founded The Doris Day Animal Foundation, it became a full-time and extremely satisfying chapter of her life – an extension of the love she’d always had for the “four-leggers” as she lovingly referred to them. After Hurricane Katrina left many animals without their owners, Doris chartered a plane and brought them to California to be treated, cared for and returned to their owners when they could be located or placed in loving homes.

Carmel is her home now and she owns a lovely inn – The Cypress – as well as actively remaining involved with her Foundation. Her fan mail continues to be of a staggering amount as new fans discover her via DVD and television. She remains rooted in reality and not caught up in a sense of self-importance.

I remember when we first met and I thought I needed to make a special impression so I told her, truthfully, that I’d seen “With Six You Get Eggroll” 54 times.

Without missing a beat she responded, “And you didn’t get Diabetes?”

This fall I’ll be doing my Doris Day class again and will once again love the opportunity to share with a new group, my friend. Happy Birthday Doris!!!