- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Produced 18 of wife Doris Day's movies between 1956 and his death in 1968, as well as receiving an 'executive producer' credit on the first season of her CBS series The Doris Day Show (1968). In her 1975 autobiography, Day revealed that, by the mid-1960s, Melcher was signing her onto films without asking her whether or not she actually wanted to do them first. She did not like the scripts for Do Not Disturb (1965), The Ballad of Josie (1967), Caprice (1967), and Where Were You When the Lights Went Out? (1968), but was forced to do the movies because Melcher had control over her career. She also did not find out he had signed her up for "The Doris Day Show" until after his death.
- Before marrying Doris Day, Melcher had been the husband of Patty Andrews, the blonde lead singer of popular vocal trio The Andrews Sisters.
- Among the "angles" Melcher worked as Doris Day's producer/manager was a long-term, lucrative arrangement with the Chrysler corporation under which they provided the vehicles for all of Day's projects. The terms of this agreement were such that, even after Melcher's death, Day's character only drove Chrysler automobiles throughout the five year run of The Doris Day Show.
- When Doris Day was making Young at Heart at Warner Brothers, Day's co-star Frank Sinatra demanded that Melcher, whom he loathed, be banned from the studio lot.
- Had a brother Jack, who was living in San Francisco in 1968. Had another brother Harry, described by Doris Day only as being from the "east", possibly Massachusetts.
- Prior to leaving to manage Doris Day's career full time, had been an agent with Century Artists Agency.
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