Doris Day: Her Life, Career and Cause Of Death

Doris Mary Anne von Kappelhoff, born in 1922, began her singing career as a teenager, touring with big bands and performing alongside notable figures like comedian Bob Hope.

After a successful stage performance in 1948, Doris Day was offered a screen test by Warner Bros. Director Michael Curtiz cast her in 'Romance on the High Seas' (1948) as a last-minute replacement for Betty Hutton. She quickly rose to stardom, winning top billing in 'Tea for Two' (1950) and starring alongside Jack Carson in 'My Dream Is Yours' (1949) and Kirk Douglas in 'Young Man With a Horn' (1950).

Doris Day found success in musical films like 'Calamity Jane' (1953) and 'The Pajama Game' (1957). Her standout role came in 'Pillow Talk' (1959), earning her an Oscar nod for Best Actress. Additionally, she starred in Alfred Hitchcock's 'The Man Who Knew Too Much' (1956), where she famously sang "Que Sera Sera."

Doris Day was famous for her roles in light-hearted romantic comedies, where she often played a kind-hearted woman who triumphed over challenges with her charm. In the late 1950s, she starred alongside top leading men, making her one of America's most popular actresses. She reunited with Rock Hudson in 'Lover Come Back' (1961) and 'Send Me No Flowers' (1964), starred with Cary Grant in 'That Touch of Mink' (1962), and acted alongside James Garner in 'The Thrill of It All' and 'Move Over, Darling' (both 1963).

Doris Day earned the nickname 'The Virgin Queen' for her innocent roles, though composer Oscar Levant once joked about it. She preferred playing married characters and enjoyed scripts with realistic conflict. From 1968 to 1973, she starred in the CBS sitcom 'The Doris Day Show,' where she portrayed a widow raising two sons on a ranch while working as a secretary at a San Francisco magazine.

After her husband, Melcher, died unexpectedly in 1968, Day found herself bankrupt. Six years later, she won a $23 million lawsuit against her former lawyer and manager, Jerome B. Rosenthal, for malpractice but settled with an insurance company for $6 million. 'The Doris Day Show' helped her recover financially. Her fourth and final husband, Barry Comden, whom she met while he was a restaurant maitre d', married her in 1976. They tried to establish a pet food business to fund a nonprofit animal foundation but faced setbacks due to a pyramid scheme. They divorced in 1981.

Day’s first two husbands were trombonist Al Jorden and saxophonist George Weidler; both marriages did not go well and ended in divorce too. Terry Melcher, her son with Jorden, died of melanoma at 62. He produced albums for The Byrds including Mr. Tamborine Man and Turn, Turn, Turn and worked with Ry Cooder, The Beach Boys and Paul Revere and the Raiders, among others.

In her later years, Doris Day became a recluse, dedicating herself to animal rights activism and managing her foundation. She also owned the Cypress Inn in Carmel-by-the-Sea, a hotel known for its "Yappy Hour," where animals mingled with guests. The inn's restaurant, called Terry's, was named after her son, who passed away in 2004.

Doris Day was content in her final months before passing away at the age of 97. Her business manager and close friend, Bob Bashara, shared with 'PEOPLE' that she was in good spirits at her birthday party in April. However, shortly after the celebration, Day developed a cough that escalated into bronchitis, leading to a brief hospitalization.

Doris needed hospice care when she came home. "[When she died] there were some very close friends and loved ones who were with her,” Bashara said. “She was surrounded by a few loved ones, he added. Day “died peacefully” on May 13, 2019, after a fulfilling life working on films and TV shows.