Doris Day dead at 97; actress/singer was an American icon

May 13, 2019

by Colleen McGregor

Legendary actress/singer Doris Day died on May 13, 2019, at the age of 97, at her home in Carmel Valley, California. The Associated Press reports that the Doris Day Animal Foundation confirmed her death, and the foundation noted that although Day “had been in excellent physical health for her age” she had recently contracted pneumonia, the foundation said in a statement. “She requested that no memorial services be held and no grave marker erected,” according to the Associated Press.

Day was best known for starring in movies from the 1950s and 1960s, including 1955’s “Love Me or Leave Me,” 1956’s “The Man Who Knew Too Much” (in which she famously sang “Que Sera Sera”), 1959’s “Pillow Talk,” 1960’s “Please Don’t Eat the Daisies,” 1962’s “That Touch of Mink” and the 1963 films “The Thrill of It All” and “Move Over, Darling.” Day’s last film was 1968’s “With Six You Get Eggroll.”

Her hit songs included Sentimental Journey,” “Everybody Loves a Lover,” ″Secret Love” and “It’s Magic.”  From 1968 to 1973, she starred in the “The Doris Day Show” on television, where it aired in the U.S. on CBS. In her later years, she became a well-known advocate for animals and had a longtime affiliation with the Humane Society of the United States.

Day was married four times; her first, second and fourth marriages ended in divorce. Her third marriage to movie producer Martin Melcher lasted 17 years until he died in 1968. Her only child was son Terry Melcher, a songwriter/music producer who died of melanoma in 2004 at the age of 62. Terry was the biological son of Day and her first husband Al Jorden, but Terry adopted by Martin Melcher. Day is survived by her grandson Ryan, who is Terry’s son.

 

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