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Up to the minute notes on the current state of free thinking and free living: Kentucky moonshine - original analysis and reporting from MoreThings, and all round pop culture museum of sight and sound - photo galleries, mp3 and video downloads.
Al Barger and MoreThings - getting people's goats since 1998.
Live free or die!
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April 03, 2004
Doris Day turns 80
Doris Day was born 80 years ago today on April 3, 1924 in Cincinnati, OH.
Doris Day may be the sweetest sweetheart in the history of American cinema. She'll make you forget any silly old Julia Roberts. She certainly ruled the light romantic comedies like no other woman ever. With Six You Get Eggroll, Please Don't Eat the Daisies, Pillow Talk & The Pajama Game constitute prime examples of the genre. She knew how to add just the right spoonful of seriousness to give at least some facade of dramatic credibility to even the fluffiest story.
She could act in real dramas, however. The Man Who Knew Too Much, the 1956 Hitchcock film, was certainly no beach party.
Also, dig on her early role as a singer in Young Man With a Horn, opposite a highly self-destructive Kirk Douglas in 1950. Besides dramatic acting, this features some singing.
Artistically, she may actually be more interesting as a singer. She was not particularly any kind of soul or blues singer, but she had pretty strong technical skills at not just hitting notes, but delivering a lyric.
One particularly good example of her vocal performance worth looking up comes from the album The Great American Composers-Irving Berlin, Volume II, Disc 2. Doris Day has my pick for the definitive version of the classic song "I'm an Indian, Too" from Annie Get Your Gun.
In this version it turns into a curious savage dream of the everyday housewife. Nominally it's Annie Oakley from the backwoods getting initiated into the Indian tribe. Doris Day gives it a unique sound of a housewife having a little fantasy. She enunciates so effortlessly, so light and sharp, so perfect. By the time she's singing "and I'll be busy night and day" it's gotten crossed with the modern strings to generate some vision of a surreal post modern 1950s teepee of the future.
In short, Doris Day had skills. Heck, she could even make Rock Hudson look straight.
Happy birthday, sweetheart!
posted by Al at 4/03/2004 10:28:00 PM
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