Doris Day’s third husband, Marty Melcher, passed away in 1968; they were married for a total of 21 years.
The actress said that following Melcher’s death, she learned that he and a lawyer had left her destitute. She claims that her $20 million was poorly managed. Read on to find out what Day said about that terrible time in her life.
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Doris Day and Marty Melcher’s Romantic Origin Story
When Day was 27 years old, she wed Melcher, her agent. She writes that their relationship was “strictly that of client and agency” before they started dating in her autobiography Doris Day: Her Own Story.
Day recalls that during filming of Romance on the High Seas, she and the film’s hairstylist became great friends. Day’s hairdresser recommended that, while house-hunting, she and her husband provide temporary housing so that Day could live in a more familiar environment.
The hairstylist’s house was conveniently located behind Melcher’s. Day and her hairstylist were avid volleyball players, and they frequently spent time at Melcher’s house. She also reveals that she would complain to Melcher about her thwarted marriages and other problems in her life. Day claims that he was a “very empathetic listener.”
Doris Day Claims She is in Debt Because of Marty Melcher.
Apparently Day is deep in debt thanks to both Melcher and a lawyer called Jerome Rosenthal. They had a hidden plot to “wipe out the millions,” she stated of her late husband’s, she alleged. She claims he also left her with a debt of $500,000 after he moved out. Despite her efforts, she felt as though they had yielded no monetary rewards, and this upset her.
When Day’s stepfather passed away, her son Terry Melcher told her the sad news. Day claims in her book that Terry told her she owed about $450,000 in taxes and didn’t have “a dime” left. She may have to sell the house before he would accept payment, he warned her.
It came as a shock to Day when she learned that Melcher and Rosenthal had taken out a loan against her record contract to pay for songs that she hadn’t even recorded yet. The son of Day informed his mother that the contract’s funds had been depleted.
In addition to that… Day also learned that Melcher put her name on a TV series contract. Melcher was given a sizable bonus. The budgeted amount for production expenses has already been used. Day also revealed that she was given only six weeks to prepare for the show’s production.
Suing Jerry Rosenthal was Doris Day.
When Day found out what had happened to her money, she was taken aback. One day, she decided to take legal action against Rosenthal.
A judge sided with Day and gave her a $22.8 million payout. Terry revealed to the New York Times that his mother had not been successful in recouping the full money.
The insurance company only paid her a portion of what she was due. The money his mother received was “nothing like that amount,” he says.
The Amount Of Money Doris Day Had At The Time Of Her Death May Come As A Shock
In movies like “Pillow Talk” and “The Pajama Game,” she embodied the 1960s’ independent, yet lovely, single lady.
Doris Day’s smooth, lilting voice made her one of America’s sweethearts from the beginning of her film career to the end of her life, during which she amassed an incredible fortune. And some unexpectedly negative monetary developments.
Doris Day’s career began in the 1940s while she was performing with Barney Rapp’s big band under the stage name “Day,” which she had adopted after performing under the name “Doris von Kappellhoff.”
After she performed the timeless standard “Day by Day,” Rapp proposed that she legally adopt the surname in honour of the song. Day’s singing career preceded her film career, and she has cited Ella Fitzgerald as a major fashion influence (via Biography).
Day’s earliest big singles, including “Sentimental Journey” and “My Dreams Are Getting Better All The Time,” were recorded with singer Les Brown. Day’s star quickly began to climb in Hollywood.
Doris Became Popular All Around the World in the 1950s and 1960s.
Doris Day began a successful career in the early 1950s when her singing talents landed her roles in film musicals.
Films including “Calamity Jane,” “Lucky Me,” “Young at Heart,” and “The Man Who Knew Too Much” featured Day’s voice and charismatic smile (via IMDb). According to Biography, Day’s only Oscar nomination came for her performance alongside Rock Hudson in “Pillow Talk” that same year (1959).
Day continued to have success in the 1960s with songs like “Please Don’t Eat the Daisies” and “Send Me No Flowers,” which made listeners happy.
By the end of the decade, however, Day had made the switch to television, where she starred in a programme simply titled “The Doris Day Show” from 1968 to 1973.
Day proclaimed her retirement from show business not long after her TV series ended, but she remained busy into her later years with a number of brief musical and television comebacks.
Doris’s Financial Difficulties Necessitated Her Turning to the Tube.
Doris Day supported the family well as an actress with a string of hits, but her husband Martin Melcher was a poor financial manager.
Once he passed away in 1968, Day found out that her husband had wasted approximately $20 million of her hard-earned money.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, she is now $500,000 in the red. Her son Terry persuaded her to make the transition to television for “The Doris Day Show,” and she soon began making her investment back.
After 10 years of litigation, she was awarded $27 million in damages from her former business managers, although they were bankrupt.
(Celebrity Net Worth) Day was also a successful investor in real estate, amassing multiple hotels and homes in upscale Malibu and Beverly Hills. When Day passed away in 2019, she was worth an estimated $200 million.
