Doris Day Fast Facts
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(CNN) — Here is a look at the life of actress, singer and dancer Doris Day.
Personal
Birth date: April 3, 1922
Death date: May 13, 2019
Birth place: Cincinnati, Ohio
Birth name: Doris Mary Kappelhoff
Father: William Kappelhoff, a music teacher
Mother: Alma (Welz) Kappelhoff
Marriages: Barry Comden (April 14, 1976-April 2, 1982, divorced); Marty Melcher (April 3, 1951-April 20, 1968, his death); George Weidler (March 30, 1946-May 31, 1949, divorced); Al Jorden (March 1941-February 8, 1943, divorced)
Children: with Al Jorden (adopted by Marty Melcher): Terrence “Terry” Melcher
Other Facts
Briefly dated Ronald Reagan before becoming involved with her agent (and future third husband), Marty Melcher.
She co-owned the Cypress Inn in Carmel, California.
Nominated for one Academy Award and two Grammy Awards. Recipient of an honorary Grammy Award.
Timeline
October 1937 – Seriously injures her leg in a car accident. With her dancing career over, she concentrates on singing career instead.
1940-1941 and 1943-1946 – Tours with Les Brown and his band.
1947 – Signs a contract with Columbia Records.
1948 – Film debut in “Romance on the High Seas.”
1952-1953 – Host of “The Doris Day Show” on radio.
1956 – Sings “Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)” in the Hitchcock thriller “The Man Who Knew Too Much.” The song reaches number two on the American Billboard Hot 100 chart and sells millions of copies. It also wins an Oscar for songwriters Jay Livingston and Ray Evans.
1959 – Stars in the romantic comedy “Pillow Talk” with Rock Hudson. They star in two more films together, “Lover Come Back” and “Send Me No Flowers,” and become lifelong friends.
February 8, 1960 – Receives two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for recording and the other for motion pictures.
September 1968-September 1973 – Stars in the television sitcom “The Doris Day Show.”
September 18, 1974 – Awarded $22.8 million in a fraud and malpractice lawsuit filed against her former attorney and financial adviser Jerome Rosenthal. Day later settles with Rosenthal’s liability insurers for about $6 million.
1976 – Day’s autobiography, “Doris Day: Her Own Story,” is released.
1978 – Founds the Doris Day Animal Foundation, a charity supporting animal rights and their advocates.
1987 – Establishes the Doris Day Animal League, a nonprofit lobbying organization for the humane treatment of animals.
1991 – Receives the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Comedy Awards, along with Jack Lemmon.
June 23, 2004 – Is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush.
November 19, 2004 – Day’s only child, Terry Melcher, dies of cancer. He was a record producer who had worked with many famous groups in the 1960s, including the Beach Boys and the Byrds.
February 10, 2008 – Receives the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
September 2011 – At age 87, becomes the oldest female artist to enter the UK top ten charts with an album of newly released material.
January 2012 – Becomes the oldest living artist to reach Billboard’s Top 150 Music Chart, at age 87 with her album “My Heart.”
January 13, 2012 – Receives the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Career Achievement Award.
2012 – Grammy Hall of Fame Inductee for her recording of “Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be).”
May 13, 2019 – Day dies at her home in Carmel Valley, California, after contracting pneumonia.
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