Hollywood legend Doris Day dead at 97

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Legendary actress, singer and animal rights activist Doris Day died Monday following a career that spanned several decades. She was 97.

The Doris Day Animal Foundation said she died in the early morning hours at her Carmel Valley, California home after contracting pneumonia. Day was surrounded by close friends when she died, the foundation said in a statement.

Day was one of Hollywood's biggest stars in the 1950's and 1960's, headlining such films as Calamity Jane, Pillow Talk, and Caprice.

But she was perhaps best known for her song Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be), whose sweeping melodies reached households around the world starting in 1956.

Day started her singing career at just 15 years old.

She was born Mary Ann Von Kappelhoff in April 1922, and celebrated her 97th birthday April 3 with nearly 300 fans who gathered in Carmel Valley, according to her foundation.