What is the best biography of Doris?

[Ania]

True, I do not know English yet, but from September I will learn And every fan should have a biography of his idol Where can I buy and what price such a book? Please respond
Thank you beautiful

[mikeydv]

HER OWN STORY by A. E. Hotchner in collaboration with Doris.
Here is a link for purchase: http://www.amazon.com/Doris-Day-Her-Own ... 225&sr=1-1

[Ania]

HER OWN STORY by A. E. Hotchner in collaboration with Doris.
Here is a link for purchase: http://www.amazon.com/Doris-Day-Her-Own ... 225&sr=1-1

Beautifully thank you, surely I buy

[Jas1]

I agree Mike, if I had to pick one - I'd pick '...Her own story...' - though there are other lovely tribute books out there with most assessing her amazing talents and cultural impact more than the ever modest Miss Day does in her own book.

[Ania]

I agree Mike, if I had to pick one - I'd pick '...Her own story...' - though there are other lovely tribute books out there with most assessing her amazing talents and cultural impact more than the ever modest Miss Day does in her own book.

Can first buy the one given by mikeydv
thanks to

[mikeydv]

Hey Jaz1 the Doris and All That Jazz show now running on sampod!

[Johnny]

Doris Day, Her Own Story by A.E. Hotchner is the best biography of Doris that I have read. There are more truthful stories directly given to the author by Doris in the book.

I also like what her co-stars, James Cagney, James Garner, Polly Bergen, had to say.Doris' son Terry and her mother Alma Kopplehoff really gave important insights into Doris' life experiences.

It is a really good book. I often refer to it to check out facts.

[webmaster]

You could also try David Kaufman's excellent book: http://dorisday.net/blog/

[ray]

So many people wrote or wants to write a book about Doris. But they turn out to be self serving and almost a fan book about themselves and their ideas how Doris should have lived and handled things. She did quite well on her own. Doris Day, Her Own Story is the top notch book about Doris by Doris. Her book is the only one that was a true bestseller.

[Musiclover]

The New York Times shows that the book was on its Top 10 best-sellers list for 21 weeks, five of them at #1. In 1976 that was a pretty good run.

[ray]

Doris was number one again in 1976 and what looked like another happy ending with her then new marriage.

[Jas1]

I love the Doris/Hotchner book - it is quite an usual concept and works really well [for me] with others being interviewed and their words shown, including many of Doris' co-stars and her mother and son. Read or maybe it was from an interview- Cary Grant bought several copies for friends and asked Doris to sign them - wonder why he was either not asked, or, did not wish to contribute to the book?

[jmichael]

I've always wondered about that too, Jas. Maybe Cary was approached and he declined. He was a very private person in his later years.

Michael

[Musiclover]

It would be interesting to know if Hotchner tried to get comments from Cary Grant. Based on a quote from Grant contained in one of several biographies about him (can't remember which one, but it was published after his death in 1986 and I read it in the Academy's library in Beverly Hills), I think he might have declined to be interviewed for Doris's memoir. What he said about Marty Melcher was, "He was always meddling in things [during the filming of That Touch of Mink]. I hate to speak ill of the dead, but the best thing that ever happened to that poor woman [Doris] was when he died." Pretty strong feelings if the quote is accurate.

[webmaster]

That's interesting, Judy, It's a good description, Marty the Meddler. Sinatra banned him from the set of Young at Heart because he tried to get the title song for Doris. Didn't he also want Pillow Talk to have a different title to suit a song he owned? Not many people liked him in Hollywood - and getting Doris' co-stars such as Kirk Douglas and Gordon MacRae to lose money on bad investments can't have helped his reputation.

But Doris was his ultimate victim and I think that Cary was right - if he'd lived another 10 years Doris might not have been in a situation to be able to work to pay off her debts and make enough to retire on.

[Musiclover]

Right, Bryan -- and Van Johnson, Ross Hunter, and arranger/conductor Frank DeVol were also among others who lost money as a result of his "recommendations."

[Jas1]

I agree Michael and Judy, that sounds very plausible why Cary refused to comment on the book - maybe for similar reasons so did Sinatra - I am sure he too was contacted.

[On Moonlight Bay]

I'm sure they didn't comment out of regard for Doris. She was just telling her story and not inviting co-stars to open up old wounds. Ultimately he betrayed her, in that he wasn't honest with her and used her talent and money for his own gratification. Could you justify doing that to your partner? I couldn't. Plus he became abusive to her son,Terry. It's the old story, you can be rich and famous and still unhappy because of the choices you make. And Doris did make those choices and ended up disillusioned with men.

[JayWint]

I just finished Her Own story and found it one of the best autobiographies I have read in any field. Frank with no punches pulled. I only wish she had commented on her singing career. I was able to "borrow" it at no charge from archive.org though had to wait a couple of weeks for the link. Just a great read!

[webmaster]

Thanks for that tip, Jay. It's a long time since I read it.

I found the page: https://archive.org/search.php?query=Doris%20Day

There's a waiting list, as you said, (14 people) so I may buy it, but there are lots of other goodies on that page, including David Kaufman's book, which as I said, I recommend.

He got a lot of stick from fans when it came out and someone recently reminded me that one of the main reasons was that he said Doris was born in 1922. Now proved and accepted! I've met him personally on a number of occasions and you couldn't meet a nicer fellow - and a genuine fan of Doris.

You might want to read an interview I did with him about his book and the reaction.


Author and subject.

https://www.dorisday.net/blog/

If you read it (his book) I'd be interested to know what you think.

[Musiclover]

You posed really good questions to Kaufman, Bryan. It's been a long time since I read his bio of Doris, but I remember being impressed by the enormous amount of research he did for it. It's hard to be objective when writing about somebody one admires, but I think he generally succeeded in doing that.

[Johnny]

Thank you Bryan for posting the interview with David Kaufman. The questions are thoughtful interesting.

What I really liked about the David Kaufman book was the specific time and dates and production notes associated with Doris' films and recordings. No one book no matter how well written it is can capture everything.
I loved Doris' book, Her Own Story. It conveyed her both her thoughts and emotions associated with the events in her work and personal life, It is my favourite.

Considering Doris Day is a beautifully professionally written work by Tom Santopietro which is a true testimonial to Doris' brilliant career. It well worth reading.

Without a doubt, I think the Doris Day Forum is the best written work about Doris' life and work. I have learned so much about her music and films that stay with. There is so much love and respect and appreciation in these writings, photos and stories. This Forum could be published as is and be called To Doris With Love. The volumes of information in this forum and how Doris became so important to so many are priceless. This speaks to how Doris became the number one box office star in the world for four consecutive years. Doris Day is a timeless legend that will not be forgotten.

[Jas1]

I agree Johnny, this Forum is something else - thank you Bryan from the bottom of my heart- i am proud and humbled to be a small part of it.

[JayWint]

Thanks for that tip, Jay. It's a long time since I read it.

I found the page: https://archive.org/search.php?query=Doris%20Day

There's a waiting list, as you said, (14 people) so I may buy it, but there are lots of other goodies on that page, including David Kaufman's book, which as I said, I recommend.

He got a lot of stick from fans when it came out and someone recently reminded me that one of the main reasons was that he said Doris was born in 1922. Now proved and accepted! I've met him personally on a number of occasions and you couldn't meet a nicer fellow - and a genuine fan of Doris.

You might want to read an interview I did with him about his book and the reaction.


Author and subject.

https://www.dorisday.net/blog/

If you read it (his book) I'd be interested to know what you think.

Thank you, I'm on the waitlist and I returned my loan of the Hotchner book. I enjoyed the interview as well!

[howard]

I'm a bit prejudiced when it comes to David Kaufman's book since, in my small way, I contributed to the making of it. However, he researched "The Untold Story of the Girl Next Door" over a period of five years, and I know that he did it as a true fan who wanted to see that DD's legacy as a triple threat talent remains intact. Before I read it, I thought I knew just about everything there was to know about our girl, but this thoroughly researched book was a real eye-opener. Highly recommended.