The Magic of Doris Day... Too Marvelous for Words
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    • Lifelong friend, business partner remembers Hollywood legend Doris Day
    • Doris Day, America's box-office sweetheart of the '50s and '60s, is dead at 97
    • Legendary actress and singer Doris Day has died
    • How Doris Day’s Movie Roles Challenged Stereotypes
    • Doris Day 'Died Peacefully' Surrounded by Her 'Loved Ones,' Says Manager
    • Secret love’s no secret anymore
    • The Matchless Presence of Doris Day
    • Doris Day's death mourned in Carmel, where icon lived
    • Remembering Doris Day
    • Dream a little dream of Doris Day
    • Inside Doris Day's Final Birthday Party at Her Home Near Carmel-by-the-Sea: 'It Was Idyllic'
    • Hollywood Pays Tribute to Doris Day
    • Doris Day, Cincinnati's girl next door, dead at 97
    • RIP Doris Day
    • R.I.P. Doris Day Decades
    • TCM Remembers Doris Day
    • Doris Day mourned by celebrities following her death: 'She was the world’s sweetheart'
    • Pine Cone Tribute
    • Doris Day rejected Lifetime Achievement Award about six times
    • Hollywood Remembers Doris Day: Paul McCartney, Tony Bennett, Goldie Hawn Sing Icon’s PraisesPage
    • Paul McCartney Remembers Doris Day: ‘She Was a True Star’
    • Doris Day Appreciation: Why Did Oscar Elude A Shining Star Of So Many Talents?Link Page
    • Paul Batura: Doris Day’s life was more than ‘Que Sera, Sera’ -- Because our ultimate future is ours to see
    • A Hip Sex Goddess Disguised as the Girl Next Doore
    • In Memoriam
  • Happy Birthday Doris!
    • 2020 Doris Tribute
    • Doris Day's 97th Birthday Celebration
    • Doris Day's 96th Birthday
    • Doris Day 95th Birthday in Carmel
    • Doris Day 92nd Birthday in Carmel
    • Doris Day 91st Birthday in Carmel
    • 90th Birthday Celebration
  • Tributes to an American Icon
    • A Tribute
    • Beneath wholesome image, Doris Day was an actor of depth
    • Doris Day Changed Us Forever
    • Why Doris Day reigns as one of the great jazz singers
    • Lucky Me
    • 60th Anniversary of “It Happened to Jane”
    • A Letter to an American Icon
    • What Singers Can Learn from Doris Day
    • Meeting My Idol
    • Doris Paved the Way for Women through Her Roles
    • Uptown Pluck
    • Reel Revival Doris Day
    • Not the Girl Next Door: Doris Day Reconsidered
    • Blonde and Blameless: Why I Love Doris Day Movies
    • A Tribute to Alma Sophia Welz Kappelhoff Day
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    • No More Que Será Será: Give Day Her Due
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    • 1957 and Beyond
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      • Rare Recordings, Part Two
    • Doris and Les "Those Were the Good Old Days"
    • Sheet Music Covers
  • Movies
    • Doris Day Co-Stars
    • Romance on the High Seas
    • My Dream Is Yours
    • It's a Great Feeling
    • Young Man with a Horn
    • Tea for Two
    • The West Point Story
    • Storm Warning
    • Lullaby of Broadway
    • On Moonlight Bay
    • I'll See You in My Dreams
    • Starlift
    • The Winning Team
    • April in Paris
    • By the Light of the Silvery Moon
    • Calamity Jane
    • Lucky Me
    • Young at Heart
    • Love Me or Leave Me
    • The Man Who Knew Too Much
    • Julie
    • The Pajama Game
    • Teacher's Pet
    • The Tunnel of Love
    • It Happened to Jane
    • Pillow Talk
    • Please Don't Eat the Daisies
    • Midnight Lace
    • Lover Come Back
    • That Touch of Mink
    • Billy Rose's Jumbo
    • The Thrill of It All
    • Move Over Darling
    • Send Me No Flowers
    • Do Not Disturb
    • The Glass Bottom Boat
    • The Ballad of Josie
    • Caprice
    • Where Were You When the Lights Went Out
    • With Six You Get Eggroll
    • Top 20 Girls Next Door in Movies
    • Press Books
    • Movie Memorabilia
  • Radio
  • Television
    • Doris Day Show Season 1
    • Doris Day Show Season 2
    • Doris Day Show Season 3
    • Doris Day Show Season 4
    • Doris Day Show Season 5
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    • Doris Day's Best Friends
  • Interviews, Appearances on TV and Radio
    • 40's & 50's
    • 60's
    • 70's
    • 80's
    • 90's
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    • Radio Calls on Doris' Birthday
  • Latest News
    • 4-Legger News
  • Awards
    • Doris Day rejected Lifetime Achievement Award about six times
  • Doris Day Fashion
    • Doris Day in Pillow Talk: Couture Allure
  • Doris in Carmel
    • DayDreamers
  • Doris through the Years
    • Cover Girl (Magazine Covers)
  • Quotes by and about Doris
  • Doris Talks to Her Fans (Fan Club Tapes)
    • Fans Talk To Doris
  • Who Knows What Might Have Been
    • Who Knows What Might Have Been, PART 2
  • Creative Video Collection
  • Doris Day Collector
  • And a few rounds of applause...
  • Contact Us

Here's a wonderful tribute to Doris' mother from longtime fan and really great guy Lloyd Jessen!

A Tribute to
Alma Sophia Welz Kappelhoff Day on the 120th Anniversary of Her Birth



Doris’ mother, Alma, was born 120 years ago—on July 6, 1895—in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio.  She was welcomed into this world by her German immigrant parents—father, Wilhelm Welz, age 29, and her mother, Anna Mann Welz, age 32, and two older brothers, William, age 6, and Carl (Charlie), age 4.  Alma’s younger sister, Maria (Marie), was born in 1898, and her younger brother Frank, some years after that. 

The name “Alma” fit perfectly, since it means someone who “feeds one’s soul” or “lifts the spirit.”  And as the eldest daughter of the family, Alma was raised to be a hausfrau, someone who saw to the needs of others. As a sister, mother, and grandmother, she was kind, loving and nurturing.

At the age of 21, Alma married William Kappelhoff, age 24, on October 3, 1916, at St. Mark’s Church on Montgomery Road in Cincinnati.  Their first child, Richard, was born on July 31, 1917. Alma entered Richard in a “beautiful baby” contest, which he won.  Sadly, soon afterward, he died of acute nephritis and gastro-enteritis at age 1½ on January 26, 1919.  Alma’s second child, Paul, was born on May 30, 1919.  Alma’s third and last child was Doris.  Alma named Doris after her favorite movie star, Doris Kenyon.

Alma divorced William Kappelhoff on October 8, 1935, after 19 years of marriage.  Alma supported Paul and Doris by working in a bakery.  She never remarried and dedicated the rest of her life to her family—she loved cooking and cleaning.  When Doris’ singing career took off, Alma was her first manager and advisor.

In her 1975 autobiography, Doris described her mother as “a darling woman” and added:
“My mother is very barrelhouse, loves to yak it up and enjoy herself, loves parties, and the more people around, the better.  [She] loves Country and Western hillbilly music.  She could listen to Country and Western all day long.  All through my career, she’s asked me, ‘When are you going to make a Country and Western movie?’  She’s in her seventies now, lives with me, and I swear she seems to have as much pep and go as she did when I was a girl.”

 Doris also shared this memory from when she was growing up:  “[My mother] moved the furniture around a lot and my father would constantly fall over it.  She has told me, ‘I was so stupid when I was young and first married, and didn’t know any better.  Instead of waiting until your father came home from work at night to help me move the furniture, I did it myself, and believe me, I have suffered!  My bladder dropped.’  That line always breaks me up, but my mother is dead serious about it.  To this day, if she catches me moving furniture, she will scold me, ‘Now, Doris, stop moving that furniture—your bladder’s going to drop.’ ” 

Alma was affectionately known to her family as “Nana.”  She raised Doris’ son, Terry, from his birth until about age 7.  In the 1950s, Alma changed her legal surname from Kappelhoff to Day.  In 1955, Alma joined Doris in London during the filming of The Man Who Knew Too Much.  Alma then went on to Germany, by herself, to visit family relatives.

Doris said of her mother: “I think that she would have liked performing . . . She never admitted to that, [but] I always felt that she was vicariously having this thrill through me.”  Alma’s favorite song was the country tune “Summertime,” and Doris asked Perry Como to sing it on her first TV special, as a nod to her Mom.

As she aged, Alma’s eyesight deteriorated.  In the mid-1970s, at age 78, Alma moved in with Doris at her house on Crescent Drive.  Alma suffered a series of strokes and was hospitalized.  She also developed a condition similar to Alzheimer’s.  After lingering for well over a year, Alma died on Saturday, October 9, 1976, at the age of 81.  Doris later wrote “I miss her very much but I’m happy in the knowledge that she is having a grand reunion with her son (my brother Paul) and all her dear family and friends who she missed so much.”

Paul died on April 8, 1957, at the age of 37, of meningitis due to cerebral hemorrhage following surgery for a cerebral aneurysm.  Prior to his death, Paul changed his surname to Kappel.  Alma and Paul are buried next to one another in the San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Mission Hills, Los Angeles County, California. 

Here are some photos of Alma which were taken over the years. Her vivacious and fun-loving personality shines through brightly.  A special “thank you” to Howard Green for the spectacular candid (posed) photo of Alma, Doris, Paul, and Paul’s wife Shirley, taken during the filming of The West Point Story.

Thank you, Alma, for giving us Doris!  Happy 120th!


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  • Home
  • Magic Blog
  • Remembering Doris
    • Sentimental Journey Personal Tributes to the Magic of Doris Day
    • Doris Day was more complicated, and more forward-thinking, than she ever got credit for
    • Lifelong friend, business partner remembers Hollywood legend Doris Day
    • Doris Day, America's box-office sweetheart of the '50s and '60s, is dead at 97
    • Legendary actress and singer Doris Day has died
    • How Doris Day’s Movie Roles Challenged Stereotypes
    • Doris Day 'Died Peacefully' Surrounded by Her 'Loved Ones,' Says Manager
    • Secret love’s no secret anymore
    • The Matchless Presence of Doris Day
    • Doris Day's death mourned in Carmel, where icon lived
    • Remembering Doris Day
    • Dream a little dream of Doris Day
    • Inside Doris Day's Final Birthday Party at Her Home Near Carmel-by-the-Sea: 'It Was Idyllic'
    • Hollywood Pays Tribute to Doris Day
    • Doris Day, Cincinnati's girl next door, dead at 97
    • RIP Doris Day
    • R.I.P. Doris Day Decades
    • TCM Remembers Doris Day
    • Doris Day mourned by celebrities following her death: 'She was the world’s sweetheart'
    • Pine Cone Tribute
    • Doris Day rejected Lifetime Achievement Award about six times
    • Hollywood Remembers Doris Day: Paul McCartney, Tony Bennett, Goldie Hawn Sing Icon’s PraisesPage
    • Paul McCartney Remembers Doris Day: ‘She Was a True Star’
    • Doris Day Appreciation: Why Did Oscar Elude A Shining Star Of So Many Talents?Link Page
    • Paul Batura: Doris Day’s life was more than ‘Que Sera, Sera’ -- Because our ultimate future is ours to see
    • A Hip Sex Goddess Disguised as the Girl Next Doore
    • In Memoriam
  • Happy Birthday Doris!
    • 2020 Doris Tribute
    • Doris Day's 97th Birthday Celebration
    • Doris Day's 96th Birthday
    • Doris Day 95th Birthday in Carmel
    • Doris Day 92nd Birthday in Carmel
    • Doris Day 91st Birthday in Carmel
    • 90th Birthday Celebration
  • Tributes to an American Icon
    • A Tribute
    • Beneath wholesome image, Doris Day was an actor of depth
    • Doris Day Changed Us Forever
    • Why Doris Day reigns as one of the great jazz singers
    • Lucky Me
    • 60th Anniversary of “It Happened to Jane”
    • A Letter to an American Icon
    • What Singers Can Learn from Doris Day
    • Meeting My Idol
    • Doris Paved the Way for Women through Her Roles
    • Uptown Pluck
    • Reel Revival Doris Day
    • Not the Girl Next Door: Doris Day Reconsidered
    • Blonde and Blameless: Why I Love Doris Day Movies
    • A Tribute to Alma Sophia Welz Kappelhoff Day
    • Celebrity Memories
    • No More Que Será Será: Give Day Her Due
    • Doris Day Photo Gallery
  • Doris and Pets (It's Her Passion)
  • Magic Store
  • Music - Early Years
    • The Peak Years for Doris Music and Hits
    • 1957 and Beyond
    • The Studio Albums
    • Top 100 Hit Single Records
    • Doris Day Jukebox
    • Some Rare Recordings >
      • Rare Recordings, Part Two
    • Doris and Les "Those Were the Good Old Days"
    • Sheet Music Covers
  • Movies
    • Doris Day Co-Stars
    • Romance on the High Seas
    • My Dream Is Yours
    • It's a Great Feeling
    • Young Man with a Horn
    • Tea for Two
    • The West Point Story
    • Storm Warning
    • Lullaby of Broadway
    • On Moonlight Bay
    • I'll See You in My Dreams
    • Starlift
    • The Winning Team
    • April in Paris
    • By the Light of the Silvery Moon
    • Calamity Jane
    • Lucky Me
    • Young at Heart
    • Love Me or Leave Me
    • The Man Who Knew Too Much
    • Julie
    • The Pajama Game
    • Teacher's Pet
    • The Tunnel of Love
    • It Happened to Jane
    • Pillow Talk
    • Please Don't Eat the Daisies
    • Midnight Lace
    • Lover Come Back
    • That Touch of Mink
    • Billy Rose's Jumbo
    • The Thrill of It All
    • Move Over Darling
    • Send Me No Flowers
    • Do Not Disturb
    • The Glass Bottom Boat
    • The Ballad of Josie
    • Caprice
    • Where Were You When the Lights Went Out
    • With Six You Get Eggroll
    • Top 20 Girls Next Door in Movies
    • Press Books
    • Movie Memorabilia
  • Radio
  • Television
    • Doris Day Show Season 1
    • Doris Day Show Season 2
    • Doris Day Show Season 3
    • Doris Day Show Season 4
    • Doris Day Show Season 5
    • Doris Day Show Photo Gallery
    • Doris Day Specials
    • Doris Day's Best Friends
  • Interviews, Appearances on TV and Radio
    • 40's & 50's
    • 60's
    • 70's
    • 80's
    • 90's
    • 2000's & 10's
    • Radio Calls on Doris' Birthday
  • Latest News
    • 4-Legger News
  • Awards
    • Doris Day rejected Lifetime Achievement Award about six times
  • Doris Day Fashion
    • Doris Day in Pillow Talk: Couture Allure
  • Doris in Carmel
    • DayDreamers
  • Doris through the Years
    • Cover Girl (Magazine Covers)
  • Quotes by and about Doris
  • Doris Talks to Her Fans (Fan Club Tapes)
    • Fans Talk To Doris
  • Who Knows What Might Have Been
    • Who Knows What Might Have Been, PART 2
  • Creative Video Collection
  • Doris Day Collector
  • And a few rounds of applause...
  • Contact Us