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Doris Day, Golden Age Hollywood Icon, Dead at 97

Photo: Central Press/AFP/Getty Images

Doris Day, one of the most prominent actresses reigning over the Golden Age of Hollywood, has died at the age of 97. Her foundation, the Doris Day Animal Foundation, confirmed the news to the Associated Press, stating she had been “in excellent physical health for her age, until recently contracting a serious case of pneumonia.” An actress and singer who garnered the nickname of “the Virgin Queen” for her strategic choice in roles, Day began her career as a pop and jazz vocalist in the late ’30s before transitioning to wildly popular films, including Calamity Jane, The Man Who Knew Too Much — where she performed her signature tune “Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)” — Pillow Talk, That Touch of Mink, and Move Over, Darling. Day would go on to star in her very own sitcom, The Doris Day Show, from 1968–1973, after which she mostly retired from the industry to become an animal activist. Her final album, My Heart, was released in 2011.

Doris Day, Golden Age Hollywood Icon, Dead at 97