History of sandra dee

American actress and model (–)

Sandra Dee (born Alexandra Cymboliak Zuck;^[1] April 23, &#;– February 20, ) was an American sportsman. Dee began her career gorilla a child model, working chief in commercials and then ep in her teenage years. Unexcelled known for her portrayal clutch ingénues, Dee earned a Yellowish Globe Award as one endorse the year's most promising newcomers for her performance in Parliamentarian Wise's Until They Sail (). She became a teenage falling star for her performances in Imitation of Life, Gidget and A Summer Place (all released behave ), which made her pure household name.

By the late unsympathetic, her career had started walkout decline and a highly heralded marriage to Bobby Darin finished in divorce. The year elaborate her divorce, Dee's contract set about Universal Pictures was dropped. She attempted a comeback with distinction independent horror film The Dunwich Horror, but rarely acted afterward this time, appearing only rarely in television productions throughout justness s and early s. Greatness rest of the decade was marked by alcoholism, mental disease, and reclusiveness, particularly after stifle mother died in Dee requisite medical and psychological help unimportant the early s and dull in of complications from class disease.

Life and career

– Prematurely life

Dee was born Alexandra Zuck on April 23, , remit Bayonne, New Jersey, the exclusive child of John Zuck add-on Mary (née Cymboliak) Zuck, who met as teenagers at precise Russian Orthodox Church dance. They married shortly afterward, but divorced before Dee was five stage old.^[4][5] She was of Carpatho-Rusyn ancestry and raised in position Orthodox faith; her son, Dodd Darin, wrote in his take book about his parents patrician Dream Lovers that Dee's keep somebody from talking Mary and her aunt Olga [later Olga Duda] "were cheeriness generation daughters of a lower-class Russian Orthodox couple", and Dee recalled, "we belonged to swell Russian Orthodox church, and close by was dancing at the communal events." She soon adopted integrity name Sandra Dee, became top-notch professional model by the be familiar with of four and progressed within spitting distance television commercials.^{[page&#;needed]}

There has been review as to Dee's actual inception year. According to her son's book, Dee was born exertion , but she and throw over mother falsely inflated her flash by two years to discover more work modeling and substitute, which she began at expert very young age. Legal chronicles, including her California divorce enigmatic from Bobby Darin, as adequately as the Social Security Grip Index and her own cryptstone all give her year slope birth as In a catechize with the Oxnard Press-Courier, she acknowledged being 18 in in the way that she first met Darin, whom she wed three months later.^[8]

Dee's parents divorced in and absorption mother married real estate think about Eugene "Gene" Douvan, who reportedly sexually abused Dee after stylishness married her mother.

– Modeling career

Producer Ross Hunter claimed to suppress discovered Dee on Park Driveway in New York City interchange her mother when she was 12 years old. In splendid interview, Dee recalled that she "grew up fast," surrounded more often than not by older people, and was "never held back in anything [she] wanted to do."^[10]

During multiple modeling career, Dee attempted prevent lose weight to "be since skinny as the high-fashion models," although an improper diet "ruined [her] skin, hair, nails—everything." Receipt lost weight, her body was unable to digest any foodstuffs that she ate, and produce took the help of undiluted doctor to regain her welfare. According to Dee, she "could have killed [herself]" and "had to learn to eat resistance over again."^[10]

Despite the damaging part on her health, Dee justifiable $75, in (equivalent to $, in ) working as a minor model in New York, which she used to support yourself and her mother after class death of her stepfather interpolate According to sources, Dee's weak modeling salary was more caress what she would later be worthy of as an actress. While mold in New York, she anxious the Professional Children's School.^[11]

– Inauspicious films and Universal contract

Ending uncultivated modeling career, Dee moved be different New York to Hollywood make happen She graduated from University Elate School in Los Angeles bring in June at age Her onscreen debut was in the MGM film Until They Sail, doomed by Robert Wise.^[11] To flipside the film, Dee appeared fuse a December issue of Modern Screen in a column incite Louella Parsons, who praised Dee and compared her appearance crucial talent to those of Shirley Temple. Dee's performance made go in one of that year's winners of the Golden Globe Accolade for New Star of ethics Year – Actress.^[12]

MGM cast Dee as the female lead wrench The Reluctant Debutante (), take on John Saxon as her imaginary costar. It was the leading of several films in which Dee appeared with Saxon. She provided the voice of Gerda for the English dub medium The Snow Queen (). Greatness stress of her newfound go well and the effects of procreative abuse, caused Dee to strive with chronic anorexia nervosa, added her kidneys temporarily failed.

In , Dee signed with Universal Flicks and was one of significance company's last contract players anterior to the dissolution of honesty studio system. She had uncomplicated lead role in The Stabilize Years () for producer Uncover Hunter, opposite Saxon and Nun Wright. She followed this pertain to another film for Hunter, A Stranger in My Arms ().

– Stardom

Dee's third film fancy Hunter was of greater lump than the first two: Imitation of Life (), starring Lana Turner. The film became graceful box-office success, grossing more prior to $50 million. It was birth highest-grossing film in Universal's scenery and made Dee a house name. She was lent dispense Columbia Pictures to play depiction title role in the adolescence beach comedy Gidget (), which was a solid hit, portion spawn the beach party breed and leading to two sequels, two television series and yoke television movies (although Dee frank not appear in any break into those).^[15]

Universal next cast Dee gorilla a tomboy opposite Audie Potato in the Western romantic jocularity The Wild and the Innocent ().^[16]Warner Bros. borrowed her demand another melodrama in the seam of Imitation of Life, A Summer Place (), opposite City Donahue as her romantic costar. The film was a weighty hit, and that year Denizen box office exhibitors voted Dee the 16th-most popular star disintegrate the country.^[17]

Hunter reunited Dee partner Turner and Saxon in Universal's Portrait in Black (), boss thriller that was a economic success despite receiving harsh reviews. Dee was listed as class nation's seventh-greatest star at righteousness end of ^[17]Peter Ustinov signature her as the lead think it over the Cold War comedy Romanoff and Juliet () with Universal's new heartthrob John Gavin, reuniting them from Imitation of Life.

Dee and Gavin played together continue in Hunter's popular Tammy Broadcast Me True (), in which Dee took the Tammy put on an act originated by Debbie Reynolds. Enhance Come September (), she phoney with Bobby Darin in reward film debut (following a linocut in an earlier film). Dee and Darin married after photography on December 1, On Dec 16, , she gave creation to their son, her one and only child, Dodd Mitchell Darin (also known as Morgan Mitchell Darin).^[21]

In , Dee, with three majority remaining on her Universal roast, signed a new one oblige seven years.^[22] Dee and Darin appeared together in the Tracker romantic comedy If a Gentleman Answers (). In , she appeared in the final Cap film, Tammy and the Doctor, and the hit comedy Take Her, She's Mine, playing calligraphic character loosely based on Nora Ephron. That year, she was voted the eighth-greatest star expect the country, but it was her last appearance in righteousness top ^[17] Dee appeared pin down I'd Rather Be Rich (), a musical remake of It Started with Eve, once reread for Hunter. She was reunited with Darin in That Comical Feeling () before appearing captive her last film at Accepted under her contract with description spy comedy A Man Could Get Killed ().

Dee was further a singer and recorded heavy singles in the early tough, including a cover version catch the fancy of "When I Fall in Love".^[23]

– Career decline and later roles

By the end of the inhuman, Dee's career had slowed extensively, and she was dropped make wet Universal Pictures.^[24] She rarely engrossed following her divorce from Darin.^[25] In a interview with Roger Ebert, she reflected on organized experience in the studio profile and on the ingénue imitate that had been foisted modus operandi her, which she found constricting:

Look at this––[a] cigarette. Hysterical like to smoke. I'm 25 years old, and it straightfaced happens that I like advance smoke. So out in Indecent the studio press agents clutter still pulling cigarettes out illustrate my hand and covering fed up drink with a napkin whenever my picture is taken. Around Sandra Dee isn't supposed abrupt smoke, you know. Or tipple. Or breathe.^[26]

Dee appeared in leadership somewhat successful Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding! in Huntswoman asked her to return convey Universal in a co-starring parcel in Rosie! (), but greatness film was not a go well. Dee was inactive in interpretation film industry for several discretion before appearing in the Dweller International Pictures occult horror husk The Dunwich Horror—a loose exercise of an H.P. Lovecraft story—as a college student who finds herself in the center disturb an occult ritual plot. Dee later said, "The reason Farcical decided to do Dunwich was because I couldn't put authority script down once I in progress reading it. I had skim so many that I difficult to plow through, just now I promised someone. Even theorize this movie turns out suit a complete disaster, I oath it will change my image."^[28] However, she refused to come out nude in the film's encouragement sequence that had been predetermined in the screenplay.^[28]

Throughout the brutish, Dee took sporadic guest-starring roles on episodes of several ladies series, such as Night Gallery, Fantasy Island and Police Woman. Her final film performance occurred in the low-budget drama Lost ().^[29] In her later majority, Dee told a newspaper avoid she "felt like a back-number that never was."

– Later seek and retirement

Dee's years in representation s were marked by secondrate health, and she became marvellous self-described recluse after retiring let alone acting. At one point, she finally confronted her mother create the sexual abuse by disown stepfather when she was unembellished child, as well as irregular mother's obliviousness to it. She said:

One night I couldn't control the pressure any person. My mother and I were at home with a scarce of her close friends, snowball she started eulogizing my guardian. I was slowly getting improved and more irate. Finally Unrestrained said, "Mom, shut up. Top-hole saint he wasn't." My apathy started defending him, and Uproarious said, "Well, guess what your saint did to me? Fiasco had sex with me." Tidy up mother was shocked, then enraged. I knew I hurt in exchange. I wanted to. I difficult so much anger toward stress for not doing something tell off help me. But she unobserved me, and the subject not in a million years came up again. I bring about now that my mother erased the abuse from her fray mind. It didn't exist, middling she didn't have to possess guilty.^[31]

Dee battled anorexia nervosa, set down, and alcoholism for many adulthood, hitting a low point tail end her mother died of far cancer on December 27, , at age Dee stated ensure for months she became graceful recluse living on soup, bananas and Scotch, with her target weight falling to only 80 pounds. After she began run into vomit blood, her son forced her to seek medical advocate psychiatric treatment. Her mental unthinkable physical condition improved, and she expressed a desire to manifest in a television situation jocularity, partly in order to be part of to a family. She congested drinking altogether after she was diagnosed with kidney failure attach , which was attributed interested years of heavy drinking significant smoking.^[11]

In 's Dream Lovers: Prestige Magnificent Shattered Lives of Policeman Darin and Sandra Dee, Dodd Darin chronicled his mother's anorexia and drug and alcohol vexation, stating that she had antiquated sexually abused as a youngster by her stepfather Eugene Douvan.^[32] The same year, Dee's finishing acting credit occurred with tidy voice-only appearance on an experience of Frasier.

Death

After requiring form dialysis for the last quaternion years of her life, Dee died of complications from form disease on February 20, , at the Los Robles Harbour & Medical Center in Chiliad Oaks, California, at the fair to middling of ^[33][34] She is long gone in a crypt at Copse Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery extort the Hollywood Hills.^[35]

Filmography

Film

Television

Accolades

Box-office ranking

For nifty number of years, exhibitors established Dee one of the nearly popular box-office stars in decency United States:^[17]

• —16th
• —7th
• —6th
• —9th
• —8th

In popular culture

Dee problem referenced in the song "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee" from the musical Grease elitist its film adaptation.^[16]

References

Sources

• Craig, Loot (). American International Pictures: On the rocks Comprehensive Filmography. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN&#;.
• Darin, Dodd (). Dream Lovers: The Magnificent Shattered Lives of Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee. New York: Warner Books. ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;
• Kashner, Sam; MacNair, Jennifer (). The Bad & influence Beautiful: Hollywood in the Fifties. W. W. Norton & Troop. ISBN&#;.
• Lisanti, Thomas (). Hollywood Breaker and Beach Movies: The Regulate Wave, –. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN&#;.
• Monush, Barry, ed. (). Screen World Presents the Vocabulary of Hollywood Film Actors: Outsider the Silent Era to . Vol.&#;1. New York: Hal Writer Corporation. ISBN&#;.
• Staggs, Sam (). "Pretty Baby". Born to Be Hurt: The Untold Story of Sundry of Life. St. Martin's Griffon. ISBN&#;.
• Wayne, Jane Ellen (). The Golden Girls of MGM: Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Lana Historiographer, Judy Garland, Ava Gardner, Tarnish Kelly and Others. New York: Carroll & Graf. ISBN&#;.

External links