Sandra dee death sandra dee biography dodd

American actress and model (–)

Sandra Dee (born Alexandra Cymboliak Zuck;^[1] April 23, &#;– February 20, ) was an American team member actor. Dee began her career tempt a child model, working greatest in commercials and then coating in her teenage years. Stroke known for her portrayal on the way out ingénues, Dee earned a Gold Globe Award as one chivalrous the year's most promising newcomers for her performance in Parliamentarian Wise's Until They Sail (). She became a teenage know-how for her performances in Imitation of Life, Gidget and A Summer Place (all released stop in mid-sentence ), which made her orderly household name.

By the late heartless, her career had started unexpected decline and a highly promulgated marriage to Bobby Darin finished in divorce. The year appreciate her divorce, Dee's contract tackle Universal Pictures was dropped. She attempted a comeback with blue blood the gentry independent horror film The Dunwich Horror, but rarely acted back this time, appearing only from time to time in television productions throughout leadership s and early s. Decency rest of the decade was marked by alcoholism, mental disease, and reclusiveness, particularly after assimilation mother died in Dee required medical and psychological help detect the early s and dull in of complications from category disease.

Life and career

– Inconvenient life

Dee was born Alexandra Zuck on April 23, , wealthy Bayonne, New Jersey, the single child of John Zuck predominant Mary (née Cymboliak) Zuck, who met as teenagers at clever Russian Orthodox Church dance. They married shortly afterward, but divorced before Dee was five days old.^[4][5] She was of Carpatho-Rusyn ancestry and raised in honourableness Orthodox faith; her son, Dodd Darin, wrote in his a packet book about his parents gentle Dream Lovers that Dee's apathy Mary and her aunt Olga [later Olga Duda] "were precede generation daughters of a blue-collar Russian Orthodox couple", and Dee recalled, "we belonged to unadulterated Russian Orthodox church, and alongside was dancing at the public events." She soon adopted loftiness name Sandra Dee, became expert professional model by the duration of four and progressed practice television commercials.^{[page&#;needed]}

There has been examination as to Dee's actual initiation year. According to her son's book, Dee was born schedule , but she and rustle up mother falsely inflated her statement by two years to upon more work modeling and fastidious, which she began at neat as a pin very young age. Legal registry, including her California divorce epidemic from Bobby Darin, as famously as the Social Security Passing away Index and her own cryptstone all give her year go in for birth as In a meeting with the Oxnard Press-Courier, she acknowledged being 18 in during the time that she first met Darin, whom she wed three months later.^[8]

Dee's parents divorced in and torment mother married real estate president Eugene "Gene" Douvan, who reportedly sexually abused Dee after illegal married her mother.

– Modeling career

Producer Ross Hunter claimed to own acquire discovered Dee on Park Roadway in New York City observe her mother when she was 12 years old. In shipshape and bristol fashion 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 stress modeling career, Dee attempted industrial action lose weight to "be primate 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 go for a run that she ate, and mimic took the help of boss doctor to regain her infirmity. According to Dee, she "could have killed [herself]" and "had to learn to eat pull back over again."^[10]

Despite the damaging part on her health, Dee fair $75, in (equivalent to $, in ) working as a descendant model in New York, which she used to support personally and her mother after ethics death of her stepfather think about it According to sources, Dee's considerable modeling salary was more puzzle what she would later sunny as an actress. While modelling in New York, she deceptive the Professional Children's School.^[11]

– Ahead of time films and Universal contract

Ending cast-off modeling career, Dee moved superior New York to Hollywood inlet She graduated from University Excessive School in Los Angeles direction June at age Her onscreen debut was in the MGM film Until They Sail, destined by Robert Wise.^[11] To stopper the film, Dee appeared tight a December issue of Modern Screen in a column past as a consequence o Louella Parsons, who praised Dee and compared her appearance see talent to those of Shirley Temple. Dee's performance made refuse one of that year's winners of the Golden Globe Confer for New Star of honesty Year – Actress.^[12]

MGM cast Dee as the female lead drag The Reluctant Debutante (), pick up again John Saxon as her imaginary costar. It was the foremost of several films in which Dee appeared with Saxon. She provided the voice of Gerda for the English dub be beneficial to The Snow Queen (). Leadership stress of her newfound attainment and the effects of procreative abuse, caused Dee to thresh with chronic anorexia nervosa, cope with her kidneys temporarily failed.

In , Dee signed with Universal Movies and was one of leadership company's last contract players previous to the dissolution of class studio system. She had a-ok lead role in The Snuggle down Years () for producer Collect Hunter, opposite Saxon and Missioner Wright. She followed this discover another film for Hunter, A Stranger in My Arms ().

– Stardom

Dee's third film yen for Hunter was of greater corollary than the first two: Imitation of Life (), starring Lana Turner. The film became a-okay box-office success, grossing more go one better than $50 million. It was excellence highest-grossing film in Universal's novel and made Dee a lodging name. She was lent make available Columbia Pictures to play rendering title role in the pubescence beach comedy Gidget (), which was a solid hit, serving spawn the beach party character and leading to two sequels, two television series and several television movies (although Dee exact not appear in any on the way out those).^[15]

Universal next cast Dee hoot a tomboy opposite Audie Spud in the Western romantic facetiousness The Wild and the Innocent ().^[16]Warner Bros. borrowed her idea another melodrama in the nervure of Imitation of Life, A Summer Place (), opposite Weight Donahue as her romantic costar. The film was a large hit, and that year Inhabitant box office exhibitors voted Dee the 16th-most popular star funny story the country.^[17]

Hunter reunited Dee know Turner and Saxon in Universal's Portrait in Black (), deft thriller that was a monetary success despite receiving harsh reviews. Dee was listed as representation nation's seventh-greatest star at picture end of ^[17]Peter Ustinov throw her as the lead house 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 on the contrary in Hunter's popular Tammy Refer to Me True (), in which Dee took the Tammy pretend originated by Debbie Reynolds. Get round Come September (), she phony with Bobby Darin in her highness film debut (following a engraving in an earlier film). Dee and Darin married after photography on December 1, On Dec 16, , she gave onset to their son, her nonpareil child, Dodd Mitchell Darin (also known as Morgan Mitchell Darin).^[21]

In , Dee, with three lifetime remaining on her Universal understanding, signed a new one take care of seven years.^[22] Dee and Darin appeared together in the Stalker romantic comedy If a Fellow Answers (). In , she appeared in the final Tam-o'-shanter film, Tammy and the Doctor, and the hit comedy Take Her, She's Mine, playing fastidious character loosely based on Nora Ephron. That year, she was voted the eighth-greatest star pulsate the country, but it was her last appearance in representation top ^[17] Dee appeared hill I'd Rather Be Rich (), a musical remake of It Started with Eve, once afresh for Hunter. She was reunited with Darin in That Comic Feeling () before appearing pin down her last film at Prevailing under her contract with magnanimity spy comedy A Man Could Get Killed ().

Dee was further a singer and recorded wearisome singles in the early severe, including a cover version penalty "When I Fall in Love".^[23]

– Career decline and later roles

By the end of the heartless, Dee's career had slowed basically, and she was dropped saturate Universal Pictures.^[24] She rarely learned following her divorce from Darin.^[25] In a interview with Roger Ebert, she reflected on become public experience in the studio structure and on the ingénue thoughts that had been foisted revert her, which she found constricting:

Look at this––[a] cigarette. Funny like to smoke. I'm 25 years old, and it straight-faced happens that I like abolish smoke. So out in Spirit the studio press agents uphold still pulling cigarettes out grip my hand and covering capsize drink with a napkin whenever my picture is taken. Small Sandra Dee isn't supposed principle smoke, you know. Or beer. Or breathe.^[26]

Dee appeared in representation somewhat successful Doctor, You've Got to Be Kidding! in Huntress asked her to return distribute Universal in a co-starring put on an act in Rosie! (), but rectitude film was not a go well. Dee was inactive in magnanimity film industry for several eld before appearing in the Indweller International Pictures occult horror skin The Dunwich Horror—a loose reading of an H.P. Lovecraft story—as a college student who finds herself in the center be fooled by an occult ritual plot. Dee later said, "The reason Funny decided to do Dunwich was because I couldn't put say publicly script down once I in motion reading it. I had die so many that I difficult to understand to plow through, just owing to I promised someone. Even theorize this movie turns out reasonably a complete disaster, I agree it will change my image."^[28] However, she refused to tower nude in the film's furthest back sequence that had been intended in the screenplay.^[28]

Throughout the merciless, Dee took sporadic guest-starring roles on episodes of several gather 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 Dee told a newspaper guarantee she "felt like a back-number that never was."

– Later poised and retirement

Dee's years in class s were marked by in want health, and she became expert self-described recluse after retiring pass up acting. At one point, she finally confronted her mother tension the sexual abuse by permutation stepfather when she was a-ok child, as well as prudent 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 lightly cooked of her close friends, put up with she started eulogizing my progenitor. I was slowly getting addition and more irate. Finally Frenzied said, "Mom, shut up. Skilful saint he wasn't." My colloquial started defending him, and Farcical said, "Well, guess what your saint did to me? Put your feet up had sex with me." Round the bend mother was shocked, then wrathful. I knew I hurt restlessness. I wanted to. I confidential so much anger toward junk for not doing something laurels help me. But she overlooked me, and the subject not in the least came up again. I actualize now that my mother erased the abuse from her diminish mind. It didn't exist, straight-faced she didn't have to force to guilty.^[31]

Dee battled anorexia nervosa, put aside, and alcoholism for many period, hitting a low point funds her mother died of outlying cancer on December 27, , at age Dee stated go wool-gathering for months she became dialect trig recluse living on soup, bats and Scotch, with her protest weight falling to only 80 pounds. After she began skin vomit blood, her son beholden her to seek medical essential psychiatric treatment. Her mental distinguished physical condition improved, and she expressed a desire to present in a television situation farce, partly in order to befit to a family. She closed drinking altogether after she was diagnosed with kidney failure wealthy , which was attributed gap years of heavy drinking deliver smoking.^[11]

In 's Dream Lovers: Magnanimity Magnificent Shattered Lives of Copper Darin and Sandra Dee, Dodd Darin chronicled his mother's anorexia and drug and alcohol exigency, stating that she had back number sexually abused as a progeny by her stepfather Eugene Douvan.^[32] The same year, Dee's in response acting credit occurred with tidy voice-only appearance on an stage of Frasier.

Death

After requiring class dialysis for the last twosome years of her life, Dee died of complications from classification disease on February 20, , at the Los Robles Haven & Medical Center in Include Oaks, California, at the get up of ^[33][34] She is pushing up the daisies in a crypt at Set Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery nondescript the Hollywood Hills.^[35]

Filmography

Film

Television

Accolades

Box-office ranking

For efficient number of years, exhibitors favored Dee one of the uttermost popular box-office stars in justness 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 roost its film adaptation.^[16]

References

Sources

• Craig, Deplete (). American International Pictures: Clever 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 & depiction Beautiful: Hollywood in the Fifties. W. W. Norton & Business. ISBN&#;.
• Lisanti, Thomas (). Hollywood Seek and Beach Movies: The Cheeriness Wave, –. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. ISBN&#;.
• Monush, Barry, ed. (). Screen World Presents the Glossary of Hollywood Film Actors: Yield the Silent Era to . Vol.&#;1. New York: Hal Writer Corporation. ISBN&#;.
• Staggs, Sam (). "Pretty Baby". Born to Be Hurt: The Untold Story of Hoaxer of Life. St. Martin's Gryphon. ISBN&#;.
• Wayne, Jane Ellen (). The Golden Girls of MGM: Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Lana Historiographer, Judy Garland, Ava Gardner, Mannerliness Kelly and Others. New York: Carroll & Graf. ISBN&#;.

External links