DORIS DAY AND HER LEADING MEN

To sum up this month of romance I wanted to post on my favorite actress of all. Doris Day, the flower of Hollywood.

Shes acted with the best actors, laughed with the best laughers and sung with the best singers. From Howard Keel to Gordon McCrae she had a voice out of this world, of which they were her really good back up singers. With Jimmy Stewart and James Cagney she made us cry in suspense. Then with Rock Hudson and James Garner we never laughed so hard in a movie.

What other woman of Hollywood could take on as many "big stars" as her. Here are what some of them have said of her.

JAMES GARNER:
“I’d rather have Doris than Liz Taylor... Everything Doris does turns to box-office gold.… I think Doris is a very sexy lady who doesn’t know how sexy she is. That’s an integral part of her charm. One other thing about acting with Doris—she was the Fred Astaire of comedy Whether it was Rock Hudson or Rod Taylor or me or whoever—we all looked good because we were dancing with Clara Bixby.”

JACK LEMMON:
“I think she is potentially one of the greatest actresses I’ll ever work with, because in every scene she is so open, simple, and honest that I found myself in the position of having to play up to her. Which, in the parlance of actors, means she’s so good that I automatically reacted to her.”

ROCK HUDSON on "Pillow Talk" (1959):
“They had to add a week on to the shooting schedule because we could not stop laughing I used to think about terrible things, to try not to laugh, but I think that’s the wonderful part about when you see two people on the screen—if you like them, if they like each other, and you sense that they like each other.”

*Here she is at one of her best moments.

Who else could make a song so suspensfull.

DORIS DAY (1924-LIVING)

DORIS MARY ANN KAPPELHOFF

Born: April 3rd, 1924 (Ohio)

Died: LIVING

Marriages: Al Jorden (1941-1943), George Weidler (1946-1949), Martin Melcher (1951-His death in 1968), Barry Comden (1976-1982).

Children: She only had one child named Terry Melcher who became a record producer. He died of cancer in 2004.

Interesting Fact: What isn't interesting about Doris Day? As a little girl she wanted to become a dancer. After a tragic accident her leg was smashed turning her attention to her voice instead.

Success: Doris Day played the opposite of many famous leading men: Gordon McCrae, Howard Keel, Rock Hudson, Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant, just to name a few. Her popularity spanned from the late forties to the early sixties when she had her own TV show.

Awards: She was only nominated once for the Oscar and that was for her performance in "Pillow Talk" (1959). She received, however, twenty-seven other achievements with nominations for fourteen others. She was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Gorge W. Bush in 2004. She was unable to attend due to her fear of flying.

My Favorite Film: "Pillow Talk" (1959) and "Calamity Jane" (1953) are my two favorite Doris Day films. Recently I watched "I'll See You in My Dreams" with the famous Danny Thomas.

When I married my wife she didn't like any of the old films, but she always loved "The Man who Knew too much" (1956) and "Calamity Jane" (1953). Because of these films and other Doris Day films she has become a huge fan of the ancient cinema. She was America's pure sweetheart. She is my favorite leading lady of the screen.

"Some of the downbeat pictures, in my opinion, should never be made at all. Most of them are made for personal satisfaction, to impress other actors who say 'Oh, God! what a shot, what camera work!' But the average person in the audience, who bought his ticket to be entertained, doesn't see that at all. He comes out depressed."

PILLOW TALK (1959)

Studio: Universal Studios

Producer: Ross Hunter & Martin Melcher

Director: Michael Gordon

Awards: This film won the Oscar for best writing and nominated for best supporting & leading actress, best art direction and best music. It has also received three other awards with an additional four nominations.

Interesting Fact: In the scene at the diner where Tony Randal fakes a knockout, the actor to punch him made an accidental contact. This caused an actual knockout that they kept in the final film.

My Favorite Scene: There are so many scenes that I love in this film, but Rock Hudson accidental visits to the doctor tops them all.

This is the best romantic comedy I have ever seen.

Two people share a phone line, one of them a busy and sophisticated woman who works as an interior director, while the other is an over romantic musician who uses the line to sing to the new girl of the week. The woman is frustrated with this and has created a strict time schedule to use the phones. Now that they have become arch enemies, by chance, he meets her without her knowing who he is. Finding her attractive he disguises his voice as a tall Texan to begin a relationship. What makes it even worse is that his roommate is her boss and is in love with her also. With all the lies and confusion it is only a matter of time before everyone figures out what is happening.

-"Are you getting out of that bed, or am I coming in after you."
-"You wouldn't dare!"

*Trailer

*Roly Poly song