"Doris Day: Her Own Story"--truly one of "America's Sweethearts--Doris Day tells the story behind the headlines of her private life

Doris Day: Her Own Story

by Doris Day &  A.E. Hotchner

Biography of Doris Day with 36 pages of photographs and filmography. This unusual collaboration in the form of an autobiography brings together a highly skilled professional writer and the film superstar who never enjoyed being thought of as Miss Goody Two-shoes. For the first time, Doris Day tells the story behind the headlines of her private life- three marriages, real and rumored affairs, and professional triumphs countered by personal tragedies. At thirteen Doris was in a car hit by a train, and for a while she expected to be crippled for life. At sixteen she was earning her living on the road signing with bands. At seventeen she married a man who turned out to be a psychopathic sadist. She talks of many other things she never told anyone before, and her book is as compelling as it is honest. Mr. Hotchner, the author of Papa Hemingway: A Personal Memoir, has enriched her story with candid interviews with her son, Terry Melcher; her mother, her friends, and many of the people she has worked with including Bob Hope, James Garner, and Jack Lemmon. In this perceptive book, "the girl next door" turns out to be an inspiring woman of unique courage and strength.


DORIS DAY




Doris Mary Anne von Kappelhoff (born April 3, 1922), known by her stage name Doris Day, is an American singer and actress.

Able to sing, dance and play comedy and dramatic roles, she became one of the biggest box-office stars. Day has 39 movies to her credit, even though she retired from films in 1968. She also has done more than 75 hours of television and is one of the most prolific recording artists in history, has recorded over 650 songs. She is an Academy Award nominee, as well as a Golden Globe and Grammy Award winner. In 1989, Day received the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement in motion pictures. She is currently the top ranking female box-office star of all time according to the annual Quigley Publishing poll's All-Time Number One Stars list, ranking #6 of the top ten of mostly male stars (the only other female on the list is Shirley Temple).

https://www.dorisdayanimalfoundation.org/

The Doris Day Animal Foundation (DDAF) is a national, nonprofit 501(c)(3) Public Charity founded in 1978 as the Doris Day Pet Foundation by legendary performer, Doris Day, with a straightforward mission that continues to this day:  to help animals and the people who love them.  As a grant-giving charity, DDAF funds other 501(c)(3) organizations across the United States that directly care for and protect animals.

A life-long animal lover and advocate, Doris recognized that the animal welfare community in the 1970s was a sorely lacking landscape, and that through her own organization and celebrity status she could make a difference for the animals.  When she initially founded the Doris Day Pet Foundation, Doris focused on finding homes for the too many animals that were being destroyed simply because there weren't enough good homes.  Her grassroots efforts resulted in Doris' personally rescuing hundreds of animals over the years.  In addition to fostering animals at her own home, Doris and DDPF were leasing kennel space, providing for veterinary care, and finding loving forever homes for the increasing numbers of homeless pets with the help of a dedicated staff of volunteers.

Affectionately known to some as “The Dog Catcher of Beverly Hills,” Doris would often find unwanted dogs dropped off at her gate.  It was not uncommon for her to knock on neighbors’ doors in an attempt to reunite lost dogs with their owners or check to make sure those that were either reunited or in new homes were doing well and receiving proper care and attention.  One star was famously quoted as saying, "We all had at least one of ‘those Doris Day animals.'  If you would see Doris on the street or at the studio, chances are you would end up with some homeless cat or dog Doris was sponsoring.  She carried around photos of the animals who needed homes, and then she'd actually come over to inspect your house to make sure you were up to it."

Despite the large number of animals that Doris and DDPF were rescuing, Doris knew it wasn’t enough, and that addressing the root cause of homeless pet overpopulation through spay/neuter was the key.  To complement the Doris Day Pet Foundation, she formed the Doris Day Animal League in 1987, a national non-profit citizens’ lobbying organization, whose overriding mission is to reduce the pain and suffering of non-human animals through legislative initiatives, education and programs to develop and enforce statutes and regulations protecting animals.  In 1995 Doris and DDAL founded  Spay Day USA.  Now known as World Spay Day and under the auspices of the Humane Society of the United States, this annual event has reached global proportions and has helped spay and neuter more than 1.5 million animals in the first 15 years since inception.  In 2007, the Doris Day Animal League merged with the Humane Society of the United States for an even greater legislative voice in Washington.

The Doris Day Pet Foundation has evolved into the Doris Day Animal Foundation, whose efforts have become even more far-reaching.  With Doris’ continued hands-on involvement, DDAF has become a grant-giving organization, funding other nonprofit 501(c)(3) causes across the country that share DDAF’s mission of helping animals and the people who love them.  In addition to assisting numerous organizations with various programs, such as spay/neuter, veterinary expenses, seniors programs, pet food pantries, wildlife rehabilitation and educational resources, some of DDAF's “legacy” project funding includes World Spay Day, the Doris Day Equine Center (located at Cleveland Amory’s Black Beauty Ranch in Murchison, Texas), the Duffy Day Life Saving Program (giving a second chance to older and injured animals that may otherwise face euthanasia), the Doris Day/Terry Melcher Scholarship at UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and many others.
As we approach our 40th year, the Doris Day Animal Foundation continues to complement and build upon the many successes of its sister organization, the Doris Day Animal League.  With your help, we can continue to create caring communities that acknowledge the relationship between animal welfare and human development.