Several decades ago, the entertainment industry and its box office stars were picturing a very different Hollywood. Back when the ‘60s were still in vogue, Doris Day was on the verge of becoming the biggest female box office star Hollywood ever had. Critics say that Doris Day is an example today’s celebrities should abide by, as her focus was quality interpretation as opposed to fuss and pretentions. Doris Day’s 88th birthday is this Wednesday, but television channels have prepared a weeklong celebration.

Like many others, Doris Day’s career started as a teenager dancer in Cincinnati when a talent scout from Paramount Pictures saw in her the right qualities for a Hollywood life. But her luck disappeared just as sudden as it came: Doris Day survived a car accident the same night of the going-away party that shattered her plans for a professional dancer career. During her recovery, Day started singing accompanied by a radio only to find out she had the gift of singing.

At age 16, Doris Day has her first singing gig in a Cincinnati club. It was only a matter of time before Day got to Hollywood. She auditioned for and got the part of the 1948 “Romance on the High Seas”. From that point on Day’s career boomed as the next two decades brought her a variety of parts in romantic comedies.

In 1968, already a popular actress and accomplished career woman, Day decided to step off the big screen and three years later she founds the Actors and Others for Animals. Now she lives in California’s Carmel-by-the-Sea and is preparing to celebrate her 88th birthday this Wednesday.

TCM is one of the TV channels that decided to pay a month long tribute to Doris Day’s career. They’ve already named her star of the month and to her tribute the TV channel has prepared 28 of her movies for prime time this week alone.

TCM already aired the first Doris Day movie yesterday, but if you missed it, don’t worry, there’s more where that one came. Today starting 8 p.m., TCM has prepared several of Doris Day movies, starting with “Lover Come Back” (1961) and “That Touch of Mink” (1962).