I had a second home in Carmel for a while. For the locals there, Doris Day was a local too. That used to irritate me. Why? Because Carolyn Hastings had never even had a long distance sighting of the iconic Miss Day. Until, one day I had made a quick trip to the grocery store and as I was leaving, an old faded yellow Jeep Wagoneer came rumbling up and parked right by the front doors. A plainly dressed older heavyset, (yes, heavyset) woman hopped out and opened the back of the Jeep. A few minutes later a box boy, came out with a huge pallet of big bags, yup, dog food. I had finally gotten the Carmel owners reward: A Doris Day sighting! The box boy (I can’t believe we used to call them that), loaded the Jeep and away she went, home to her family. Did I ever see her again? Nope, but I didn’t need to; I was finally part of the “Carmel Insiders.”
We lost Doris Day a few days ago. I suppose we didn’t really lose her because I was at my local library yesterday, perusing the movie section as usual, and lo and behold, there she was in A Glass Bottom Boat. I snapped it up, checked it out and headed home to spend an evening with the girl next door, or so it seemed. I had forgotten how real she seemed whether playing a mermaid, a cowgirl or an interior designer. She always came off as just the girl next door.
Her career started as a Big Band singer. Then someone decided they needed an actress who could actually carry a tune, so she became an actress. She could do both and do them well. She made 39 films and spent five years as the star of, yes, The Doris Day Show on TV. Hundreds of her songs that most of you would remember, even if you didn’t remember who made them famous, were made a part of everyday life back in the 50s and 60s.
Doris was born, Doris Mary Anne von Kappelhoff in 1922—”Doris Day” to us and the rest of the world. She made movies that made people smile. She had charm, wit and spunk and her fans waited with baited-breath for her next new character; her next new film. I asked my brother and his wife what their favorite Doris movie is and they both immediately responded Calamity Jane. My brother is 80 and loves his westerns, of course, Doris as Calamity Jane would make him smile.
Several years ago a guy friend of mine and I had the privilege of spending a magical Valentine’s Day at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland. This magnificent old theater often shows Classic films. On this particular evening, the show was Pillow Talk with the legendary Rock Hudson and you guessed it, Doris Day. Rock and Doris, big screen, Valentine’s Day…unforgettable.
After some failed marriages and twenty years in Hollywood, Doris Mary Anne von Kappelhoff walked away. I take that back. Doris believed that we have seasons in our lives. You live them and move on. She had always been an animal lover, so in 1981, at forty-nine years old, she moved to Carmel, founded the Doris Day Animal Foundation and started a new season, “doing good” in the US and around the world. In 2004 President George W. Bush awarded her the Presidents Medal of Freedom.
At 97 years old, Doris Day, America’s Sweetheart, is gone, but certainly not forgotten. She inspired love, devotion and loyalty. Her countless fan websites are mourning for a woman who embodied more innocent times. Her family says, “There will be no funeral, memorial or grave marker.” Why? Because she said so, she didn’t like death. But beyond a shadow of a doubt, we know she was here, a radiant icon of sunny, funny femininity. That was Doris Day.
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