McCartney Times

Doris Day, the actress and singer who made made nearly three dozen films and more than 600 recordings, died of pneumonia Monday at 97.

Day started out as a big band singer in 1939, and she went on to become one of the most iconic singers and actresses of the 20th century, appearing in nearly 40 films and releasing 31 albums. She continued to produce albums containing new material well into the 2000s, and as of this January, she is the oldest living artist to land on the UK Top 10 charts.

Day worked with a long roster of A-list stars throughout her career, including Jimmy Cagney, Jimmy Stewart, and James Garner. More recently, she even found a surprising friend in another musical icon, Paul McCartney, who interviewed her for a British newspaper about her 2011 album My Heart.

“I think it went well,” Day told Parade in a rare 2011 interview. “I was out walking my dogs, and the man who works here came out and said, ‘It’s Paul McCartney on the phone.’ I said, ‘All right, tell me who it really is.’ I thought it was someone playing a game. He said, ‘Will you please tell her that I want to know her and want to come and see her.’ It was Paul, and he did come, with his new wife. We had hours here. It was really nice. And he’s really cute.

“One night the phone rang around 2:30 in the morning; I thought something terrible had happened. He said, ‘Hey, what are you doing?’ I said, “Well, I was sleeping.’ He would call at all hours just to say hello. He got a big kick out of that.”

Launch the gallery to see photos of Day through the years, and read her full Parade interview here, in which she opens up about her friendship with Rock Hudson, her early days as a singer in New York, and how she avoided the substance abuse problems that plagued so many of her fellow musical icons.

Source: Remembering Doris Day! See the Actress Through the Years