Hollywood lost two beloved entertainers this week with the deaths of actress/singer Doris Day at age 97, and actor/comedian Tim Conway at age 85.
Doris Day, the Academy Award-winning singer of “Que Sera, Sera,” was an icon of the “Golden Age” of Hollywood. She had an enormously popular entertainment career and was one of the top-ranked female box-office stars of all time. She starred in the CBS sitcom “The Doris Day Show” from 1968-1973.
Day was an accomplished singer, winning a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and a Legend Award from the Society of Singers. She recorded dozens of albums and saw numerous singles reach Top 10 status, most notably her 1947 breakout hit “Sentimental Journey.” During her acting career, Day worked with some of the biggest stars and most well-known directors of the mid-century period. She starred in Alfred Hitchocks 1956 film “The Man Who Knew Too Much” with Jimmy Stewart, 1958’s “Teacher’s Pet” with Clark Gable, and the 1962 film “That Touch of Mink” with Cary Grant. Day was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the 1959 film “Pillow Talk” with Rock Hudson.
Day was a committed animal welfare activist, having founded the Doris Day Animal Foundation and the Doris Day Animal League. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004.
Emmy Award-winning Tim Conway was a fixture in film and television comedy for five decades. Conway was a cast member on the 1961-62 ABC variety series, “The Steve Allen Show,” before landing the role of Ensign Charles Beaumont Parker on the 1962-66 ABC comedy “McHale’s Navy.” In the 1970s, he became a regular on “The Carol Burnett Show,” where he was known for creating such memorable characters as the “Oldest Man” and “Mr. Tudball” and his gift for ad-libbing and on-set pranks. Conway also had a penchant for making co-star Harvey Korman laugh while in character.
In his 11 years on the show, Conway won six Emmys and a Golden Globe Award.
Conway also starred as the title character in the “Dorf” comedy films and voiced the character of Barnacle Boy in the animated series “SpongeBob SquarePants.”
A tongue-in-cheek bio on his official website, attributed to Conway himself, says: “I was born and then I did `The Carol Burnett Show’ for 11 years. What else is there to know? I have six Emmy’s. Big deal. I am also in The Comedy Hall of Fame, it was a natural since I spent a lot of my time in grade school out in the hall. I went to Bowling Green State University for 11 years. A very slow lerner (I proof read my bio). I was in the army (ours) for two years and was in ‘McHales Navy’ for three years. That is a total of five years of service. My ambition was to be a jockey, but at my weight, even the horses were asking me to get off. I have seven children, two grand children and a puppy. I have been married since 1984, a record for Hollywood. I do not have a serious thought in my head. Enjoy the show.”
