Your Top 5 and Bottom 5 Doris Day Leading Men

[webmaster]

This took a little bit of thought and I had old favourites like Howard Keel and Gordon MacRae on the list at first - but then I remembered how good Doris and David Niven were in "Please Don't Eat the Daisies and her and Stephen Boyd in "Jumbo", etc. So it's just a rough guide to how you feel at the moment.
If you want to refresh your co-star/film memory: http://www.dorisday.net/Film_List/film_list.html

Top 5 Doris Day Leading Men:


James Cagney
Rock Hudson (& Tony Randall as part of a team)
James Garner
David Niven
Stephen Boyd


Bottom 5 Doris Day Leading Men:


Richard Harris
Peter Graves
Robert Morse
Richard Widmark
Ray Bolger

[suzie]

Top five

1.James garner
2.Rock Hudson
3. Rod Taylor
4.Bryan keith
5.David Niven

........bottom five
1. James Cagney
2. Frank Sinatra
3.Peter Graves
4.Ray Bolger
5.Richard Widmark

[doris-day-fan]

Suzie,
I agree with you - you picked the BEST and also those at the bottom of the list. Happy that TCM will feature Doris this month....oh, happy Days!
Mary Anne

[mikeydv]

Top 5: nobody does it better than #1. Rock Hudson
but he comes pretty close #2. Jim Garner
and she really liked him #3. James Cagney
and great chemistry for #4. John Raitt
and Mr. 4 x co star # 5. Gordon MacRae

Bottom 5: I REALLY could not see #1. Ray Bolger
And just as poor was #2. Bob Cummings
And then there was #3. Phil Silvers
And they shoulda killed #4. Frank Sinatra
and no chemistry for # 5. Rex Harrison

[melancholy]

Top 5 +
1/Rock Hudson
2/James Garner
3/Rod Taylor
4/Stephen Boyd
5/Jim Cagney

Top 5 -
1/Ray Bolger
2/Frank Sinatra
3/Kirk Douglas
4/Peter Graves
5/Richard Harris

[BabeWilliams]

Top 5

1) Rock Hudson
2) James Garner
3) David Niven
4) James Cagney
5) James Stewart

Bottom 5

1) Richard Harris
2) Peter Graves
3) Steve Cochran
4) Louis Jourdan
5) Rex Harrison

[Jas1]

TOP 5:
Rock Hudson;
James Garner;
Rod Taylor;
James Cagney;
John Raitt/ Gordon MacRae (joined) - cop out I know!

BOTTOM 5:
Ray Bolger;
Robert Cummings;
Peter Graves;
Richard Widmark;
Rex Harrison.

[howard]

Top 5
1. James Garner - DD thought they looked married, and I agree. Their chemistry was strong.
2. Rock Hudson - they obviously had fun together, and we had fun watching.
3. Gordon MacRae - romantic and very sweet together. Plus those two GREAT voices!
4. Brian Keith - Their affection for one another seemed to come naturally. Beautifully, maturely in love!
5. John Raitt - Strong, virile, and their voices were a joy to hear.

Bottom 5
1. Ray Bolger
2. Bob Cummings
3. Lee Bowman
4. Frank Sinatra
5. Steven Boyd

[webmaster]

Yes, I originally put John Raitt in Top 5 - he and Doris really had chemistry in "The Pajama Game", didn't they? Thinking about it, I think John Raitt had more believability in the 'sexual chemistry' department that most of her leading men. More than James Garner, who's kind of 'too nice' to be sexy, I think. And I thought about Robert Cummings for bottom 5 but I ended up rather liking them together.

Suzie (& Mary Anne) surprised you put James Cagney and Frank Sinatra in bottom 5. I assume, with Cagney, it wasn't his acting but more the role he played?

[suzie]

Actually bryan, I think Cagney was a great actor.. LMOLM was a great movie . What makes a great movie team to me is the kind of "chemistry " that Doris had with Rock and Garner . They clicked. Cagney could have played DoDos father. (for the film that was a perfect match , the relationship did what it was supposed to do.) We all no that in real life Doris loved Cagney very much and he loved her as well . So on my list Cagney could have gone either way on the two list . Wonderful man great actor just not in my top five.

As for Frank...well I think he is unmatched by any other man singer . Frank and DoDo in the movie had NO chemisrty at all and were not able to convince me that the two belonged togeather.

[pillowtalk]

Top 5
1. Rock Hudson
2. James Garner
3. Gordon MacRae
4. Rod Taylor
5. Howard Keel

Bottom 5
1. Kirk Douglas (!!!)
2. James Cagney
3. Steve Cochran
4. Stephen Boyd
5. Louis Jourdan

[pillowtalk]

Actually bryan, I think Cagney was a great actor.. LMOLM was a great movie . What makes a great movie team to me is the kind of "chemistry " that Doris had with Rock and Garner . They clicked. Cagney could have played DoDos father. (for the film that was a perfect match , the relationship did what it was supposed to do.) We all no that in real life Doris loved Cagney very much and he loved her as well . So on my list Cagney could have gone either way on the two list . Wonderful man great actor just not in my top five.

I agree with you, Suzie.

[webmaster]

I understand what you mean, Suzie. Thanks for explaining it.

No one's mentioned Cary Grant. He was a great actor - or personality - he always played Cary Grant.
A lot of people love "That Touch of Mink". It was probably fantastic when it came out back in the 60s on a big screen when both were huge stars and times were more innocent but it seems a bit dated today and the script doesn't stand the test of time either, which the Hudson, Garner and other romantic comedies mostly do.

[unadka]

1. Gordon MacRae
2. James Garner
3. Rock Hudson
4. Brian Keith
5. Jack Lemmon, Danny Thomas

1. Ray Bolger
2. Richard Widmark
3. Richard Harris
4. Gary Grant
5. Jack Carson, Lee Bowman

Would you open a question, which "second" man and woman we prefer.
Here is my list already:
1. Mary Wickes
2. Thelma Ritter
3. Rosemary DeCamp

1. Gene Nelson
2. Gig Young
3. Tony Randal

I love your quiz, thank you.
Nada

[webmaster]

I like the idea of a Top 3 and Bottom 3 Co-Stars, Nada, and I like your Top 3 choice. Here's mine:

Top 3 Co-Stars:
1 Tony Randall
2 Billy Gray (kid in Moonlight Bay/Silvery Moon) - http://www.billygray.com/
3 Nancy Walker (Lucky Me) (and Phil Silvers!)
(I'm also thinking of most of the cast of The Pajama Game - Carol Haney, Eddie Foy Jr, Barbara Nichols, & Rita Shaw!)

Bottom 3 Co-Stars:
1 Gig Young also (I know most women like him! )
2 Patrick O'Neal
3 Philip Carey (her love interest in Calamity Jane)
(I wanted to choose Richard Harris again but he's not a co-star!)

[webmaster]

Nicki, apparently Steve Cochran was considered very hot in his day - and even rumoured to have had a romance with Doris. "His on and off-screen conquests included Mamie Van Doren, Ida Lupino, Joan Crawford, Mae West, Jayne Mansfield, Virginia Mayo, Virginia Grey, Sabrina, Ann Sheridan and Merle Oberon." (From a website that mentions him.)



And you've turned him down!

[webmaster]

BTW, have you heard of Billy Gray's Love 'n Thumb Self-Massager?


http://www.surfrock.org/love-n-thumb-se ... -gray.html

I knew something was missing from my life...

[suzie]

Top favorites on my list for second fiddles are..
1.Thelma Ritter
2. Tony Randall
3. Gig Young

..............................
bottom three are
1.Terry Thomas
2. Mamie Van Doren
3. Lee Bowman

[jmichael]

Top 5 Leading Men
Rock Hudson
James Garner
John Raitt
Jimmy Cagney
Jack Lemmon

Bottom 5
Ray Bolger
Richard Widmark
Frank Sinatra
Richard Harris
Cary Grant

My ratings have far less to do with the actor's talent than it does their chemistry with Doris. So I rated them based on how effective I felt they were as leading men opposite Doris. Cary Grant is a prime example of a great leading man, a true original, who simply did not have much chemistry with Doris on screen. Ditto Frank Sinatra. And I consider Tony Randall a co-star, not a leading man, when you group him with Doris.

Top Female Second Bananas
Thelma Ritter (they broke the mold with this lady; absolutely the best comic timing ever)
Eve Arden
Myrna Loy
Audrey Meadows
Janis Paige

Bottom Female Second Bananas
Mamie Van Doren
Gia Scala
Nancy Walker
Spring Byington
Pat Carroll

Top Male Second Bananas
Tony Randall
Billy DeWolfe
Gig Young
Ernie Kovaks
Jimmy Durante

Bottom Male Second Bananas
Terry Thomas
Robert Morse
Lee Bowman
Phillip Carey
Patrick O'Neal

[BabeWilliams]

I understand what you mean, Suzie. Thanks for explaining it.

No one's mentioned Cary Grant. He was a great actor - or personality - he always played Cary Grant.
A lot of people love "That Touch of Mink". It was probably fantastic when it came out back in the 60s on a big screen when both were huge stars and times were more innocent but it seems a bit dated today and the script doesn't stand the test of time either, which the Hudson, Garner and other romantic comedies mostly do.

I love Cary Grant, I could watch his movies all day. But I just didn't see the chemistry between him and Doris. Doris even had said that Cary Grant was the costar she never really even got to know because he was so private.

Top 3 Costars
1) Tony Randall
2) Carol Haney
3) Thelma Ritter
(Gig Young is close in the top three. I always loved him, but felt bad that in all the movies he never got Doris Audrey Meadows is also close)

Bottom 3 Costars
1) Patrick O'Neal
2) Sergio Fantoni (Not sure why, just never really liked him)
3) Mamie Van Doren

[pillowtalk]

Nicki, apparently Steve Cochran was considered very hot in his day - and even rumoured to have had a romance with Doris. "His on and off-screen conquests included Mamie Van Doren, Ida Lupino, Joan Crawford, Mae West, Jayne Mansfield, Virginia Mayo, Virginia Grey, Sabrina, Ann Sheridan and Merle Oberon." (From a website that mentions him.)
And you've turned him down!

Ahahaha, really? I never knew that he dated all of those women! Well, maybe if I had liked Storm Warning better, I would have liked him better. I've never seen any of his other films.

[pillowtalk]

Top 3 co-stars:
1. Tony Randall
2. Audrey Meadows
3. Thelma Ritter

Runner-ups: Eve Arden, Gig Young, Pat Carroll, Nancy Walker, Elisabeth Fraser.

Bottom 3 co-stars:
1. Mamie van Doren (Words cannot begin to explain how much I dislike her)
2. Philip Carey
3. Dorothy Malone

[mikeydv]

Nicki..
You are soooooooooooo right about Mamie Van Doren (my sister always called her a pig)/ Phillip Carey was just a pretty, throwaway face...no talent/ Dorothy Malone was not the best of the three sisters in YOUNG AT HEART, but she was probably one of the weakest of DD's female costars. I know I am all by myself on this one, but I frankly could not stand Phil Silvers or Bob Cummings.

[pillowtalk]

Yes, thank you!! I can't stand Mamie van Doren's personality, and what she said about Doris is just cruel and untrue. Have you seen a picture of her lately? Not to be mean, but in my opinion, she needs to tone it down....a lot!

Bob Cummings is just okay in my book...I don't really feel either way about him. He's become one of those actors to me that seems to be in everything, so every time he pops up in something I laugh. Yes, I know, I'm weird.

Phil Silvers is a bit too over the top. It's not like I dislike him profusely or anything...but it's not like I'm a fan either. I've never seen much else that he's done, but I didn't really care for him in Lucky Me.

[daybyday08]

Top 5 Doris Day Leading Men:
Rock Hudson
Rod Taylor
Gene Nelson
Gordon MacRae
Brian Keith
( I would put Peter Lawford as number 3 but he's only on her show)


Bottom 6 Doris Day Leading Men
David Niven ( Really didn't like them together at all )
Kirk Douglas ( They just didn't go well together. I'm glad Doris agrees.)
John Rait
Jack Carson
Louis Jourdan
James Gardner ( I'm not a fan of them together. I'm very sorry)

Top 3 Co-Stars:
Tony Randall ( The absolute best in Send me no Flowers)
Eve Arden
Thelma Ritter
( I would have Rose Marie as number 1 if this wasn't just films.)

Bottom 2 Co-Stars:
Edward Andrews
S.Z. Sakall
I only have 2 that I don't like very much.