Did Doris say to a potential date "I wouldn't go to the movies with you if they were giving away gold nuggets!" That's what David Bret had said. Well, I am unsure but, according to Doris, Please do not be upset over what you read!
I have one little nugget to offer: David Bret claimed to have contacted Doris, with a favorable response from her. I have no idea if that is true, but the Doris/DDAF statement contradicts this.
The "official" response, written or not, would appear to be similar in all these cases. There is no affirmation of their contents in any case, and no personal endorsement of any of these works. The goal is fairly clear: to focus on activities beneficial to the DDAF, which is their main if not sole concern.
So if you do not like what a book says, please just ignore it, but please support the DDAF, many of its contributors being family-oriented people who like Doris's videography and music. Doris also does endorse her own autobiography.
To my knowledge, no fan has suggested dropping support for the DDAF, although some have brought what they deemed to be defamatory personal issues to Doris's attention. I believe Doris hopes that they will not be upset, and that people will continue to be fans and supporters.
I believe that Doris's family appeal will always be there, regardless. Like "Cheaper by the Dozen", the appeal is immortal, although Clifton Webb, Jeanie Crane, and Myrna Loy are mortal.
Beyond this statement, Doris, I believe, moves on, as her son had suggested she does. Personally she likely does not dwell on any of this except in correspondence, and certainly she does not dwell on Ms Barothy.
One can well imagine that coming to Hollywood by herself, and getting where Doris had gotten did generate jealousies, conflicts and some enemies. I am sure she made some mistakes along the way. There is no doubt, that when people try to better understand her life, accomplishments, and the story behind the story, she would rather that we not just remember the negatives strewn about, or woven into some twisted patchwork fabric that distorts who she was and is.
A quick glance over at the FORUMs on Doris Day Forum, and Pillow Talk shows that they have pretty much retreated under the blankies on their beds, some of them with flashlights reading David Kaufman's book, clinging onto their three chilly brass monkeys.
All About Doris Day !
Sunday, June 15, 2008
All About Doris Day : A Time for Brass Monkeys
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
All About Doris Day : Kibosh from Doris
With the rising interest in Doris's biography, Doris and her inner circle decided to issue a statement regarding her Animal Foundation's reaction to the latest publications.
The text of this letter is published elsewhere but I will reproduce it here also :Many of you have expressed to me your feelings of dismay regarding the many unauthorized books about me. I'm told the advance publicity for the U.S. and U.K. books has been misleading and wrong about my life and demeaning to me.
Because of the special relationship I've shared with you for so many
years, I wanted to personally let you know that I have never spoken to the authors of the new books and have no intention of reading any of them. As far as I'm concerned, the books simply represent more in a long line of attempts by individuals to make money by relating their uninformed versions of my life.
If anything, my life has been blessed by fans and friends like you, and I
can't tell you how much gratitude I feel for your caring and loyalty.
I only hope that you will continue to join me in focusing attention on
what will always be my most important objective -- love and care for
animals.
With love to all of you,
Doris Day
Apparently some in Doris's inner circle are troubled by the biographical information being published and are prompting Doris to respond or react to this material. Doris/DDAF had said she appreciates their concern and loyalty, and hopes they continue to support her activities regarding pets. In addition, she states she did not participate in these books and that they are unauthorized.
I would like to say, right up front, that I am not directly or indirectly paid in anyway by Doris or her Foundation. And so I feel free to write what I feel to be apt.
This letter is really nothing new. If there are inaccuracies about her life, Doris has not bothered to correct them. She says she does not intend to respond to anything. Doris also did not herself say that the biographies were demeaning. If some of the "avid" fans think the material is demeaning, how could they be sure if they do not know Doris's history?
The vast majority of information about Doris probably is accurate, although incomplete. There are some details that might have been excluded, and probably would have if Doris or her Foundation would have objected. Clearly Doris does not want to alienate fans who have supported her animal projects. But Doris herself was always more open than these fans, fans who tend to over-react in fan-like adoration. The DDAF also seems to do what they deem good for their projects. This is totally divorced, I feel, from Doris's cinematic friends and the public, who have an interest in her personal life, as all "normal" fans do. Some of them, dare I say, do not even care about dogs at all, and if they had a dog, would only feed it scraps.
Why does Doris not participate in these projects? Well, the understanding I have come to is that, first of all, Doris has some pet peeves about certain subjects which she personally does not want discussed. So far, to my knowledge, no one has ventured much if at all, into these subjects. Secondly, there may be fears about some subjects alienating the public, a public which has been groomed to accept Doris's fare as a "family" sort of entertainment. So the answer : After "With Six You Get Eggroll", the mom puts up a fence and begins to take care of stray neighborhood Beverly Hills pets, and then there are more and more, and so they live forever after, just a huge bundle of love doggies and Doris.
This is nice, for the family set, but for people outside this community, this image is very unsatisfying as a representation of who Doris is. As a public person, the real person "who Doris is" will always be an interest, and people will come to some identification of her, one way or another. I think Doris has taken the Beverly Hill's attitude that "you didn't see that", and "you do not know that", just a little to extremes.
Doris's life seem to be full of contradictions. I am personally hoping that Mr. Kaufman's book answers some of my questions, but I wish that Doris would freely contribute.
I know Doris does not care about an Academy Award, but Lauren Bacall, who was quite forthright about her own life, said the reason Doris did not get an award is because she wasn't good enough.
I have always wondered what she meant by that. Doris was enormously popular, and a box office smash, so what was wrong with Doris? Did she have an affair with Bogey? Was it something even more sinister? Will we ever know?
So to close, I cannot help but feel that, although there exists a small group that objects to these biographical works, even those who claim to object are reading the book (or waiting until it is at the library), and most are fascinated by its contents. I know at least one person who claimed to be sick, just so he could stay home and devour this Kaufmanian tome.
Monday, June 9, 2008
All About Doris Day : Doris and her Dancing Shoes
How does a female dancer keep her shoes on, if she likes to wear unorthodox dancing shoes? The gladiator sandal at the left, by Sergio Rossi, is ready to wear ($1200). Those are some pretty crazy straps there. Imagine if you could wear this shoe without the straps. Doris knew how, back in 1956.
Several people filed a patent for a sort of shoe stay device. Since Doris is the only woman mentioned in the patent, one can well imagine that she was the one who had to wear these shoes. The lawyers got the lion's share but part possessors of the patent include Martin Melcher, Doris Day Melcher, Gordon MacRae and Kirk Douglas (Patent No 2,948,971; filed on Aug 3, 1956). The basic idea was to emplace a permanent magnet in the shoes heel (22), and another attached to the heel of the foot (17). Thus when walking or moving abo
ut the sandal was magnetically held to one's heel.
Doris had already finished her dancing pictures at the time this patent was filed. It shows that Doris and her friends were ambitious, somewhat inventive, and had lawyers on retainer. One must wonder how lucrative this might have been. It costs money to keep your patent in force. I have never seen this catch on anywhere, have you? Maybe where Jerome Rosenthal, her lawyer, had invested in cattle and oil wells, there also existed a shoe shop with some fancy dancing slippers. (see full patent)
So ladies, if you'd like to d some stepping out like Doris, buy yourself some sandals and fix them up. You'll walk in fashion, and only you will know your sandal secret
All About Doris Day : Doris Forum is Attacked!
It has been awhile since Doris's birthday, and her fans are looking forward to reading her new biography by David Kaufman, or are they? The website known as "The Best Forum on Doris Day" has been attacked!
Just when you thought the most racy thing you might hear about Doris is that a puppy has had an accident, this surprise arises! Apparently the life of Doris is still quite controversial and sensitive among her fans, even though she left Hollywood long ago.
The attack on "dorisday.net", a forum dedicated to discussions about Doris, has resulted in the possible loss of many postings and extended commentaries about Doris, her movies, and her music. This attack comes on the heels of the release of David Kaufman's book. The fan community, sensitized previously by the publishing of Mary Anne Barothy's memoir on Doris, rifted into two factions : The first, people that have supported Doris and her causes that want to preserve her memory as established previous to the release of these books as a movie queen idol, and another that wants to discuss her personal life in conjunction with her movie career. At the time of publishing Mary Anne's book, another forum website on Doris by Stephen Munns entitled "Pillow Talk" went temporarily offline, possibly as a result of attacks on the site from people protesting the discussions of the memoir (See Stephen Munn's Posting on Doris's Privacy).
Now David Kaufman's book is released and just prior to people discussing the book, the Doris Day Forum is attacked. This time the event happened without warning or discussion, possibly as a result of a hack that allows the web forum to be manipulated, elements deleted, and text entries altered. This is a shame since the site is a valuable reference on Doris, maintained by her fans and friends. Bryan James, the webmaster and major contributor to the site, is apparently working to restore a backup version of the website. We wish him good luck in doing so. It appears that someone who read the forum, is the perpetrator of this act, and this person gained access to Bryan's server!
On Bryan's Forum, just before the conniptions created by the Kaufman book, they were discussing rules of order on the site. In these arenas the website owner and webmaster has his goals for the site, and the people who contribute have theirs. This has led to extended debate, discussions, and in some cases extended personal attacks of a verbal sort. The Doris Day Forum was just performing a poll on the issue of imposing rules, when it was hacked. Two-thirds of the people taking the poll wanted specific rules on content, and the remainder did not care or felt a "sharing and caring" open-ended discussion was what they wanted.
Some members of her fan club who desire excluding discussions on these biographical works, claim Doris herself does not like that they have been published, and would prefer to have her privacy in all personal matters. Therefore, as loyal fans, they have taken it onto themselves to stymie discussions. It is open to question if Doris is really opposed to people discussing these books. Clearly she cannot issue a press release stating she personally wants these books stopped. She has not issued a statement to her fan club either, to my knowledge. Doris has made it clear that she personally does not want to discuss her own personal past with anyone for the sake of a book. Also when discussing other celebrities, she has shielded their private lives from public discussions. In Carmel, people have protected her from personal harassment by rabid fans trying to track her down, probably much to her appreciation.
Other fans, however, wish to know who Doris is, and what makes her tick. That is not at all unusual, when it comes to celebrities. Some of these discussions are fresh and interesting aspects of a star's life, but on occasion items are divulged that detract from the gloss of one's public image. Kathryn Hepburn, for example, turned against the scrutiny of her personal life when she had been attacked by the public for her relationship with Spenser Tracy. People like Elizabeth Taylor on the other hand, used personal publicity to actually sell her films. People are fascinated by the lives of celebrities because their lives are distinct. This attention is courted generally, and so, .. this interest is hard to stop. When people lead public lives, they give this up. It goes with the territory. But every individual must decide if a particular issue ought to be discussed.
Where I depart from inlookers, is telephoto lenses, people peering into your personal residence, and stories about personal incidental happenings that are in bad taste. In these times when people are chased down the road by paparazzi, clearly people can go too far. As a personal, matter among an inner core of people, one expects friends to keep embarrassing, defamatory, and humiliating things out of the public eye. Things are said about everyone, some are unflattering, and some are malicious falsehoods intended to hurt you. My personal philosophy is one of complete openness. I am a Doris fan. I will not intentionally pass on personal information about anyone that is known to be untrue, unless its falsity is obvious and intended as an object of humor. I will point out falsehoods where I encounter them. I also respect her fans and will not censor commentary unless it is extreme.
For example, In Kaufman's book, he discusses Rock Hudson's testicle sticking out of his shorts. I have no reservations about commentary discussing testicles, but as a subject off by itself, it lacks significance. If it is part of a discussion of horseplay between them, it may have more interest. If it were part of something he did to get her to laugh about her hysterectomy, it might actually be heart-warming in a silly way. She and Rock sent each other fake fan mail. I wondered about their contents and I was told I would not be interested, and so, I believe that is true and I am indeed not interested.
We are aghast that someone has taken this to such an extreme. Usually, someone gives a warning before taking down a website. Will this happen again to someone else? We are white-knuckled here, wondering if Bryan can bring his Forum back, and if Doris's crazed fan will take actions against others. Looking at the Doris Day Forum this morning, it is now completely gone. Let's hope that discussions about Doris have a little something for everyone in the family, and that the rift in Doris's community will heal.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
All About Doris Day : The Case of Doris' Longevity
Doris' parents, William and Alma, lived to ages 74 and 81 respectively. Her grandparents to ages 64, 63, 41, and 69. Actually a rough draft genealogy is available online here. Life was harder back then, but the homemade pretzels were good. So Doris is doing comparatively well, but she is not bulletproof. Doris has exercised, eaten fairly well, drank and smoked in moderation or not at all, and laughed some which helps. Singing in moderation is also good for the heart and lungs, but Doris' singing no longer makes the hills come alive as it once did. So there are recent health concerns ....
So how long will Doris live? We hope to at least 125. But if she is going to make it, it will require some support from everyone else. As San Francisco goes crazy over the Olympic torch, we must sit back and realize - this is not going to assist Doris really at all. We have to stop buying things like apricot mousse for Doris. Although Doris might have developed a sweet tooth, too much sugar is not really good for you except on special occasions, right? Hopefully Bets helped her out with some of that. And what is one of Doris' favorite foods? At least as far back as the 70's, one if her favorites is salmon. As Doris falters and tells us "She is not bed ridden, yet.", we must pause and wonder : Is she getting enough salmon?
The is a concern because the salmon are no longer running in the Sacramento River, and this threatens Doris' future supply. In 2002, nearly 800,000 salmon were harvested, and this year, only 55,000. Restrictions on fishing these 4-finners, are seriously being considered to save the whole population from total annihilation. How many years are left? No one can say.
We really cannot expect Doris to get out there and tell them in the same way she did in "It Happened to Jane". So get out there, and tell those activators to forget the torch, and work on the fisheries that are threatening this supply by careless harvesting. There is only one other river in the US where one can harvest Pacific salmon, and that is also somewhat threatened.
We need to act. Although a healthy Doris is slightly contentious, we do not want Doris to get overly angry, or worse.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
All About Doris Day : Another Birthday Bash for Doris!
Well, Doris has celebrated another birthday with Magic 63, an AM radio station in Monterey! She called in twice and seems to be doing alright, thus countering claims to the contrary which seem to have been exaggerated! She received a yellow quilt with names of fans on it from Barbara McFadden, for which she was appreciative. Doris is 84, which is the age her friend Mary Wickes stopped acting in film and stage. Bob Hope worked until age 93, and at 84 was doing a world tour! But Doris left that behind years ago. She says she simply does not understand the response of her fans on her birthday ...
Well, what has Doris been up to besides playing the role of pack leader to all those doggies? I am not sure, but Doris said " I am not bed ridden yet.", and as she clears her throat she apologized for sounding older than she is. She has suffered from allergies, on and off for years. I wonder if it might be something in the wood she burns in her fireplace or some chemical they sprinkle on the golf course near her home. Anyway, allergies are a pain.
At age 95 Bob Hope was still playing golf. His wife Delores said "He can't hear as well, or see, but he plays as well as usual." I know Doris has played golf, but I doubt if she does much of that anymore. In fact if she putts at all, we would probably not know about it. Doris's reminiscences of events that passed this year are something that she kept to herself, possibly out of habit. We know she has a ritual of doing autographs, and a period of taking care of other business. This might include making phone calls, paying bills, engaging her lawyers, talking to her doctors, writing letters, etc. Then there is the other stuff she does that everyone wonders about.
This year, Doris established a scholarship in the name of her son Terry, a cat lover, at the UC-Davis School of Veternary Science. Ms Day received a Golden Globe Award just recently, but has never received an Oscar. Considering that Sophia Loren (1991) and Deborah Kerr (1994) have received Oscars, certainly Doris should. I would place her up there with Kirk Douglas, Mickey Rooney, Cary Grant, and Bob Hope. But, as far as I know Doris has never shown interest in an Oscar, she also left acting behind her sometime ago, she really was not that interested in attending academy events, and lastly her third husband did nothing to help the situation. Despite this, I believe if she expressed the slightest interest, she would have one almost immediately.
On her birthday, she preferred the solitude of her home and the company of Bets, her longtime friend and helper. Bets sounds robust, healthy, a positivist, and stentorian. If she were Swedish, she might be likened to the masseusse, Eva "Greta" Swenson, in "Move Over Darling". There is something to be said for choosing solitude, because public events require preparation, and afterwards one can get quite tired out. We all tend to think Doris is 50, and that she can pop into a dress, wipe her face, flip her hair around, and she is ready.
If you left it up to her fans they would like to have a celebration, every DAY! Perhaps they should create something called "Doris World", and put it where the old cannery had been(Oops, was not supposed to say anything). But for those people at the Cypress Inn, for those gathered at the Stravaganza Cafe, and the German film crew doing the documentary, the answer was no. N-O, No! When she says no, Doris sounds like she is 40 and still a virgin.
Whatever the mood on the hill, we wish the very best for Doris in the upcoming year- because she is a special lady. Its is nice to have a special day to hear her singing on the radio again. Much of this less-heard music is just wonderful, and I am glad to have a chance to hear some of it. Did this ever go out of style? I do not believe so - they just stopped playing it. Perhaps we should try to convince Doris to go on a bus tour which I know she loves more than anything - but short of that, wouldn't it be nice to be able to obtain copies of this on CD or directly over the Internet? It is a shame to just lose all that classy material Doris produced.
Addendum : According to the Vanity Fair Article (May 2008), and David Kaufman's book, Doris's real age is 86. Woof! (Perhaps if we pretend we do not know, she will continue to act as though she is still younger) Actually she does not really care about birthdays and age anyway. You are as you feel you are, is her motto. Why go around and give people the impression you are alot older than you look and feel? There is a difference between chronological age and physiological age that Doris recognizes, as should we all. According to Barbara Walters there are substances that will help people to live much longer - possibly to 125! So dear Ms. Day, take your calcium and try to do those back exercises! There is nothing like a warm inbuilt whirlpool to relax in !
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Doris Day Birthday on 60's Chicks Radio
Here is a note from Tom Callahan. He wishes to invite people to listen to his classic music station, which is available as streamed media over the Internet :
Greetings,
Join me again this year for a Ten Minute Musical Moment in celebration of Doris' birthday, THURSDAY, APRIL 3rd, at 9am (Pacific Time), repeated at 3 & 9pm (PT). I wish I could do a longer musical tribute but Live365 has restrictions, however you can always hear Doris' music 24/7 on '60's Chicks' Radio at http://www.live365.com/stations/tc_60s_entPeace LIVE365.COM
If you like 60's music sung by women, there is no place like this. While you are there you might find something else of interest.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
All About Doris Day : Are you feeling lucky?
I recall, as a tow headed youth, singing "Que sera, sera", and wondering what it meant. No one could tell me, but it was surely a fun song to sing. I did not even know Doris Day was singing it. There are people who criticize a fatalistic attitude toward life, as the song indicates. Could they be correct?
At the time, Doris was making a movie with Alfred Hitchcock entitled "The Man who Knew too Much (MKTM)". Hitch wanted a song for Doris, with a foreign title. Evans(lyrics) and Livingston(melody) supposedly were assigned the task. If the song has the air of children playing in the courtyard of a Spanish villa, it may be because that was the intent of the writers. You may judge for yourself if the song fits into Doris's movie. It really fits well into the Ava Gardner movie that seems to have inspired it. Could it have been written for that movie, and then dusted off for Hitch's film? In "The Barefoot Contessa(1954)", a Spanish flaminco dancer plays out her luck: taking a chance for stardom, also in her romantic relationships, and additionally the casino. In the end, taking another chance, she dies. This film was released a year before shooting began on MKTM. It has been claimed the words were changed from Italian from an enscription in "The Barefoot Contessa" film, to Spanish for MKTM because there are more Spanish people in America. However, the contessa is Spanish, and "The Barefoot Contessa" was filmed in Rome. This explains the confusion in the title and confirms that the song was already written for that movie.
For apparently thinking the song had little potential, Doris surely sang it out like it was the "Sound of Music". No doubt her vocalization made the music popular. She also expressed a sense of uncertainty about the making of MKTM. Hitch was confusing as a director, though often clever in the cutting room. Beyond a reasonable doubt Doris must have deliberately played down the song as a child's song, so when it hit the charts she could say "You see, anything can happen!" Que sera, sera! That is so Doris. The film grossed 7.5M, and I would guess the song did better than that.
Psychologically, is it good to go around singing this song and then living your life thinking "Whatever will be, will be" ? Perhaps. Perhaps not. There are people who will not ride a bicycle or even ride in a car because they feel is too dangerous. Even Doris dislikes airplanes. People do buy lottery tickets and some actually do win. If you feel things are going badly, you never know, they might just happen to turn out for the better, right?
A case in point : Rear Admiral Dufek and six others (hence Lucky 7), flew a ski-equipped Navy version of the DC-3 to the South Pole and landed there on Halloween, October 31, 1956. The movie came out a few months earlier, along with the publishing of the song. These men were the first to set foot there since Robert Falcon Scott did so in 1912. They wrote "Que sera, sera" on the nose of the plane for good luck. Take a chance, maybe it will turn out. You never know! Cross your fingers for luck! It is entirely possible that Doris inspired Adr. Dufek to take the risk. They landed, planted a flag, and amidst trepidation - with JATO rocket assist - took off again into a fog bank, but made it. Sadly, Robert Scott did not ever hear the music, and his group died from a combination of exhaustion, hunger and extreme cold.
One knows that references to "Que sera, sera" are references to Doris's song because it is idiomatic. In Italian "Whatever will be, will be" should be "Quelle che sara, sara". In Spanish : "Le que sera, sera".
I am hoping for a date with Doris sometime. One never knows what tomorrow may bring.
I have my fingers crossed.
Monday, March 10, 2008
All About Doris Day : Dogs and Hotels - A Good Mix?
A man wrote a letter to a small hotel in a Midwest town, which he planned to visit on his vacation.
He wrote, "I would very much like to bring my dog with me. He is well groomed and very well behaved. Would you be willing to permit me to keep him in my room with me at night?"
An immediate reply came from the hotel owner, who said, "I've been operating this hotel for many years. In all that time, I've never had a dog steal towels, bedclothes, silverware or pictures off the walls. I've never had to evict a dog in the middle of the night for being drunk and disorderly. And I've never had a dog run out on a hotel bill. Yes, indeed, your dog is welcome at my hotel, and if your dog will vouch for you, you're welcome to stay here, too!"
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Some people will make a request, but many others bring their dogs and sneak them in when no one is watching. At Doris's Cypress Inn, however, they are welcome to come in the front door.
