American actress Doris Day appeared in 39 feature films released between 1948 and 1968. Day began her career as a band singer and eventually won the female lead in the Warner Bros. film Romance on the High Seas (1948), for which she was selected by Michael Curtiz to replace Betty Hutton. She starred in several minor musicals for Warner Bros., including Tea for Two (1950), Lullaby of Broadway (1951), April in Paris (1952), By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953) and the hit musical Calamity Jane, in which she performed the Academy Award-winning song "Secret Love" (1953). She ended her contract with Warner Bros. after filming Young at Heart (1954) with Frank Sinatra.

Day's portrayal of singer Ruth Etting in Love Me or Leave Me (1955) with James Cagney was well received by critics and was a box-office hit. She also appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's remake of The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), Andrew L. Stone's Julie (1956) and George Abbott and Stanley Donen's The Pajama Game (1957).

Day appeared with Rock Hudson and Tony Randall in three films: Pillow Talk (1959), Lover Come Back (1961) and Send Me No Flowers (1964). She ranked No. 1 at the box office in 1960, and again from 1962 until 1964. Day starred in several other romantic comedies, including That Touch of Mink (1962) with Cary Grant, The Thrill of It All and Move Over, Darling (both 1963), both with James Garner. After the failure of Do Not Disturb in 1965, Day's film career began to decline. She last ranked as a top-ten box-office star in 1966 with the hit film The Glass Bottom Boat.

Her final films Caprice, The Ballad of Josie (both 1967), Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? and With Six You Get Eggroll (both 1968) were critical flops but achieved reasonable success at the box office. Day declined the role of Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate, a role that eventually went to Anne Bancroft. In her published memoirs, Day said that she had rejected the part on moral grounds, finding the script "vulgar and offensive."

When her film career ended, Day turned to television with her situation comedy The Doris Day Show (1968–1973), which ran for five seasons and 128 episodes. She made several other television appearances throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Day, who was an animal lover, launched the series Doris Day's Best Friends (1985–1986), which ran for 26 episodes. She was an honoree at The 50th Annual Grammy Awards in 2008, and was last seen in archive footage in the 2009 documentary What a Difference a Day Made: Doris Day Superstar.

Film appearances Year Title Role 1948 Romance on the High Seas Georgia Garrett 1949 My Dream Is Yours Martha Gibson 1949 It's a Great Feeling Judy Adams 1950 Young Man with a Horn Jo Jordan 1950 Tea for Two Nanette Carter 1950 Jan Wilson 1950 Storm Warning Lucy Rice 1951 Lullaby of Broadway Melinda Howard 1951 On Moonlight Bay Marjorie "Marjie" Winfield 1951 I'll See You in My Dreams Grace LeBoy Kahn 1951 Starlift Herself 1952 Aimee Alexander 1952 April in Paris Ethel  "Dynamite" Jackson 1953 By the Light of theSilvery Moon Marjorie "Marjie" Winfield 1953 Calamity Jane Calamity Jane 1954 Lucky Me Candy Williams 1954 Young at Heart Laurie Tuttle 1955 Love Me or Leave Me Ruth Etting 1956 Josephine Conway "Jo" McKenna 1956 Julie Julie Benton 1957 Katherine "Babe" Williams 1958 Teacher’s Pet Erica Stone 1958 Isolde Poole 1959 It Happened to Jane Jane Osgood 1959 Pillow Talk Jan Morrow 1960 Please Don't Eat the Daisies Kate Robinson Mackay 1960 Midnight Lace Kit Preston 1961 Lover Come Back Carol Templeton 1962 That Touch of Mink Cathy Timberlake 1962 Billy Rose's Jumbo Kitty Wonder 1963 Beverly Boyer 1963 Move Over, Darling Ellen Wagstaff Arden 1964 Send Me No Flowers Judy Kimball 1965 Do Not Disturb Janet Harper 1966 Jennifer Nelson 1967 Caprice Patricia Foster 1967 Josie Minick 1968 Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? Margaret Garrison 1968 With Six You Get Eggroll Abby McClure

Television appearances

The 21st Annual Academy Awards (1949; TV special) The Bob Hope Show (1950; 1 episode) Screen Snapshots: Hollywood Night Life (1952; short) Screen Snapshots: Hollywood on the Ball (1952; short) So You Want a Television Set (cameo) (1953; short) A Star Is Born World Premiere (1954; short) What's My Line? (1954; mystery guest) The Ed Sullivan Show (1956; 2 episodes) What's My Line? (1957; mystery guest) The 30th Annual Academy Awards (1958, co-presenter; TV special) This Is Music (1958; 1 episode) The 31st Annual Academy Awards (1959, co-presenter; TV special) The 32nd Annual Academy Awards (1960, co-presenter/nominee; TV special) Every Girl's Dream (1966; short) The Doris Day Show (1968–1973; 128 episodes) Golden Globe nomination. The Merv Griffin Show (1970; 1 episode) The Governor & J.J. (1970; 1 episode) The Doris Mary Anne Kappelhoff Special (1971; TV special) The Pet Set (1971; 1 episode) The Merv Griffin Show (1973; 1 episode) The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1973; 1 episode) AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to James Cagney (1974; TV special) The John Denver Show (1974; 1 episode) The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1974; 1 episode) The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1975; 1 episode) Doris Day Today (1975; CBS TV special)Doris Day Today (1975) CBS press release at Wikimedia Commons The Mike Douglas Show (1976; 1 episode) Doris Day's Best Friends (1985–1986; 26 episodes) The 46th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1989, winner; TV special) Doris Day: A Sentimental Journey (1991; TV documentary) Vicki! (1993, 1 episode) Homeward Bound (1994; TV documentary) Don't Pave Main Street: Carmel's Heritage (1994, Narrator; documentary) Pebble Mill at One (1995; 1 episode) The Doris Day Story: Everybody's Darling (1998; TV special) A&E Biography: Doris Day (1998, archive footage) The 50th Annual Grammy Awards (2008, honoree; TV special) What a Difference a Day Made: Doris Day Superstar (2009, voice only; documentary)

Bibliography

Santopietro, Tom (2007). Considering Doris Day. Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin's Press. Emphasis is more on body of work than on her personal life. DeVita, Michael (2012). "My 'Secret Love' Affair with Doris Day." Create space (Amazon). . Emphasis on a meeting followed by 65+ years of correspondence. Special emphasis on the incredible Doris music.

References