Biography

When his 17-year marriage to Doris Day ended with his death in 1968, Day discovered that because he had power of attorney, not only had he signed her to a CBS TV series (The Doris Day Show (1968)) without her knowledge, but also that the millions she had earned in her twenty-year film career had all been squandered on poor investments. Day honored the CBS commitment, then successfully sued Melcher's partner Jerome B. Rosenthal and, after years of litigation, was awarded a record $22.8 million settlement from him.

It was he, not Doris Day, who "turned down" the role of Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate (1967). When the movie's producer sent him the novel, he was reportedly so offended by it that he never even showed it to his wife, costing her the role that might have revived her film career.

In her 1975 autobiography My Story, Doris Day invited friends, co-workers and co-stars to offer comments and insights about her career. She said she was shocked at how many of them had unflattering things to say about Marty Melcher, and how many of them expressed regret about not warning her of their suspicions about his business practices.

When Day discovered that Melcher had "strayed elsewhere" in the early 1960s, she wanted an immediate divorce. But Melcher convinced her that dismantling the "financial empire" they had built together would cost them a substantial portion of their fortune, so they remained married, "in name only." When Melcher died in 1968, Day was shocked to discover that not only was there no fortune, but that Melcher had left her owing the IRS millions in unpaid back taxes.

Was the third husband of Doris Day. After marrying her, he adopted Terry, Day's son from her first marriage to trombonist Al Jorden. Terry Melcher grew up to become a very successful record producer.