ACTRESS Doris Day has died at the age of 97 after a career of more than 80 years.
The death of the Hollywood icon, who was best known for her work in the late 50s and 60s, was announced by her foundation today.
Day appeared in such films as Calamity Jane, Pilow Talk and Love Me or Leave Me.
The Doris Day Animal Foundation confirmed Day died early Monday at her Carmel Valley, California, home.
The foundation says in an emailed statement she was surrounded by close friends and “had been in excellent physical health for her age, until recently contracting a serious case of pneumonia.”
She was known for her honey-voiced singer and actress whose film dramas, musicals and innocent sex comedies made her a top star in the 1950s and ’60s and among the most popular screen actresses in history.
Day’s lilting voice, wholesome blond beauty and ultra-bright smile brought her a string of hits, first on records, later in Hollywood.
She celebrated her 97th birthday on April 3.
Day was born Mary Ann Kappelhoff and her parents were a music teacher and a housewife and had dreamed of a dance career.
But at age 12, she suffered a crippling accident when car she was in was hit by a train and her leg was badly broken.
Listening to the radio while recuperating, she began singing along with Ella Fitzgerald, “trying to catch the subtle ways she shaded her voice, the casual yet clean way she sang the words.”
She began her career as a big band singer in 1939.
Her popularity increased with her first hit recording ‘Sentimental Journey’ in 1945.
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