Doris Day dead: Silver screen icon dies of pneumonia aged 97
Hollywood mourns one of it greatest stars as wholesome screen icon Doris Day dies of pneumonia aged 97
- Day's death was announced on Monday by her charity, the Doris Day Animal Foundation
- The actress was married four times but had only one son, Terry Mulcher, who died in 2004
- She is survived by Terry's son, Ryan, her beloved grandson
- Day is among a handful of iconic Hollywood actresses who rose to fame in the 1950s and 1960s
- Her classic films include Pillow Talk, Love Me or Leave Me, Romance on the High Seas and Calamity Jane
By Jennifer Smith For Dailymail.com
Published: 08:57 EDT, 13 May 2019 | Updated: 09:23 EDT, 13 May 2019
Doris Day has died at the age of 97. Her death was announced on Monday by her charity
Hollywood legend Doris Day has died at the age of 97.
Her death was announced by her charity, the Doris Day Animal Foundation, on Monday.
The foundation said 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.'
Day shot to fame in the 50s and 60s as one of a handful of iconic screen sirens in films including Pillow Talk, Love Me or Leave Me and The Man Who Knew Too Much.
She was married four times but only had one child, Terry Melcher, who died in 2004 after battling melanoma.
She is survived by her grandson, Ryan Melcher.
As well as starring in some of the most iconic Hollywood films of all time, Day was a Grammy-winning singer.
Her songs Sentimental Journey, Secret Love and Que Sera Sera have all been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Day, shown in the 60s, is among a handful of screen sirens who rose to fame in the heyday of Hollywood. She was known for her wholesome presence and referred to herself as 'America's virgin'
Day, unlike her contemporary rival Marilyn Monroe, embodied a wholesome, goodie two-shoes presence that America fell in love with.
But her real life was marred with romantic strife and money problems, both of which she wrote about in her biography, Doris Day: Her Own Story.
'I have the unfortunate reputation of being Miss Goody Two-Shoes, America’s Virgin, and all that, so I’m afraid it’s going to shock some people for me to say this, but I staunchly believe no two people should get married until they have lived together,' she said.
Born Doris Marianne von Kappelhoff, she grew up in Evanston, Ohio.
Her showbiz career began singing in bands, first in Cincinnati and then in New York where a bandleader changed her name to Day.
She had become enthralled with the notion of becoming a singer as a teenager while listening to the radio as she recovered from a broken leg.
She married for the first time at the age of 17, to trombonist Al Jorden who she said beat her while she was pregnant with her son Terry.
Terry was born in 1942. A year later, she left his father and went back to singing in a band.
She was married to her second husband, George Weidler, for three years until 1949.
In 1951, after briefly dating Ronald Reagan, she married film producer Martin Melcher. They were together for 17 years.
Advertisement
Share or comment on this article:
Doris Day dead: Silver screen icon dies of pneumonia aged 97
DMT.NEWS
via DMT.NEWS, Jennifer Smith For Dailymail.com, Khareem Sudlow
