Few teams in movie history have so captured the imagination of the public. Rock and Doris had a special chemistry on screen that neither had with anyone else. Rock said, "I don't really know what makes a movie team. First of all, the two people have to truly like each other, as Doris and I did, for that shines through. Then, too, both parties have to be strong personalities-very important to comedy-,so that there's a tug-of-war over who's going to put it over on the other, who's going to get the last word, a fencing match between two adroit opponents of the opposite sex who in the end are going to fall into bed together."
- Rock Hudson: His Story by Sara Davidson, Rock Hudson
- Rock Hudson: His Story by Sara Davidson, Rock Hudson
"Doris and I became terrific friends. She’s a dynamo—a strong lady. And, boy, what a comedienne she is! The trouble we had was trying not to laugh. Doris and I couldn’t look at each other. You know, that sweet agony of laughing when you’re not supposed to? That’s what we had."
“The second film we made together, Lover Come Back, was even worse. I think they added two weeks to the shooting schedule because of our laughter. We flat could not look at each other. I’d look at her forehead, her nose. And we did terrible things to each other; with our backs to the camera we’d make faces at each other….It’s perhaps acting rather juvenile in one sense, but in another, when you’re shooing comedy, it isn’t. What shows on the screen, I think, is what helped make those films successful. The twinkle shows in the eyes. And we had it.”
— Rock Hudson
“The second film we made together, Lover Come Back, was even worse. I think they added two weeks to the shooting schedule because of our laughter. We flat could not look at each other. I’d look at her forehead, her nose. And we did terrible things to each other; with our backs to the camera we’d make faces at each other….It’s perhaps acting rather juvenile in one sense, but in another, when you’re shooing comedy, it isn’t. What shows on the screen, I think, is what helped make those films successful. The twinkle shows in the eyes. And we had it.”
— Rock Hudson
“During the shooting, there was the same atmosphere of hilarity and juvenile pranks that had made Pillow Talk so much fun. Delbert Mann, the director, says, ‘Sometimes we went ten or twelve takes because Rock and Doris would keep breaking up.’ There was a scene on the beach — shot in a sandbox on the set—where they had to kiss and could not because they were laughing so hard. Doris says, ‘Our teeth bumped one time, and after that, we got hysterical every time we tried to kiss.’ Rock said that as he was about to do the scene, lying on the sand in his trunks, one of the crew yelled, ‘Your balls are hanging out!’ Whatever it was, they laughed so long and uncontrollably that it got out of hand. Mann says, ‘The laughter would subside and they’d say, ‘Okay, we’re ready, we’ll be serious.’ We’d start rolling and they’d break up again. I finally blew my top. ‘Cut it out now! I said, and they did.’”
- Rock Hudson
- Rock Hudson
MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE, EUNICE AND ROY
Before 1959, many ladies and gentlemen of the Silver Screen were considered Top Couples. This included: Spencer Tracy & Katherine Hepburn, Clark Gable & Carole Lombard or Vivian Leigh, Humphrey Bogart & Ingrid Bergman, Richard Burton & Elizabeth Taylor and Cary Grant with Myrna Loy. There may have been many others, but these stand the test of time.
However, in 1959 came the movie that would single out the most popular romantic comedy team of all time….Doris Day and Rock Hudson, with their first appearance in the Top Comedy Film of the year, PILLOW TALK. There were hundreds of pictures taken of them. They appeared in all the popular media of the time. They became Hollywood and World Favorites, honored as such many times. It may have been the start of a new era for film comedy teams, but this pairing has never been surpassed.
The best thing about this pair was the fact that they really and truly liked each other…on and off screen. This friendship far surpasses the fact that Rock was gay and Doris was married…It did not matter…this was a genuine rock solid relationship. Looking back, Day, who lives a quiet life in Carmel, California and is devoted to animals, her animal foundation and pet-friendly hotel, says, "I think the reason people liked our movies is because they could tell how much we liked each other. It came across that way on screen. He was a good friend." This relationship was further cemented on screen with two more popular films, LOVER COME BACK and SEND ME NO FLOWERS. Even though Doris went on to pair again later with James Garner (in two films) and became a comedy team favorite once again, this did not cut the edge off the cemented pair. When asked about her favorite films of hers, her work with Rock is always on the top of her list.
Years later, in 1971, when Doris did her first tv special, her special guest star was Rock. Much later still, when she had been retired for years and came back to TV in Doris Day’s Best Friends in 1985, her first guest star was Rock Hudson. This time, the world was shocked by his appearance. It was his gaunt appearance at the press conference announcing their reunion that alerted the world to his failing health – just before his AIDS diagnosis was made public. "He promised her he would be there so he went," says his business manager Wallace Sheft. Doris remarked: “I hardly knew him. He was very sick. But I just brushed that off and I came out and put my arms around him and said 'Am I glad to see you.'"
Somehow Doris knew this was the last time she would ever see her friend.
Their goodbye broke her heart. "They had a small plane to get him to the airport," she says. "We kissed goodbye and he gave me a big hug and he held onto me. I was in tears. That was the last time I saw him – but he's in heaven now."
Pictures can tell a thousand words, as we all know. And viewing their 3 movies can do it for anyone who looks. Their Hollywood Magic is so strong it spills into the audience. And the informal pictures (some of which are included in our Doris and Rock Photo Gallery) tell the story. Rock had a special name for Doris…he called her “Eunice”, and she called him by his first name, “Roy”. It just seemed right, as did their close bonds.
Years later, in 1971, when Doris did her first tv special, her special guest star was Rock. Much later still, when she had been retired for years and came back to TV in Doris Day’s Best Friends in 1985, her first guest star was Rock Hudson. This time, the world was shocked by his appearance. It was his gaunt appearance at the press conference announcing their reunion that alerted the world to his failing health – just before his AIDS diagnosis was made public. "He promised her he would be there so he went," says his business manager Wallace Sheft. Doris remarked: “I hardly knew him. He was very sick. But I just brushed that off and I came out and put my arms around him and said 'Am I glad to see you.'"
Somehow Doris knew this was the last time she would ever see her friend.
Their goodbye broke her heart. "They had a small plane to get him to the airport," she says. "We kissed goodbye and he gave me a big hug and he held onto me. I was in tears. That was the last time I saw him – but he's in heaven now."
Pictures can tell a thousand words, as we all know. And viewing their 3 movies can do it for anyone who looks. Their Hollywood Magic is so strong it spills into the audience. And the informal pictures (some of which are included in our Doris and Rock Photo Gallery) tell the story. Rock had a special name for Doris…he called her “Eunice”, and she called him by his first name, “Roy”. It just seemed right, as did their close bonds.
Doris Day On Rock Hudson, Star Of The Month
www.tcm.com/video/1003925/doris-day-on-rock-hudson-star-of-the-month/
www.tcm.com/video/1003925/doris-day-on-rock-hudson-star-of-the-month/
Doris Day & Rock Hudson - Forever Friends
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Rock Hudson - " The Doris Day Special " - 1971
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David Hartman Interviews Doris Day Part 3
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