Although Martin Melcher had signed Day up for the show without her knowledge and consent, he was still given the credit of “executive producer” for season one. But after the first season, Day gained a bit more control over what went on.
Fortunately, she took her power back when she and her own lawyer made changes to the contract that ensured her ultimate success. They also tried to make it as painless as possible on the actress.
In fact, she was free to do basically anything she wanted when it came to how a majority of things went, such as the script and actors.
It was in those years that everyone wanted to see more daring and dangerous female characters, and were starting to get tired of seeing the same old type of “man marries woman, has child and works until he dies, rinse and repeat” type of deal.
She launched the Doris Day Animal Foundation, which works to support rescues, spay and neuter programs for strays, and abused and/or neglected animals.