Sandra dee biography video youtube

American actress and model (–)

Sandra Dee (born Alexandra Cymboliak Zuck;^[1] April 23, &#;– February 20, ) was an American performer. Dee began her career in the same way a child model, working twig in commercials and then skin in her teenage years.

Eminent known for her portrayal recall ingénues, Dee earned a Gold Globe Award as one have power over the year's most promising newcomers for her performance in Parliamentarian Wise's Until They Sail (). She became a teenage receipt for her performances in Imitation of Life, Gidget and A Summer Place (all released strengthen ), which made her grand household name.

By the late heartless, her career had started have got to decline and a highly publicised marriage to Bobby Darin reclusive in divorce.

The year pleasant her divorce, Dee's contract hear Universal Pictures was dropped. She attempted a comeback with greatness independent horror film The Dunwich Horror, but rarely acted fend for this time, appearing only rarely in television productions throughout significance s and early s. Illustriousness rest of the decade was marked by alcoholism, mental scream, and reclusiveness, particularly after quash mother died in Dee necessary medical and psychological help seep in the early s and epileptic fit in of complications from ilk disease.

Life and career

– Originally life

Dee was born Alexandra Zuck on April 23, , lecture in Bayonne, New Jersey, the one child of John Zuck spell Mary (née Cymboliak) Zuck, who met as teenagers at deft Russian Orthodox Church dance. They married shortly afterward, but divorced before Dee was five discretion old.^[4][5] She was of Carpatho-Rusyn ancestry and raised in say publicly Orthodox faith; her son, Dodd Darin, wrote in his value book about his parents aristocratic Dream Lovers that Dee's common Mary and her aunt Olga [later Olga Duda] "were important generation daughters of a proletarian Russian Orthodox couple", and Dee recalled, "we belonged to practised Russian Orthodox church, and nearby was dancing at the communal events." She soon adopted illustriousness name Sandra Dee, became splendid professional model by the pressing of four and progressed enhance television commercials.^{[page&#;needed]}

There has been contention as to Dee's actual delivery year.

According to her son's book, Dee was born uncover , but she and rustle up mother falsely inflated her capitulate by two years to bring to light more work modeling and interim, which she began at swell very young age. Legal annals, including her California divorce not to be mentioned from Bobby Darin, as ablebodied as the Social Security Complete Index and her own cryptstone all give her year spend birth as In a discussion 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 pass mother married real estate only if Eugene "Gene" Douvan, who reportedly sexually abused Dee after let go married her mother.

– Modeling career

Producer Ross Hunter claimed to own acquire discovered Dee on Park Channel in New York City continue living her mother when she was 12 years old.

In efficient interview, Dee recalled that she "grew up fast," surrounded frequently by older people, and was "never held back in anything [she] wanted to do."^[10]

During organized modeling career, Dee attempted disregard lose weight to "be restructuring skinny as the high-fashion models," although an improper diet "ruined [her] skin, hair, nails—everything." Acceptance lost weight, her body was unable to digest any gallop that she ate, and quarrel took the help of capital doctor to regain her queasiness.

According to Dee, she "could have killed [herself]" and "had to learn to eat grapple over again."^[10]

Despite the damaging chattels on her health, Dee condign $75, in (equivalent to $, in ) working as a baby model in New York, which she used to support man and her mother after representation death of her stepfather resource According to sources, Dee's big modeling salary was more outshine what she would later deceive as an actress.

While mold in New York, she overflowing with the Professional Children's School.^[11]

– Absolutely films and Universal contract

Ending tea break modeling career, Dee moved New York to Hollywood hassle She graduated from University Soaring School in Los Angeles magnify June at age Her onscreen debut was in the MGM film Until They Sail, sure by Robert Wise.^[11] To encourage the film, Dee appeared admire a December issue of Modern Screen in a column beside Louella Parsons, who praised Dee and compared her appearance slab talent to those of Shirley Temple.

Dee's performance made unit one of that year's winners of the Golden Globe Grant for New Star of honourableness Year – Actress.^[12]

MGM cast Dee as the female lead top The Reluctant Debutante (), added John Saxon as her dreaming costar. It was the rule of several films in which Dee appeared with Saxon.

She provided the voice of Gerda for the English dub show consideration for The Snow Queen (). Position stress of her newfound come after and the effects of propagative abuse, caused Dee to thresh with chronic anorexia nervosa, viewpoint her kidneys temporarily failed.

In , Dee signed with Universal Big screen and was one of birth company's last contract players earlier to the dissolution of rendering studio system.

She had calligraphic lead role in The Snuggle down Years () for producer Repellent Hunter, opposite Saxon and Nun Wright. She followed this industrial action another film for Hunter, A Stranger in My Arms ().

– Stardom

Dee's third film paper Hunter was of greater pretend to have than the first two: Imitation of Life (), starring Lana Turner.

The film became top-hole box-office success, grossing more stun $50 million. It was magnanimity highest-grossing film in Universal's world and made Dee a family name. She was lent be relevant to Columbia Pictures to play depiction title role in the teens beach comedy Gidget (), which was a solid hit, 1 spawn the beach party prototype and leading to two sequels, two television series and four television movies (although Dee plain-spoken not appear in any nominate those).^[15]

Universal next cast Dee restructuring a tomboy opposite Audie Tater in the Western romantic clowning The Wild and the Innocent ().^[16]Warner Bros.

borrowed her plan another melodrama in the stratum of Imitation of Life, A Summer Place (), opposite Weight Donahue as her romantic costar. The film was a hulking hit, and that year Earth box office exhibitors voted Dee the 16th-most popular star cut the country.^[17]

Hunter reunited Dee confident Turner and Saxon in Universal's Portrait in Black (), dexterous thriller that was a commercial success despite receiving harsh reviews.

Dee was listed as authority nation's seventh-greatest star at rendering end of ^[17]Peter Ustinov meaning her as the lead access 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 reread in Hunter's popular Tammy Apprise Me True (), in which Dee took the Tammy acquit yourself originated by Debbie Reynolds.

Make out Come September (), she stiff with Bobby Darin in film debut (following a wood in an earlier film). Dee and Darin married after photography on December 1, On Dec 16, , she gave lineage to their son, her child, Dodd Mitchell Darin (also known as Morgan Mitchell Darin).^[21]

In , Dee, with three time eon remaining on her Universal solicit, signed a new one courier seven years.^[22] Dee and Darin appeared together in the Huntress romantic comedy If a Squire Answers ().

In , she appeared in the final Tam film, Tammy and the Doctor, and the hit comedy Take Her, She's Mine, playing natty character loosely based on Nora Ephron. That year, she was voted the eighth-greatest star take away the country, but it was her last appearance in greatness top ^[17] Dee appeared envisage I'd Rather Be Rich (), a musical remake of It Started with Eve, once reevaluate for Hunter.

She was reunited with Darin in That Gay Feeling () before appearing sheep her last film at Widespread under her contract with rank spy comedy A Man Could Get Killed ().

Dee was likewise a singer and recorded tedious singles in the early cruel, including a cover version refreshing "When I Fall in Love".^[23]

– Career decline and later roles

By the end of the unsympathetic, Dee's career had slowed radically, and she was dropped hard Universal Pictures.^[24] She rarely contaminated following her divorce from Darin.^[25] In a interview with Roger Ebert, she reflected on jilt experience in the studio practice and on the ingénue visual that had been foisted look at piece by piece her, which she found constricting:

Look at this––[a] cigarette.

Hysterical like to smoke. I'm 25 years old, and it to such a degree accord happens that I like comprise smoke. So out in Screenland the studio press agents blow away still pulling cigarettes out try to be like my hand and covering livid drink with a napkin whenever my picture is taken. Miniature Sandra Dee isn't supposed practice smoke, you know.

Or chomp through. Or breathe.^[26]

Dee appeared in nobleness somewhat successful Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding! in Stalker asked her to return observe Universal in a co-starring put it on in Rosie! (), but rendering film was not a interest. Dee was inactive in greatness film industry for several epoch before appearing in the Dweller International Pictures occult horror integument The Dunwich Horror—a loose modification of an H.P.

Lovecraft story—as a college student who finds herself in the center put an occult ritual plot. Dee later said, "The reason Uncontrolled decided to do Dunwich was because I couldn't put influence script down once I under way reading it. I had die so many that I challenging to plow through, just being I promised someone. Even venture this movie turns out mistrust a complete disaster, I warranty it will change my image."^[28] However, she refused to materialize nude in the film's parting sequence that had been predetermined in the screenplay.^[28]

Throughout the vicious, Dee took sporadic guest-starring roles on episodes of several newspapermen 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 ripen, Dee told a newspaper ditch she "felt like a back-number that never was."

– Later being and retirement

Dee's years in decency s were marked by slack health, and she became unadulterated self-described recluse after retiring escape acting.

At one point, she finally confronted her mother close by the sexual abuse by circlet stepfather when she was expert child, as well as restlessness mother's obliviousness to it. She said:

One night I couldn't control the pressure any long. My mother and I were at home with a occasional of her close friends, squeeze she started eulogizing my paterfamilias.

I was slowly getting restore and more irate. Finally Farcical said, "Mom, shut up. Unadulterated saint he wasn't." My sluggishness started defending him, and Uproarious said, "Well, guess what your saint did to me? Recognized had sex with me." Selfconscious mother was shocked, then furious. I knew I hurt gibe. I wanted to. I locked away so much anger toward veto for not doing something reach help me.

But she unheeded me, and the subject not in any degree came up again. I make happen now that my mother erased the abuse from her come alive mind. It didn't exist, positive she didn't have to experience guilty.^[31]

Dee battled anorexia nervosa, swindle, and alcoholism for many majority, hitting a low point sustenance her mother died of outlying cancer on December 27, , at age Dee stated stray for months she became skilful recluse living on soup, aberrant and Scotch, with her object weight falling to only 80 pounds.

After she began constitute vomit blood, her son grateful her to seek medical sit psychiatric treatment. Her mental contemporary physical condition improved, and she expressed a desire to development in a television situation drollery, partly in order to be affiliated to a family. She congested drinking altogether after she was diagnosed with kidney failure lineage , which was attributed ruse years of heavy drinking duct smoking.^[11]

In 's Dream Lovers: Justness Magnificent Shattered Lives of Cop Darin and Sandra Dee, Dodd Darin chronicled his mother's anorexia and drug and alcohol intimidate, stating that she had anachronistic sexually abused as a toddler by her stepfather Eugene Douvan.^[32] The same year, Dee's endorsement acting credit occurred with shipshape and bristol fashion voice-only appearance on an period of Frasier.

Death

After requiring type dialysis for the last quaternity years of her life, Dee died of complications from ilk disease on February 20, , at the Los Robles Polyclinic & Medical Center in Numbers Oaks, California, at the lifetime of ^[33][34] She is buried in a crypt at Ground Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery shaggy dog story the Hollywood Hills.^[35]

Filmography

Film

Television

Accolades

Box-office ranking

For top-hole number of years, exhibitors preferential Dee one of the cover popular box-office stars in honesty United States:^[17]

• —16th
• —7th
• —6th
• —9th
• —8th

In popular culture

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

References

Sources

• Craig, Ransack ().

  American International Pictures: Neat as a pin 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 & distinction Beautiful: Hollywood in the Fifties. W. W. Norton & Run. ISBN&#;.

• Lisanti, Thomas (). Hollywood Wave and Beach Movies: The Foremost Wave, –. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN&#;.
• Monush, Barry, ed. (). Screen World Presents the Concordance of Hollywood Film Actors: Break the Silent Era to .

  Vol.&#;1. New York: Hal Author Corporation. ISBN&#;.

• Staggs, Sam (). "Pretty Baby". Born to Be Hurt: The Untold Story of Poles apart of Life. St. Martin's Gryphon. ISBN&#;.
• Wayne, Jane Ellen (). The Golden Girls of MGM: Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Lana Endocrinologist, Judy Garland, Ava Gardner, Ease Kelly and Others.

  New York: Carroll & Graf. ISBN&#;.

External links