Doris Day

Known for her sweet singing voice and wholesome image, singer and actor Doris Day became a Hollywood icon in the ’50s and ’60s. Her rendition of “Que Sera, Sera” still echoes after more than 60 years. • The legendary entertainer was born Doris Mary Kappelhoff in Cincinnati in 1922. She aspired to be a dancer before injuries sustained in a car accident when she was a teenager prompted a switch to singing. • After working in radio and singing alongside Bob Crosby (brother or Bing), Doris Day cut her first record, 1945’s “Sentimental Journey”, with backing from The Les Brown Band. The single reached No. 1 on the US charts, as did the follow-up, “My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time”. • By the late ’40s, Day’s singing had led to film work in post-war musicals like Romance on the High Seas (1948) and On Moonlight Bay (1951). • Day performed one of her most beloved songs, “Que Sera, Sera”, in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1956 film The Man Who Knew Too Much. Day’s recording reached No. 2 in the US and topped the charts in the UK. The song also won its writers an Oscar for Best Original Song. • In the ’50s and ’60s, Day became one of Hollywood’s most successful leading ladies. She starred opposite A-list actors like Rock Hudson, Jimmy Stewart, Jack Lemon and Cary Grant. • Day released more than two dozen albums in her career and racked up numerous Top 40 hits through the ’40s and ’50s. Her last major chart success came with the Top 20 single “Everybody Loves a Lover” in 1958. • In 2004, Day received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Four years later, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grammys. • She was a longtime animal rights activist who established the Doris Day Animal Foundation. • Day died in May 2019 after battling pneumonia.