Page 5: Remembering Doris
“I consider this to be her greatest performance, in her best picture.” -- David Kaufman.
Q “If you had to publish the book today rather than a year ago, would you change anything?”
David Kaufman: “Even though I have made some corrections as the book has been reprinted -- and still more for the paperback edition -- there are some things I’ve learned since finishing the book, which I could not include, since it would have meant new pagination and redoing the Index -- which is a much bigger job than most readers might imagine. One of them was that Les Paul approached Doris Day to be his lead vocalist, before deciding to go with Mary Ford, instead. (Indeed, the 93-year-old Les had me meet him backstage at the Iridium, here in New York, last summer, before he went on, to give me details.) There are some other things I’ve learned, which I can’t say, without first running them by lawyers. There’s also a lot more I can say about Barry Comden, now that he’s died. I can also say, that had we decided to redo the Index, I would have cut back on the reviewers’ quotes of Day’s films. A number of people have pointed out that I’ve included far more than I should have, and I’ve come to agree with them.”
“I don’t think that there will ever be a star of her calibre again, not only because of her outsize talents, but also because the studio system has vanished. And without the system’s PR apparatus controlling the media, no star will ever receive the kind of extended attention they did in the past.”
Praised in his book as a great film noir, Doris Day in “Julie”.
Q “How do you think Doris Day will be remembered? I can’t help feeling that despite whatever is written or revealed about her that she will still always be seen as “the girl next door”.
David Kaufman: “I agree that the image of Doris Day as “the girl next door” is simply embedded in our culture and will remain with us for a long time. But part of why, I think, she lost her popularity near the end of her film career, is because there was a growing cynicism and scepticism towards old-fashioned Hollywood mores, which she stood for, par excellence. And even though the star, Doris Day, will embody those characteristics in perpetuity, I hope that my book has humanized the woman, Doris Day. But whatever impact my biography has had, and will continue to have -- in terms of both humanizing Doris Day and rehabilitating her reputation -- I know that Doris Day on screen and on records will long surpass it.”
Q “Will she still be popular in 50 years time?”
David Kaufman: “Given the technological advances, I think that Doris Day’s films and recordings will always be available, and I think that her natural talents as both a singer and an actress will continue to give pleasure to future generations. I don’t think that there will ever be a star of her calibre again, not only because of her outsize talents, but also because the studio system has vanished. And without the system’s PR apparatus controlling the media, no star will ever receive the kind of extended attention they did in the past. But Doris Day will live on, well beyond her own time -- and ours.”
Author David Kaufman and subject Doris Day.
Happy at last: Doris Day.
I want to thank David Kaufman for giving me his time on this. In asking him these questions. I’ve also asked myself a few:
Do I accept everything he’s written in the book?
No. I’ve never done that with any book, including the Bible!, so I’m not going to start now.
Do I believe it was written with integrity and high journalistic values?
Absolutely.
Do I think it reveals anything that Doris should feel ashamed or embarrassed about?
Absolutely not.
Is it, as claimed, the ‘definitive’ book?
I don’t know because I don’t know Doris Day. But I doubt if any book, however well written and well researched, can fully portray the complexity of a human being. Only Doris Day knows what she is really like, just like only we know our real selves.
In all, Doris Day comes out of this book, with her legendary status still firmly in tact. Praise is given, lavishly, where praise is due and questions are raised and explored where sometimes truth seems to jostle with fiction. Perhaps the part I enjoyed the most was reading about Doris growing up, which hasn’t been fully documented before. I think it’s safe to say you can read more than half of the book without coming across anything ‘controversial’ – and then it often concerns people around her. I’m not trying to dilute David’s critique of her – I just think that it has been overstated -- by some of her fans -- and the solid work that he’s done into her personal history and entertainment career has been somewhat overshadowed.
Danger -- Reputation ahead.
I mentioned to David Kaufman about going where angels fear to tread – no one likes a party-pooper. Mother Teresa, apparently, wasn’t always as saintly as we’ve come to believe – but who wants to know about that? So I think it’s brave of him to remind people that there was another person behind the image we have of “Doris Day” – and that person wasn’t always the beautiful confident woman we’re used to seeing on the screen but rather a more human character with problems and shortcomings that we are all too familiar with in our own lives.
Whatever anyone says, Doris Day will still be loved by her fans and the public at large. She is an inspirational figure who has shown courage in dealing with her own problems and the demands that fame has thrust upon her, while trying to find personal happiness in her own life. She has now found that happiness and it’s understandable, for a woman who seldom, rather than never, looks back, that she doesn’t want to be reminded of a past that she has long since said goodbye to. Nevertheless, she is, as David Kaufman reminds us here, partially owned by the public and for that reason she will still inspire others to put pen to paper to attempt to explain, who writer David Thomson called “the icon nobody really knew -- who isn’t interested in her own legend”. Good luck to her, we all say – and long may she continue.
Bryan James
Doris Day: “Never Look Back”
David Kaufman is the author of
Doris Day: The Untold Story of the Girl Next Door
A best-selling and award-winning* author, David Kaufman has been a New York theater critic since 1981, working for the New York Daily News and as a long-time contributor to the Nation, Vanity Fair, the Village Voice and the New York Times.”
*Kaufman’s biography, Ridiculous!: The Theatrical Life and Times of Charles Ludlam, won the LAMBDA Literary Award for best Biography and the Theatre Library Association Award for Outstanding Theatre Book of the Year.
Download and listen to Doris Day on Magic63 Radio on her birthday this year, 3 April 2009.
“Doris Day is nothing less than a full-fledged icon of American entertainment culture, with a stellar career in film, on TV and in music. We speak with writer David Kaufman about his monumental and revealing biography of this complex star of such wonderful films like “Calamity Jane” and “Love Me or Leave Me”.
Radio interview: Mark Lynch with David Kaufman
Recommended Doris Day Websites:
Discovering Doris Day
Doris Day Icon
The Doris Day Web Forum