Doris Day: The Untold Story of the Girl Next Door

by David Kaufman

Book Overview

David Kaufman has now written the long-awaited, definitive biography of Doris Day. By telling Day's incredible, previously untold story, Kaufman takes the reader to the epicenter of American popular culture-- a roller-coaster saga, from the 1940s to the 1980s. While Day symbolized virtuous America to the rest of the world--especially in her heyday, the 1950s and early 1960s--both she and that era are still perceived as being far more innocent and...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1905264305
• ISBN13: 9781905264308
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Virgin Books
• Length: 626 Pages
• Weight: 2.37 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.7" x 7.2" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Doris Day Biography

This is the best biography of Doris Day I have read. It is well researched and unbiased. Any fan who has hesitated about reading this book should go ahead and try it. I think Doris, herself, would love it.

Doris Day Gets Her Due

Doris Day was my very first movie star. I saw PLEASE DON'T EAT THE DAISIES in 1959--I was nine and it was love at first sight. Which is funny when you look at the picture now. The idea that any mother would put her child in a cage is appalling! Nevertheless, Day, along with Audrey Hepburn and Sohia Loren, became the movie stars I loved most in my youth. Even their least interesting films were an experience. These ladies were radiant screen presences. Hepburn and Loren were well respected. They got Oscars. Doris, equally talented and more because she could really sing, didn't get the respect of the aforementioned ladies, though her box office clout was undeniable. I've pretty much seen the entire Doris Day canon and it's got its classics: LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME, CALAMITY JANE, THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH, PILLOW TALK, LOVER COME BACK, THE THRILL OF IT ALL. Day is also wonderful in MIDNIGHT LACE, WITH SIX YOU GET EGGROLL, and my personal favorite, BILLY WILDER'S JUMBO. At 86, it was long overdue for an objective bio of this star with the sunny image. I enjoyed her autobiography because A.E. Hotchner is a solid writer, and while Day revealed a less than sunny life, it's not all that searching. David Kaufman's detailed book is just what is needed to fill in a lot of blanks and to put the whole career in perspective. I recently finished reading Tom Santopietro's excellent CONSIDERING DORIS DAY and they make an excellent combination as a critical overview of one spectacular career, and a behind-the- scenes lok at the peaks and valleys of that career. Several important things emerge about Day's family. Her mother Alma wasn't a very pleasant mother and once Doris becomes famous she keeps her mother at arm's length even as she calls on her to help with the many chores her stardom entails. In fact, Day pretty much exploited her family (however unconscious). She, like many female film and entertainment stars of the 50s and 60s, turned over way too much control of their careers and money to their husbands. Think Rosemary Clooney, Debbie Reynolds, Esther Williams, etc.). After reading her memoir, you walk away thinking that Marty Melcher, Day's third husband and the real architect of her superstardom, was responsible with their lawyer for stealing Day's fortune. And I can understand her thinking that. Jerome Rosenthal was a legal shark who fleeced Day and Melcher and other stars (Kirk Douglas among them) and got away with it for far too long before finally being disbarred (at 76). Melcher is portrayed her as a controlling, somewhat slick manipulator who protected Doris (as he alienates her co-stars and the crafts people on film sets) to the point of smothering her. But it looks like he was just as duped as Doris was, and while he probably knew it long before she did and was desperate enough to let Rosenthal continue to bilk them, believing that he could restore their lost nest egg, Melcher seems essentially innocent of being the thief R

The Doris Day Encyclopedia!!!!!!!!!!

I absolutely hate when a new book comes out, and people cant wait to tear it apart! This book, was delivered on tuesday, and I finished it by friday, and its really a thick book! You name it, its in here! The author did a beautiful job with the facts, stories and presented it with love and adoration. THIS IS THE DEFINITIVE DORIS DAY BOOK! DONT WALK, RUN TO THE STORE AND GET IT!!!!

A "DAY" TO REMEMBER

"Doris Day, The Untold Story of the Girl Next Door" is an amazing book written by an author who clearly knows his subject. David Kaufman has crafted a book that is impossible to put down once you start reading it. While he has drawn a portion of his information from other sources including books, press releases, film reviews, etc. Mr. Kaufman has interviewed scores of individuals who knew Miss Day and here share, in many instances, their recollections for the first time. It is never less than compelling and the reader will come away from this enormous 600 plus page read with a great deal of respect and admiration for the subject, Doris Day and probably a new viewpoint about this woman who remains to this "Day" the number one female box-office star of all-time. Anyone whose opinion of Miss Day is based upon the song "Que Sera Sera" or the mistaken notion that she was a cardboard cut-out or Pollyanna-revisited will have those notions shaken and replaced by the reality that Doris Day is a courageous, sometimes insecure, very funny, sexy and quite determined lady. You'll discover why, after dozens of hugely popular movies, a television series that ran for years and hundreds of recordings, she walked away without a backward glance. David Kaufman is a highly respected writer and his talents and skills clearly provide a balanced portrait of Doris Day. It's not, however, just a book for fans of Doris Day. It is, in fact, an eye-opening account of a woman's journey through life and through Hollywood. There is something that everyone can identify with in the journey and Kaufman has walked that fine line with being an admirer and a writer and delivered the goods. This book is certain to top the best-seller lists and be one of the year's best reads. A fascinating story of a great star told with detail that never seems intrusive to the subject. Mr. Kaufman reveals the person behind the freckles and the Hollywood gloss and its a wonderful revelation.

A must-read!

Author David Kaufman worked painstakingly in putting this definitive biography together. I know this because I had the distinct honor of contributing to the book, and sharing some of my stories with the author. I cannot understand a couple of "critics" on this web site who refer to the book as nothing more than we've already heard. I've been a fan (and acquaintance) of Ms Day's since early childhood. I have read just about every magazine article, book, etc., everything and anything I could get my hands on about the subject. I thought I knew all there was to know about Doris Day, but this book is filled with revelations. There's something new to be learned on practically every page! The book is so finely detailed, and chock full of information that has never been told. It truly is the "untold story." If you're at all interested in the career and life of Doris Day, this is the book for you!