Day Doris, born Doris von Kappelhoff *3 April 1924 Cincinnati (Ohio), †13 May 2019 Carmel Valley Village, American singer and actress. As a child, she took music lessons from her father. In 1940, she won a prize in an amateur dance competition, and in 1941 she made her debut recordings for a local radio station. She worked with orchestras including those of Bob Crosby and Lester Brown. Her first hit, Sentimental Journey (1944), dates from this period. In 1948, she began her film career (Romance on the High Seas, dir. by M. Curtiz). She starred in romantic comedies, often enlivening them with swinging, melodic songs. Over the course of 20 years, she appeared in around 40 films, including those directed by D. Butler: It’s a Great Feeling (1949), Tea for Two (1950), Lullaby of Broadway (1951), April in Paris (1952); as well as Young Man with a Horn (dir. by M. Curtiz, 1950), Young at Heart (dir. by G. Douglas, 1954), Love Me or Leave Me (dir. by Ch. Vidor, 1955), Pillow Talk (dir. by M. Gordon, 1959), Please Don’t Eat the Daisies and Jumbo (dir. by Ch. Walters, 1960 and 1962). She won an Oscar for the songs Secret Love from the film Calamity Jane (dir. by D. Butler, 1953) and Que será, será from the film The Man Who Knew Too Much (dir. by A. Hitchcock, 1956). From the late 1960s, she was involved in television, hosting programmes such as the Doris Day TV Show (1968–73) and Doris Day’s Best Friends (1985–86). She devoted herself to animal rights work through the Doris Day Animal Foundation. Day’s son, Terry Melcher, is a record producer.
