DORIS Day's strange post-mortem requests have been laid bare as the world mourns the death of the Hollywood legend.

The singer and actress, who starred in blockbusters including Calamity Jane, died at her home on Monday at the age of 97.

The Doris Day Animal Foundation said in a statement that Day was surrounded by close friends at the time of her death and "had been in excellent physical health for her age, until recently contracting a serious case of pneumonia".

The organisation added that "Doris' wishes were that she have no funeral or memorial service and no grave marker".

Day, who starred in movies across the 1950s and 60s, was one of the most popular screen stars in history.

She was consistently a huge box office draw, and also had huge success as a singer, with hits including Whatever Will Be, Will Be (Que Sera, Sera).

Singing at a Hollywood party in 1947 led to early stardom and after a stint at Warner Bros, Day won the best notices of her career with Love Me Or Leave Me in 1955.

She followed with Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much and the 1958 comedy Teacher's Pet.

But she found her greatest success in slick, stylish sex comedies, beginning with her Oscar-nominated role in Pillow Talk.

She never actually won an Academy Award, but Day was given a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004.

In more recent years, Day turned her attention to animal welfare, founding the DDAF in 1978.

Following news of her death, plenty of celebrities took to Twitter to share heartfelt tributes to the late star.

Throughout her life, Day had four husbands - three of whom she divorced and one who died in 1968.

She had just one son, Terry Melcher, a record producer who died of melanoma in 2004 at the age of 62.