[Dixielandjazz] Doris Day interviewed

[Marek Boym]

Ms. Day recorded the definitive vocal version of "Sentimental
Journey."  I first knew her as a jazz singer, so I went to see her
films in order to hear her sing.  I was disapointed - but no too much,
as she proved to have been a fantastic actress.
Cheers

On 31 March 2011 09:31, Robert Ringwald <rsr at ringwald.com> wrote:
> Sunny Day Keeps on Shining
> by Will Friedwald
> Wall Street Journal, March 29, 2011
> No matter how hard you try to remain formal, about 10 minutes into your conversation
> with Doris Day you find yourself addressing her as "Doris." "Ms. Day" may be the
> appropriate honorific for a respectable newspaper, but it's proof of her effectiveness
> as a singer and actress that you quickly feel like you've known her forever. In that
> sense, Ms. Day's allure was the opposite of Elizabeth Taylor's: sunny rather than
> sultry, an icon of optimism as opposed to seduction -- but no less sexy in her own
> way.
> I've spoken with Ms. Day, the top-grossing actress of all time, on about half a dozen
> occasions now, and one point that we hit upon during nearly every conversation is
> the volume of fan mail that still crosses her doorstep daily -- a fact that never
> ceases to amaze her. "When I first came up here," she said recently by phone from
> her home in Carmel, Calif., where she's lived for the past 30 years, "I put all my
> records and everything away. I didn't think anybody cared if they heard me or not."
> She assumed that her work would be forgotten. "It's hard for me to understand why
> all these people write me, and they say, 'Sometimes I'm feeling so down, I can't
> get myself out of it, and then I put your record on, and I'm OK.' Can you imagine?"
> As a lifelong fan, I can easily accept what she has a hard time believing: that after
> so many years out of the spotlight, her recordings and films continue to be cherished
> by generation after generation. (Later this year, Sony Music will release a retrospective
> box set, for which Ms. Day is personally selecting her favorite tracks.)
> Ms. Day, who turns 86 on Sunday, is that rare movie star who has no problem telling
> people her age. Some sources claim that she was born in 1922; Ms. Day explains that
> this error arose because in 1940, when she sang professionally for the first time,
> she had to give her age as 18. But one fact she refuses to admit is the number of
> dogs -- all rescued animals -- that live with her in Carmel. "I have many dogs, but
> I can't put the exact number in print. But my place is big here, so when they bark,
> nobody's bothered. I've had so many, and I've found homes and homes and homes for
> them, but some of them are so precious that I couldn't give them up for anything.
> I love my babies."
> It's an urban legend that Ms. Day became a recluse upon leaving show business. In
> reality, she talks to the people she likes -- but that doesn't usually include the
> media. She lives an active life engaged in animal-welfare work (her organization,
> the Doris Day Animal League, is now part of the Humane Society, and she is currently
> opening a horse sanctuary in Texas). Her neighbors (including Clint Eastwood) are
> hardly surprised to see her walking any number of her "babies."
> Her interest in animal rights probably dates back to even before her interest in
> singing. Ms. Day was a budding dancer in her native Cincinnati, a career that was
> cut short by a car accident at age 13. "I could barely walk for a few years, and
> my mother thought it would be nice for me to be doing something that I loved, and
> I said 'I love to sing!' We had heard about [voice coach] Grace Raines. They had
> to carry me up the stairs to see her. Isn't that a riot?"
> Raines was so impressed that she wanted to teach the youngster three days a week,
> and did so even though Ms. Day's mother could afford only one weekly lesson. Raines
> not only taught Ms. Day her technique, but arranged for her earliest jobs with the
> big bands of Barney Rapp, Bob Crosby and, most famously, Les Brown.
> Ms. Day's career as a singer was also almost cut short prematurely when she retired
> in 1941 -- only temporarily, thankfully -- to get married. As she detailed in "Doris
> Day: Her Own Story," written with A.E. Hotchner, that first husband turned out to
> be violently abusive. "I don't even want to talk about it," she said. "Anyway, that
> was really a mistake." Even after she left with their infant son, Terry, "he followed
> me, and I had to hide" -- which was difficult, as she had taken a job singing on
> the air on Cincinnati's WLW. "My mother was frantic."
> Eventually, Brown "rescued" Ms. Day by bringing her back on the road; initially she
> refused because she didn't want to leave Terry behind, but Brown was so eager for
> Ms. Day to rejoin the band that he offered to let her mother and son travel with
> her. His generosity paid off handsomely when their 1945 recording of "Sentimental
> Journey" became not only a blockbuster hit but an iconic theme for legions of veterans
> coming home from the war. Small wonder the two remained friends for the rest of Brown's
> days, until his death in 2001 -- something that can't be said for most big-band "canaries"
> and their former bandleaders.
> The only time Ms. Day sounds sad is when she talks about the friends she's outlived.
> "Do you know that almost everyone I've worked with is gone? I can't believe it. And
> you know I have pictures of all of them with me, and I have them framed, and it saddens
> me when I look at them because every film or album that I did was just a happy experience."
> She tears up at the memory of Rock Hudson; he was her leading man in three classic
> romantic comedies, and died of AIDS shortly after making one of his final public
> appearances, on Ms. Day's mid-'80s television series "Doris Day's Best Friends."
> The one loss that upsets her more is that of Terry, her only child, who was a songwriter
> and producer. Terry fell victim to melanoma at age 62 in 2004. "My darling son. He
> was always helping everybody else.... I was so young when I had him, we were like
> sister and brother. The Beach Boys were dying to take him on the road with them,
> but he didn't want to leave his own son behind. It's not right, you know, that your
> child goes to heaven before you. I know he's in heaven, because he was a good person."
> The thought brings her back to the letters, as if she compensates for the loss she
> feels by concentrating on the pleasure that her work continues to bring to millions
> of people. "I mean, it's not like I'm young or anything."
>
>
> --Bob Ringwald
> www.ringwald.com
> Fulton Street Jazz Band
> 530/ 642-9551 Office
> 916/ 806-9551 Cell
> Amateur (Ham) Radio K6YBV
>
> If 4 out of 5 people SUFFER from diarrhea
> does that mean that one enjoys it?
>
>
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