Doris Day was an American actress, singer and animal-rights activist.
She was born on April 3, 1922, in Cincinnati, Ohio, as Doris Mary Kappelhoff, and began her career as a big band singer in 1939 and achieved commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, Sentimental Journey and My Dreams Are Getting Better All the Time.
Day’s first major film role was in Romance on the High Seas, and from there, she made a long series of musicals, including Calamity Jane, Young at Heart, Love Me or Leave Me and The Pajama Game.
Her screen persona, that of an intelligent, wholesome woman of unfailing optimism and understated strength of character, came to epitomize the ideal American woman of the 1950s.
Day went on to star in a string of sophisticated sex comedies, notably Teacher’s Pet, Pillow Talk, Lover Come Back, That Touch of Mink, The Thrill of It All and Send Me No Flowers.
These comedies made her Hollywood’s leading box-office attraction.
From 1968 to 1973, she starred in The Doris Day Show, a weekly television series.
Despite her wholesome image, Day’s personal life was anything but idyllic.
She was married three times and faced painful trauma in her private life.
Her autobiography, Doris Day – Her Own Story, published in 1976, was a surprisingly honest account of her life, revealing much of the painful trauma in her private life and three marriages, which had been masked by her sunny on-screen and recording image.
Day was also a passionate animal rights activist and ran the Doris Day Animal League in Carmel, California, which advocates homes and proper care of household pets.
Doris Day cause of death
Day died on May 13, 2019, at the age of 97.
She died at her home in Carmel Valley, California, after contracting pneumonia.
According to the Doris Day Animal Foundation, she had been in excellent physical health for her age until recently.
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs that can be serious in older adults.
It can be caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi, and other organisms entering the lungs.
Although pneumonia can affect people of all ages, children younger than 2 and adults over 65 are the most vulnerable.
The incidence of pneumonia increases with age, and is particularly high in patients who reside in long-term care facilities.
Older adults are more susceptible to pneumonia than younger people are.
Seniors with pneumonia are also at increased risk for hospitalization, complications and death.
The aging body has to work harder to fight off infection, and seniors also have decreased muscle mass and may live with conditions like COPD, asthma, heart disease and diabetes.
Factors posing complications for seniors who contract pneumonia include muscle weakness and frailty, a weaker immune system and chronic health conditions.
The symptoms of pneumonia in older individuals can differ from those in other age groups.
Older adults with pneumonia may be more likely to feel weak or unsteady, be without a fever or have a body temperature that’s lower than normal, experience confusion or delirium, have changes in functional status, experience urinary incontinence and lack an appetite.
If untreated, pneumonia can have serious and lasting effects in older people.
Once a senior is diagnosed with pneumonia, they may be given antibiotics, cough medicine, or a pain reliever, along with oxygen therapy or another breathing treatment.
Due to the high risk for complications, it is advised to take the full course of each medication, rather than stopping when symptoms appear to improve.
Complications of pneumonia in older adults can be severe and potentially fatal, including aspiration, sepsis, respiratory failure and lung abscesses.
To prevent pneumonia, it is important to practice good hygiene, get vaccinated, and make healthy lifestyle choices such as eating a balanced diet, regular exercise and getting enough sleep.
Doris Day career
Day began her career as a big band singer in 1939, and her popularity increased with her first hit recording, Sentimental Journey, in 1945.
After leaving Les Brown & His Band of Renown to embark on a solo career, she recorded more than 650 songs from 1947 to 1967, which made her one of the most popular and acclaimed singers of the 20th century.
Day’s film career began with the 1948 film Romance on the High Seas, and its success sparked her twenty-year career as a motion picture actress.
She starred in a series of successful films, including musicals, comedies and dramas.
Day played the title role in Calamity Jane (1953), and starred in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) with James Stewart.
Her most successful films were the ‘pioneering’ bedroom comedies she made co-starring Rock Hudson and James Garner, such as Pillow Talk (1959) and Move Over, Darling (1963), respectively.
She also co-starred in films with such leading men as Clark Gable, Cary Grant, David Niven, and Rod Taylor.
After her final film in 1968, she went on to star in the CBS sitcom The Doris Day Show (1968-73).
In addition to her entertainment career, Day was a passionate animal rights activist. She ran the Doris Day Animal League in Carmel, California, which advocates homes and proper care of household pets.
She also founded the Doris Day Pet Foundation in 1978 and became a founding member and president of the Doris Day Animal League in 1987.
Despite her wholesome, vivacious blonde personality on screen, Day’s personal life was faced with challenges.
She was married three times and her autobiography, Doris Day – Her Own Story, revealed much of the painful trauma in her private life and marriages, which had been masked by her sunny on-screen and recording image.
