Doris Day - Dansero

It must have been the ultimate thrill for Doris to dance in movies. From a very early age her dream was to be a dancer. She started dancing lessons in kindergarten. By the time she was 12 she had a regular tap dancing act with Jerry Doherty. They won $500 in a Cincinatti city wide dance contest. Doris, Jerry and their mothers decided to use the money for a trip to Hollywood to study with the nationally famous Franchon & Marco. During the 4 weeks their dancing received a lot of attention and they were sent to perform at events in and around Hollywood. Doris began to dream that she might someday come back to Hollywood as a dancer like Betty Grable or Ginger Rogers whom she adored. By the end of the 4 weeks they had received such encouragement from Franchon & Marco they they decided to move to Hollywood for good. They returned home to say their good byes and move their belongings to the coast. On Friday Oct. 13, 1937 they attended a good bye party in Hamilton, Ohio about 25 miles from Cincinatti. Doris and her friends went for a hamburger and on the way back to the party their car was struck by a train.Her leg was shattered in the crash. The x-rays showed a double compound fracture with shattered bone fragments that had to be fitted back into place. A steel pin was inserted in the bone and she had an extra heavy cast from thigh to toes. The doctors were optimistic that she would walk again - but they were not optimistic that she would ever dance again. During her convelescense she began singing with the radio. Singing along with bands like Goodman, Dorsey, Ellington and Miller. But the one radio voice she listened to, above all others was Ella Fitzgerald. After many months - with the promise of a mending leg - Doris was dancing to the radio - with cast and crutches - when she slipped and fell on her injured leg. The prognosis was not good and Doris looked forward to at least another year with her cast and crutches. The doctors urged her mother to keep her busy to avoid depression.So - she began singing lessons with Grace Raine. Grace recognized her "tremendous potential" and gave her 3 lessons a week for the price of one. Doris and her mother could only afford one lesson. Doris credits Grace with teaching her virtually everything she ever learned about singing. Grace got Doris on the radio and her first singing job at a local Chinese restaurant - on crutches ! Eighteen months after the accident Doris was given the ok to trade in her crutches for a cane. Doris then landed a job with Barney Rapp and his New Englanders. She later joined Bob Crosby and his Bobcats and then Les Brown. I think we know the rest of the story.