Here are some highlights:
ON GOING SOLO…
The first time I ever worked alone, I had two shows a night at the Little Club on East 55th St. in New York. I opened it. My mother was with me, and my little baby. It was something so new for me. I thought, “What am I doing?” I was so used to having the guys behind me. But it turned out to be really nice. The people kept coming back! I was surprised! A lot of the women were Vogue types, models, all dressed up like crazy. They would say, “Come on over and have a drink.” But I wasn’t drinking. I would go back to my apartment between shows.
ON HER CO-STARS…
Rock Hudson:
We really liked each other. He named me Eunice, just for fun. I was always Eunice with him. I was up here filming a show [Doris Day’s Best Friends, July 1985] when all of a sudden he appeared. At first I didn’t know who he was. I looked at him and was almost in tears. He was so thin, just gaunt. It was just unbelievable. But we walked and laughed together. He was so seriously ill, but he was still funny. It just about put me away—it’s so hard to be funny when you know what’s going to happen.
Jimmy Cagney:
I loved him. He as a wonderful person, just adorable. Not in that film [Love Me or Leave Me], he wasn’t. Oh, he was nasty!
Tony Randall:
He was so superb, so funny. He was always in New York after that. I just loved him. Did we ever [have fun]! We laughed.
DOES SHE SING MUCH NOW?
I can’t now. I could still sing until I got bronchitis. I had a very, very bad attack a couple of years ago; I thought I would never get over it. That’s why I sound different. But sometimes I sing along with something, and I think, “That wasn’t bad.” I wonder sometimes if I could start vocalizing.
See some personal photos of Doris through the years and the rest of the interview:
http://www.parade.com/
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