Confessions of a fan, or, watch what you wish for….
For the longest time,Doris Day fans, me included, have complained that Doris Day was not given her due, that she was being ignored by the media, authors, award shows etc. And, mostly, the complaints were warranted since this was the case. Tons of books were written about Audrey Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly and Elizabeth Taylor, all contemporaries of Ms. Day, but, none about Doris Day. For varied reasons, some already written about here, Doris Day was given the cold shoulder by Hollywood, the media and the Entertainment industry as a whole. This trend slowly started changing as DVD’s of Ms. Day’s old movies came out and they were quite popular with the fans.
One of the biggest moneymakers of the past was again seen as interesting commercially. I guess, money talks.
Recently , it was announced that Ms.Day will be honoured with a life time achievement Grammy. What took them so long, and why is the Academy still holding out with honouring Ms. Day?
Suddenly,Doris Day is interesting again, and not just to her loyal following. This reminds me of the Chinese curse where you wish your enemy an interesting life. And another one: ‘watch what you wish for, for it might come true’.
In the past two years,a series of books poured out, one about her TV career, another one about her film and music career,and, the most recent one, about her private life. Debate ensued about the merits, or lack of. of those books.
In June a new book is coming out. It is written by David Kaufman and it promises to be controversial. Hopefully, it will be respectful of Ms. Day. But, respectful doesn’t usually sell books, unless, you are writing about Audrey Hepburn, who is treated as a saint by the media.
One consolation is that whatever Kaufmann might say about Ms. Day it will be in today’s blase climate where no one is shocked about anything anymore. With the Hollywood crowd pushing the envelope about what is scandalous , nothing is scandalous anymore ,except,an untimely death of a young celebrity, Anna Noicole Smith, or ,just the other day, of Heath Ledger.
Looking into my crystal ball,I predict that Doris Day will be given much more media attention in the next few years and Carmel will be a busier place as people look for Doris Day.
Hopefully, all this will pass under her radar, and, if not, she is wise enough to know that this, too, will pass.
As a longtime fan of Ms Day I don’t wish her an ‘interesting’ time , but a healthy and good time with her human and animal friends.
I will keep on dreaming that a very good and respected author will write the definitive book about Ms, Day’s career ,as well as, her contribution to the the American and world culture. In short, explain the Doris Day phenomenon.
Dear readers you are welcome to share about your “dream book” about Ms. Day.
February 6th, 2008 at 4:20 am
So, I guess in answer to your question about the ideal DD book…I think the ideal book is the one that hasn’t been written–one Doris herself writes and continues where she left off in 1975. To me, that would hold the most interest
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February 6th, 2008 at 4:36 am
That certainly would be a great book,Antonette, but, somehow, I doubt if Doris will bother. I think she cherishes her peace. I think she said whatever she had to say in 1975. But, then again, miracles have happened.
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February 21st, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Antonette, you are so wise for your young years. I totally agree with the fact that for me, the only book that would interest me is a book written by Miss Day herself… How she developed the DDAL and the DDAF, Her world vision, her current beflief system, what she has learned from her 80 plus years of experience… Yep, another book written by DD would certainly be nice.
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March 6th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
I am a great fan of Doris Day both of her movies and her music. I was sad to hear her son say a few years ago that she didn’t understand why people would still be interested in her after all these years.
We now receive the channels that feature older movies, I can share the laughter and tears that she brought when I watched her movies as a youngster.
I just want to be able to say thank you to her for all the years of happiness that she gave me.
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March 23rd, 2008 at 8:51 am
i feel i must tell you i have been a fan of doris day since i was 4 years old, that makes it 60years now. my mother died christmas 2006 and left me a little money so i thought i must do what she would have hoped for me to do. that was my dream to visit carmel where she lives and last week i fulfilled that dream by going passed her house, unfortunately i did not even get a glimpse of her but at least i saw where she lives but it was wellworth the trip which i visited 2 states before going to california to pass by her home. it was the great experience i will never forget. regards, kathy beer li l worth
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