Post by Me on Feb 21, 2005 19:21:14 GMT -5
Actress Sandra Dee dies
Death follows treatment for kidney disease, pneumonia
Sunday, February 20, 2005 Posted: 5:11 PM EST (2211 GMT)
Sandra Dee portrayed a nurse's helper in "Tammy and the Doctor."
Obituaries (Entertainment)
Sandra Dee
Bobby Darin
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Actress Sandra Dee died Sunday at a
California hospital, her son told CNN.
Dodd Darin, the son of the late singer Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee,
said his mother died at 6 a.m. (9 a.m. ET) in Los Robles Hospital &
Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, California, where she had been
treated for 14 days for complications from kidney disease and
pneumonia.
Darin said his mother was 63, though a number of movie Web sites put
her birth date variously at April 23, 1942, and April 23, 1944, which
would have made her 62 or 60.
Dee was born Alexandra Zuck in Bayonne, New Jersey. Her mother often
lied about her age to help her get ahead in work and school,
according to the Web site Internet Movie Database.
Work as a model by age 12 led to television commercials and, at age
14, a role in the movie "Until They Sailed," which was released in
1957, the site said.
The next year she was signed to "The Reluctant Debutante" and "The
Restless Years."
In 1959, the teenage heartthrob won roles in five
productions. "Gidget" and "A Summer Place" proved the most popular.
In 1960, she appeared in "Portrait in Black" and married Darin.
In rapid succession came roles in "Come September," "Romanoff and
Juliet," "Tammy Tell Me True" and its 1963 sequel, "Tammy and the
Doctor."
But the latter films fared poorly and the offers began to wane.
For the next few years, she did one movie per year: "I'd Rather be
Rich" in 1964, "That Funny Feeling" in 1965, "A Man Could Get Killed"
in 1966, "Doctor, You've Got to be Kidding" in 1967 -- the year she
and Darin divorced -- and "Rosie!" in 1968.
Her movie career was largely finished by the time she was 26,
according to the Web site's biography.
In 1970, Sandra won a role in "The Dunwich Horror" and, during that
decade, made four television movies.
As her star diminished, she battled anorexia, alcoholism and
depression, the Web site says.
Her last film, "Lost," was produced in 1983.
Dee was diagnosed with throat cancer and kidney failure in 2000. She
is survived by her son and two granddaughters, Alexa and Olivia,
according to the Web site.
She was portrayed by actress Kate Bosworth last year in "Beyond the
Sea," which starred Kevin Spacey as Bobby Darin.