The Films of Doris Day - Important Statement about Doris Day from her friends and fans

"Doris Day is alive and well and living in Carmel, California."
This is my answer to the most frequent question I'm asked, which you should be able to work out, when people hear of my interest in her - usually accompanied by "Oh, I love Doris Day!"

Long since retired from the entertainment business, Doris (quoted as saying; "If it's true that men are such beasts, this must account for the fact that most women are animal lovers") like her film peers Brigitte Bardot and Kim Novak, has had a long second career as a champion of animal welfare.

Founder of The Doris Day Animal League, her not insignificant influence - she has had the ears of Presidents Reagan, (a former co-star and dancing partner), Clinton (persuading him to have his dog neutered), and Bush (to whom she offered 'advice' on animal welfare laws when he rang to congratulate her on being awarded The Presidential Medal of Freedom) - has improved conditions for animals throughout the US and beyond.

But it is as a film actress and singer that we mostly remember her. A little appreciated fact: Doris Day is still the 'all-time' top female box office star. Quigley's 'All Time Number One Stars' list puts Tom Cruise at No 1 and Doris Day at No 6, just behind friend Clint Eastwood and Tom Hanks, and beating Mickey Rooney and Robert Redford who share the ninth position. As Michael Caine would say, "Not a lot a people know that".

Doris Day gets as much fan mail today as when she was making films like "Calamity Jane" and "Pillow Talk". There have been several new books about her, not all of them welcomed, and most of her 39 films have now been released on DVD.

Writer David Thomson says in a birthday tribute, The Cutest Blonde,
"I think of Doris Day as the icon nobody really knew... She doesn't do interviews; she isn't interested in her own legend. So this can be no more than a fond card to someone a generation adored but never really cornered - that's the mystery I find intriguing to this day."

I expect Doris would deny there is any 'mystery'. As she remarked in her book, Doris Day, Her Own Story, "The succession of cheerful, period musicals I made, plus Oscar Levant's widely publicized remark about my virginity, contributed to what has been called my 'image', which is a word that baffles me. There never was any intent on my part either in my acting or in my private life to create any such thing as an image".

Whether you believe there is a mystery or not I hope you will learn more about Doris Day among the pages of this website and on the Doris Day Web Forum with other fans. So welcome to The Films of Doris Day - an unofficial fan website and a collaborative effort with other Doris Day fans.

Bryan James, webmaster

Important Statement about Doris Day by her friends