Doris Day, a renowned actress and singer who was one of the brightest stars of the Hollywood Golden Age and died at the age of 97, died two years ago.
Between 1947 and 1967, she released over 650 songs, appeared in nearly 30 films, and received numerous honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, for her contributions to music and filmmaking.
Even though the beloved actress and singer died in 2019, a close friend recently revealed that she did not want a burial, memorial service, or grave marker. Let’s look into it…
Doris Day is admired for many reasons, including her talent, love of animals, and modesty.
Doris had a 50-year career in film and was well-liked and respected for her work. She rose to prominence in films such as Pillow Talk, Love Me or Leave Me, and The Man Who Knew Too Much.
The 97-year-old had four marriages but only had one child. Terry Mulcher, Day’s first marriage’s son with Al Jorden, died of cancer in 2004.
Day was a well-known animal rights activist in addition to his film success. She was a wonderful person who advocated for animals who had no voice.
Doris was also a Grammy-winning singer.
Three of her songs, Sentimental Journey, Secret Love, and Que Sera Sera, were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and the Doris Day Animal Foundation was founded due to her involvement with animals.
Doris Day died tragically in 2019 at her home in Carmel Valley, California. When she developed pneumonia, her charity, the Doris Day Animal Foundation, confirmed her death and stated that, at her request, there would be no burial ceremonies, gravestones, or other forms of public remembrance.
Instead, she was cremated, and her ashes were scattered.
According to her close friend and manager, Bob Bashara, she refused to discuss the possibility of a funeral because she struggled with death.
And her final wishes had a genuine reason.
“She didn’t like death and couldn’t be with her animals if they had to be put down. “She had trouble accepting death,” he explained in an interview.
“I’d say we need to provide for her dogs [after she died], and she’d say, ‘I don’t want to think about it,’ and she said, ‘Well, you just take care of them,’” recalls Bashara.
“She had several when she wrote her will and wanted to ensure they were taken care of. She disliked discussing the dogs’ deaths.”
Day became an active advocate for animal rights in the early 1970s, condemning the wearing of fur and founding the Doris Day Animal Foundation.
In 2020, she raised $3 million for the cause by auctioning off more than 1,000 of her items. She even assisted in the establishment of a Texas Horse Rescue and Adoption Center that provides care for neglected and abandoned horses.
Day was raised Catholic before marrying producer Martin Melcher and becoming a devout Christian Scientist.
Her first marriage to trombonist Al Jorden, whom she met when she was 16, resulted in the birth of her lone child, Terrence “Terry” Paul Jorden. After being adopted by Day’s third husband, film producer Martin Melcher, Jorden eventually changed his name to Terrence Paul Melcher.
Day “drifted away” from organized religion after Melcher died in 1968, Bashara explained, but remained “a spiritual person.”
“She believed in God, and she thought her voice was God-given,” he says. “She would say, ‘God gave me a voice, and I just used it.’”
Day retired from acting in the early 70s but did return for two TV shows. Then in 1985, she hosted her television talk show “Doris Day’s Best Friends” on the Christian Broadcasting Network, which ran for a year.
Her friend and manager Bashara says he remains unsure why Day was reluctant to have a funeral but explains, “I think it was because she was a very shy person.”
Kaley Cuoco To Play Doris Day In Warner Bros TV Limited Series.
Kaley Cuoco, the executive producer and star of The Flight Attendant, is creating a limited series based on the A.E. 1976 book Doris Day: Her Own Story by Hotchner. The star is Cuoco.
Warner Bros., Norman Productions, and Cuoco’s Yes After Flight Attendant television are collaborating with Berlanti Production. As of right now, no network is connected.
Her third (of four) spouses left her in debt after he passed away in 1968, but a job in television, which she detested, kept her out of financial ruin in the 1970s. Day started advocating for animals in the 1970s. Like Day, Cuoco champions and supports causes related to animal welfare.
The Doris Day project is the latest in Cuoco’s overall Yes, Norman exclusive deal to develop new original programming with Warner Bros. Television Group. She extended her collaboration with the Studio by signing a new, exclusive multiyear overall agreement in 2019.
He said Day knew her fans loved her from the letters she received but never understood why so many people loved her.
“She never let her celebrity affect her and who she was, and she was always the little girl from Cincinnati who was extraordinarily talented and went out in the world and did what she loved to do despite herself,” he says.
She was cremated and had her ashes scattered.
Her estate was donated to charity.
This legendary actress and singer will forever be loved and remembered. Rest in peace, Doris Day. Please share.
