Hollywood legend Doris Day, whose career as a singer and actress stretched over half a century, has died at the age of 97.
The singer turned actress famed for her 1956 box office hit 'Que Sera, Sera' (Whatever Will Be, Will Be) had starred in films 'Pillow Talk', 'Calamity Jane' and
Day was Hollywood's quintessential 'girl next door,' with a sometimes sophisticated edge. Her co-actors included Rock Hudson, Cary Grant, David Niven, Rex Harrison and James Garner.
In a statement, the Doris Day Animal Foundation said she died early Monday at her Carmel Valley home in California.
It said she "had been in excellent physical health for her age, until recently contracting a serious case of pneumonia," Fox News reported.
"She was surrounded by close friends," the statement added.
Her velvety voice, wholesome blond looks and ultra-bright smile brought Day a string of hits, first on records and later in Hollywood. With her film dramas, musicals and innocent sex comedies, Day soon became America's box-office sweetheart of the 1950s and 1960s.
Born Doris Mary Ann von Kappelhoff on April 3, 1922, in Cincinnati, she was named in honour of Doris Kenyon, a silent screen star.
Day married four times and had a child before she was 20, CNN reported.
She described her first husband as a "psychopathic sadist" who beat her. Her second husband told her by letter that he was leaving her after eight months. Husband No. 3 was agent Martin Melcher, who mismanaged her fortune and left her in debt when he died. Her fourth, restaurateur Barry Comden, complained to the press that she kicked him out of bed for her pets.
Among her other well-known songs were 'Secret Love' and 'Everybody Loves a Lover.'
Among her most popular films were three romantic comedies she did with Rock Hudson: 'Pillow Talk' 1959, which brought her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, 'Lover Come Back' 1961 and "Send Me No Flowers" (1964).
She also starred in several beloved musicals, including 1953's 'Calamity Jane' and 1957's 'The Pajama Game' as well as comedies like 1960's 'Please Don't Eat the Daisies' and the drama 'Midnight Lace,' also from 1960.
Her last film, 'With Six You Get Eggroll,' was released in 1968.
The 'Girl Next Door' actor has also worked with various bandleaders, including Les Brown, and by early 1945 had released her first hit recording 'Sentimental Journey.'
She married four times to trombonist Al Jorden, saxophonist George Weidler, her manager Martin Melcher and restaurant maitre d' Barry Comden.
Day had one child, Terry Melcher, whose biological father was Jorden but who was adopted by Melcher.
Terry Melcher died in 2004 of melanoma. When Martin Melcher died, Day discovered he and his business partner had decimated her earnings and left her deeply in debt.
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