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DEATHS ; Notable Passings; The Thread to Pay Last Respects

LizzieMaine

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Doris Day has died at the age of 97.

A performer with three major phases to her career, she broke in as a teenage band singer with Bob Crosby and Les Brown at the end of the 1930s, but didn't make a lasting impression until the mid-forties, when she recorded a string of hits with that band, paving the way for her success as a solo singing star after the war. Hollywood beckoned, giving Miss Day a lengthy career as a slightly aging ingenue -- "I knew Doris Day before she was a virgin," quipped Oscar Levant -- in films best remembered for a will-they-or-won't-they sexual dynamic. After her film career evaporated in the mid-sixties, she thurned to television, where she enjoyed reasonable success for several years with her own sitcom, "The Doris Day Show."

With the end of her TV career in the mid-70s, Day retired from show business and became an animal rights activist -- emerging as a high-profile supporter of PETA, and forming the Doris Day Animal Foundation, which will be the main beneficiary of her estate.

Although she is musically remembered for her sticky ballads, in her early career with Les Brown she was known to swing. Note her hepcat credentials in this 1940 recording .

 
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-- "I knew Doris Day before she was a virgin," quipped Oscar Levant --

You'll only fire out a few lines ⇧ that good even if you live a long life.

Nothing but positive things to say about Doris Day - many uneven movies, but who cares - she gave them her all. A voice that belted out a song with more verve than nuance, but who cares - she gave them her all.

And only recently, when I saw her in "Love Me or Leave Me" where she plays Ruth Etting - and where her not-nuanced voice showed its shortcomings - did I see that there were deeper acting chops to her than just the "sunny" performances she gave in most of her movies.
 

Edward

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A friend who is a fabulous DJ - some of the Brits on here may know her, Julie Miranda, aka Miss Aloha - used to close her legendary Jive night, Hula Boogie, with Doris Day's recording of It's later than you think. Gives it something of an extra kick now the voice has passed on.
 
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The most remarkable thing about Doris Day, now that I think of it, is that her retirement actually lasted longer than her career. She was the postwar era's Garbo.

Considering that her scumbag manager/husband stole/lost most of her money (she got some back throughs the courts and did pretty well with her TV show) and that she retired in '73 - and there's been massive inflation since - it's good that her money didn't run out.
 

LizzieMaine

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In memory of Mr. Conway (and Mr. Korman), here's what might be their most unforgettable piece of work. Dentist comedy is seldom all that funny, but I think you'll agree that this bit at least stands on a par with W. C. Fields' dental sketch.


Korman later admitted that he wet himself, for real, during this performance. Oh to have been backstage right after the fadeout.
 

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