Considering Doris Day

Author Santopietro might have called his book Re-Considering Doris Day since his premise is that the signer/actress has gotten a bum rap as a goody-goody. His book, besides giving some biographical information, gives an enjoyable evaluation of each of Day's movies, albums, and TV series and specials. In his view, Day was an energetic, sexy actress who deserves another viewing. I went back and watched or re-watched several of her movies, and would especially recommend Pillow Talk and Teacher's Pet.

The book is an extensive critique of Ms Day's work including her films, recordings, and television appearances. I don't believe he missed a film or an album of hers, and he has a great appreciation for Ms Day's remarkable talents. After so many years of reading compliments that are left-handed or almost apologetic, it's great to read the opinion of one who truly knows the wonderful contributions Ms Day has made throughout her illustrious career. I recommend this book to all Day fans and to those who are interested in knowing more about the wonderful contributions Ms Day has made to the entertainment world, as well as her tireless work as an animal advocate.

When I told an 85-year-old friend that I was reading Doris Day's biography, she said, "I always wanted to be like Doris Day." Doris Day (yes, she's still alive) was born on April 3, 1924 and was 83 spring p 2007. She started as a singer and became associated with big bands, traveling with them around the country. And by 18, she was a single parent of son Terry, divorced from his abusive father, also in a big band. The author (who also wrote a definitive work about Barbara Streisand--The Importance of Being Barbara) details Doris Day's movies, starting in 1948 when she was 24. She made 17 movies under Warner Brother's contract--sometimes up to three a year. In some she was allowed to sing and dance, using her pitch-perfect voice. Some movies were drama. She could do comedy, drama, sing and dance with the best of them. In her prolific signing career, she recorded more than 600 songs from 1948 to 1967. She did not get to choose what movies she would do--because of the studio contract system-but as Doris Day would often say: A deal is a deal. After leaving Warners in 1954, she starred in many more movies. Alfred Hitchcock directed a very believable Doris Day in The Man Who Knew Too Much. Whatever she did, she did her best. So what happened that she quit in 1968 after making more than 40 movies? After doing a TV show until 1986, she just disappeared from public eye. Some say the sexual revolution, women's rights and role changing made her kind of movies passe. The author recapped her career nicely at the end of the book, giving an overview of her talent, successes and vast work. Ask most women of a certain age which Doris Day movie they loved the best, and they might mention Pillow Talk or the one co-staring James Garner, where she went through the car wash with the convertible top down. Doris Day was everywhere for many years--and we loved that she sang, danced and acted her way into our hearts. If we admired Doris Day, I image the men in our lives envied her many leading men. Her life, loves and her son Terry play a big role in the book--and of course her many years of animal rights advocacy. Armchair Interviews says: If you loved Doris Day's public life, and want to know more about her private life, this book is for you.

A really fun read - very informative as well. Tom Santopietro examines the music, film and television career of this true legend and convinces even the most skeptical critic of what a great artist she was. His style is amusing. His insights are spot on. He calls her recording career second only to Ella Fitzgerald's and actually made me want to go out and buy a number of the recordings. His anaylsis of her movies was objective yet complmentary. Highly recommended -- entertaining, informative and makes you realize how great Doris Day actually was.

Tom Santopietro's new book, "Considering Doris Day" is a sincere, thoughtful and relatively concise look at the career of the lady who is the top-ranked female box-office star of all-time. For years pundits have had a field day mocking Day or belittling her tremendous contributions to the entertainment industry. Most of them have probably never seen a Day film or listened to one of her hundreds of recordings. Had they, they would be forced to reevaluate their insipid remarks. Throughout the years there have been many books written about Doris Day. Some have been entertaining and enjoyable while others have been either re-hashes, promoting falsehoods and misconceptions or just plain bad. A few have read like extended versions of stories from a bygone era that might have appeared in Photoplay, Modern Screen or Motion Picture. Thankfully Mr. Santopietro's book is a nice opening act for what promises to be the definitive book about Miss Day, the long-awaited "But Not For Me" due out in 2008 and written by David Kaufmann. Doris Day has had an astounding career by any definition. From the early 40's when her professional career started, as a big band singer, through nearly 40 films between 1948 and 1968, through a hit series, some classy television specials and a warm-hearted talk show promoting animals in the mid 80's, she has excelled. Whether the story was a musical, comedy, biography, drama, suspense thriller, western - Miss Day was able to play every role with an effortlessness that defied convention. "Considering Doris Day" looks at the remarkable film career and the astounding popularity Miss Day achieved, topping the polls year after year and turning a profit with almost every title. In the recording field she was, for a while, the "Queen of Columbia", turning out Gold Record after Gold Record and making even some titles that defy description seem enjoyable. One could only wish that she'd had the chance to work with some other musical talents that might have enabled her to deviate from the well-plowed rut that Columbia big-wig Mitch Miller seemed to place her in. Nevertheless, some of her 1960's recordings are masterworks and her phrasing, intonation, breath control and warmth are still like fresh air in an era when female singers in particular seem to feel that louder and more shrill is better. Mr. Santopietro sheds some new light on Day's many accomplishments and while his book may not be the eye-opening tome that Kaufmann's promises to be, it is certain to open some eyes and force a reevaluation of Miss Day's durable career. If nothing else, after reading the book, some of the naysayers may actually run out and rent a Day film or listen to a Day tune and find themself quite impressed with the lady's incredible talents. There's a lot of "Day-light" contained on the pages of this book and I would venture to say that reading it is time well spent.