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Doris Day leaves us — she was 97

Her favorite role? Calamity Jane

Doris Day’s death at age 97 was announced today. A star in a league of her own, mainly between 1948 and 1968, she was one of those dainty American women living in a world of charming comedies where the most forward move possible in a couple would be a chaste kiss, where a housewife wearing high heels and an apron like those of a French maid busily put meatloaf or casserole in the oven, where blond hair were perfectly-coiffed, where being sassy was fine and even great but being forward was not.

dorisday-rockhudsonShe was fun, energetic, her films were always delightful, the stories scripted according to precise plans but still very entertaining. A strong personnality, she stood out with her brilliant smile and signature songs such as “che sera sera” in the light and engaging comedies of the time, although she also starred in more serious fare, such as Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Man Who Knew Too Much.”

Although she and her fellow actors seemed to have no bodies below the belt and their world remained devoid of sex, she was right there, staunchly by the side of Rock Hudson for the world to see, when the dashing and beloved actor –who had not even come out previously, as one didn’t in those days– was dying of AIDS.