Doris Day's Real Name: Doris Day

Quick answer: The actress and singer was known professionally as Doris Day. Britannica, Turner Classic Movies, and her official biography agree that she was born on April 3, 1922, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and later took the professional name Day. Those sources do not all use the same longer form of the Kappelhoff family name.

Real name and early life

Britannica identifies her as Doris Day, also known as Doris von Kappelhoff, and places the birth on April 3, 1922, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her official biography independently says she was born Doris Mary Ann von Kappelhoff on April 3, 1922, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Turner Classic Movies independently says she was born Doris Mary Anne Kappelhoff on the same date and in the same city. The Guardian independently gives the form Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff and the birthplace Cincinnati, Ohio, without a calendar date in that obituary. The official biography and TCM both say that, while she was working with bandleader Barney Rapp, the name Day was adopted because Kappelhoff was considered too long; TCM adds that Rapp was inspired by the song "Day After Day." Britannica independently says she changed her last name to Day when she began singing on radio as a teenager.

Career highlights

Britannica says she worked as a vocalist with Barney Rapp and Bob Crosby before joining Les Brown's band in 1940, and that she made popular recordings including "Sentimental Journey." TCM and the official biography independently record "Sentimental Journey" as a 1945 hit with Brown. Britannica dates her first major film role to Romance on the High Seas (1948) and later musicals including Calamity Jane (1953) and Love Me or Leave Me (1955), and later comedies including Pillow Talk (1959). The Guardian independently records those films, an Oscar nomination for Pillow Talk, The Doris Day Show, and her last film, With Six You Get Eggroll (1968). TCM independently records a 2004 Presidential Medal of Freedom and the 2011 album My Heart.

Death

Britannica says she died on May 13, 2019, in Carmel Valley, California. TCM independently gives the same date and place, at age 97, and says she died of pneumonia. The Guardian independently reports that she died at age 97 and that the Doris Day Animal Foundation confirmed the news, without naming the date or city there.

Name notes for searchers

People looking up Doris Day or the longer Kappelhoff forms of the name are looking for the same actress and singer, including the later film Pillow Talk most often associated with her name.