Doris Day was an incredibly talented performer who took the spotlight of television and film between the 1950s and 1960s. She began her career in the 1940s, when she found talent as a singer. In 1945, she released her first hit recording, “Sentimental Journey.” From there, her influence would only spread.
While touring across the United States, however, others realized she had more talent than just singing. In 1948, two songwriters, Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn, were impressed by her performance on stage, and they recommended her to a director named Michael Curtz. He auditioned a confused Doris Day, who was stunned to learn she got the part. She starred in the film Romance on the High Seas, and thus began Doris Day’s long and prolific career in film.
Directors didn’t just want Doris Day in their films because she was stunningly beautiful. She had a commanding stage presence that awed and enchanted viewers. Before long, directors and producers all over the country were itching to get Doris Day in their movies and TV shows. She was awarded numerous accolades throughout her career, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, a Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
While she sadly died at the age of 97 on May 13th, 2019, Doris Day left behind an untouchable legacy that will be remembered for years to come. Her work as both a singer and an actor were incredibly influential, and she inspired countless stars after her rise to fame.
On the outside, Doris Day had the good looks, fame, and talent that many Americans would kill for. However, even the most legendary stars in music and film can suffer from devastating inner turmoil. Countless stars maintain a charming persona, but behind that sunny facade, many actors and musicians suffer from things like drug abuse, alcoholism, and mental and emotional instability. Sadly, Doris Day was yet another movie star caught up in a difficult life.
Behind Doris Day’s gorgeous, twinkling smile, however, was a life marred by tragedy. A woman as beautiful and talented as Doris Day would be expected to have a life filled with love and romance. However, while she did have many different relationships, her love life was torrid and devastating.
In today’s video, we’re going to take a look at the rocky points throughout her life and career. Make sure you stick around, because we’re going to reveal the secret disasters that occurred in each of her four failed marriages.
The Beginning of Her Career
Doris Day was born on April 3rd, 1922, to parents Alma Sophia and William Joseph Kappelhoff. Even at a young age, Doris Day knew she was destined for greatness. She fell in love with dancing, and even began dancing with a local boy named Jerry Doherty during the mid-1930s. However, tragedy struck when she got into a horrible car accident on October 13th, 1937. That fateful day left Doris’s right leg terribly injured, and she learned that she would never be able to dance professionally.
Doris Day sank into a depression. She was bedridden while recovering from the car accident, but found solace in the radio. She began singing along, and suddenly found that she was quite good. Her spirits rose as she discovered a new talent. From there, she began performing in bars locally until eventually rising to stardom as a pop singer.
Al Jorden: Her First Failed Marriage
Even after the tragedy of that fateful car accident, life for Doris Day was beginning to look up. It was in the early years of her singing career that she met Al Jorden, a charming man who was quite a few years older than her. Despite her mother’s disapproval, Doris Day was determined to pave her own way- with dreadful consequences. The two married in 1941, but Doris Day soon realized that her love affair with the talented trombonist was too good to be true.
Al Jorden turned out to be incredibly violent. He suffered from schizophrenia, but his lack of treatment meant that he was rather unstable at times. Doris Day became pregnant with her first and only child. After learning she was pregnant, Al Jorden insisted she get an abortion. When Day refused, he brutally beat her in an attempt to kill her unborn child. Thankfully, it did not work, and she gave birth to a son named Terry. Doris Day was finally able to end her marriage with her abusive husband in 1943, but his violence had a severe impact on her mental and emotional health. Still, Doris Day was determined to find love again.
The Height of Her Singing Career
After finally ending her marriage with Al Jorden, Doris Day was able to focus more on her career. In 1945, she released her first hit single, “Sentimental Journey.” Between 1945 and 1946, she would release six more songs that would become top ten hits on the Billboard chart. Even though she was shaken by the tragic events of her first marriage, things seemed to be looking up for Doris. She then met the man who would become her second husband.
George Weidler: Her Second Husband
Doris Day married George Weidler, a saxophonist and the brother of the child actress Virginia Weidler. The two married on March 30th, 1946. At first, things seemed to be going well between the two. At the very least, Weidler was not abusive like Doris Day’s previous husband. However, new trouble began brewing. Firstly, he was resentful towards his stepson, Terry, and did not make any attempt to be a father figure towards him. Then, he became incredibly jealous of Doris Day’s rising career. He became fearful that he would only be known as the husband of Doris Day, and his jealousy caused an irreparable rift between the two.
Doris Day was heartbroken when he divorced her on May 31st, 1949. Perhaps it was for the best, however, because if the two had remained together, George Weidler likely would have tried to sabotage her career.
Unfortunately, this tumultuous romantic life still wasn’t over for Doris Day. Even after two more marriages that both ended in heartbreak, however, she still managed to put on a happy face for the rest of the world. Make sure you stick around, because we’re going to reveal the amazing legacy she left behind even in the face of such adversity. And if you’re enjoying this video so far, please take a moment to like this video and subscribe to our channel for more!
Martin Melcher: Her Third Romance
Doris Day seemed to have finally found the love of her life in Martin Melcher, a successful film producer who was charming, and was neither violent nor jealous like her previous husbands. He was also a proud stepfather to Terry, who later changed his last name to Melcher to honor his adoptive father.
The two had a loving marriage that lasted for many years. However, even this romance was cruelly ripped from Doris Day. Martin Melcher suffered from an enlarged heart, but because he was a practitioner of Christian Science, he did not believe in seeking medical treatment. As a result, his life was cut short on April 20th, 1968.
However, while the news of her husband’s death was crushing, especially to a woman who had already suffered so much heartbreak, the worst was yet to come.
Left With Nothing
After learning of her husband’s death, Doris Day was hardly granted any time to grieve. Soon after, she learned that her husband was not as kind or caring as she had previously believed. All the time, he had been secretly embezzling from her fortune! And by the time he died, Martin Melcher left Doris Day with nothing to her name. Melcher had also signed a contract on Doris Day’s behalf, forcing her to become involved in The Doris Day Show. Ironically, this also helped save her from becoming even more in debt, but she had never wanted to star on the show in the first place.
Barry Comden: Her Final Attempt at Finding Love
Doris Day was understandably quite tired of romance by this point in her life. However, she just couldn’t say no to Barry Comden, who wooed her by using her soft spot: animals. He worked as a maitre d’hotel at one of the restaurants Doris Day frequented. He gave her a bag filled with scraps of meat and bone to give to her dogs, and Doris Day soon declared that he was “the most marvelous” man she had ever met. The two married on April 14th, 1976, but it would only last for five years.
Ironically enough, Doris Day’s love of dogs proved to be too much for Barry Comden. She owned a total of fourteen dogs at once, and one night, she kicked him out of bed to make room for her pet poodle. It was at that point that Barry Comden declared he had enough, and thus ended Doris Day’s last marriage.
Her Beautiful Legacy
Despite the four failed marriages that ended in such tragedy, Doris Day left behind an amazing legacy. Not only was she immensely talented in both music and acting, but she also donated to countless charities, particularly those dedicated to animal welfare. Even though her romantic life was nothing to be jealous of, she was an inspiration for people all over the world.
Were you more surprised to learn that Doris Day’s third husband, Martin Melcher, left her terribly in debt, or that her fourth husband divorced her because she loved her dogs more than him? Let us know in the comments below, and don’t forget to subscribe to Facts Verse for more!
