Que Sera Sera
She died Monday at her home in Carmel Valley, California, according to the Associated Press, citing the Doris Day Animal Foundation. "Day had been in excellent physical health for her age, until recently contracting a serious case of pneumonia, resulting in her death," the foundation said in an emailed statement.
Day reached the height of her popularity in sophisticated romps with co-stars James Garner, Cary Grant and, in particular, Rock Hudson. "Pillow Talk," released in 1959, was the first of three pictures they made and turned the pair into a top draw at theaters.
"It was an enormous departure from the kind of films she’d been doing for a dozen years," said Ross Hunter, producer of the movie, in Day’s autobiography. "Doris hadn’t a clue as to her potential as a sex image."
She made more than three dozen movies in 20 years, starting out in roles as the girl next door. That early, goody-two-shoes image led performer Oscar Levant to famously quip he knew Day "before she became a virgin."