How an unlikely friendship pushed Doris Day to come out of her shell.
AUTHOR JACQUELINE SUSANN ENCOURAGED THE STAR TO GET OUT OF HER COMFORT ZONE
It seems like an odd pairing: In early 1973, America’s Sweetheart Doris Day met and became close friends with glitzy writer Jacqueline Susann, author of the soapy 1966 best-seller Valley of the Dolls. But the two women, both in their 50s, had a lot in common. “Jacqueline shared Doris’ love of dogs,” Doris’ pal and personal secretary, Mary Anne Barothy, tells Closer. And while Jacqueline “wrote some raunchy books, she was one of the nicest people — nothing phony about her!”
Doris and Jacqueline hit it off. “Doris had nicknames for people and began calling Jackie ‘Opal,’” Barothy shares. Finishing a fiveyear run on The Doris Day Show, the star was focusing on her animal advocacy, and she invited Jackie over to talk about their shared love of dogs. After that, “Doris and Jackie talked frequently on the phone and went out to lunch a few times,” Barothy says.
The two swiftly began leaning on each other for support. Doris’ third husband, Martin Melcher, had died in 1968 and left her bankrupt; Jacqueline recently had been diagnosed with lung cancer. Despite the author’s illness, she donated 750 copies of her book Every Night Josephine! to Doris’ Actors & Others for Animals charity event, and signed them tirelessly.
THE THRILL OF IT ALL
Jacqueline wanted to help her new friend in other ways, too: “You got the impression that, from the beginning, Jackie was determined to find a man for Doris,” Barothy says. And she pushed her to socialize more. Jacqueline strong-armed the quiet star into attending Hollywood parties, and even convinced Doris to join her in London for a vacation. “I haven’t been here for so long because I have this fear of flying,” Doris said at the time. “Jacqueline has been helping me get over it.”
Doris’ friendship with Jacqueline continued until the author’s death in September 1974. And as for finding Doris a date, Jacqueline set her up with actor David Janssen, a star of the movie based on her book Once Is Not Enough. But dinner “did not agree with Doris,” Barothy laments. “She spent the entire evening on the sofa and fell asleep! ”
— Reporting by Amanda
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