Post by HARD ROCK UNIVERSE on Feb 21, 2005 2:58:15 GMT -5
LOS ANGELES - Sandra Dee, the actress who brought teenage life to the silver screen in the 1960s and was married to pop singer Bobby Darin, died early Sunday morning, at age 63.
Dee died of complications from kidney disease after nearly two weeks in a California hospital, a family friend told the Associated Press. Steve Blauner said Dee had been on dialysis for about four years.
Dee starred in movies like Gidget, the story of a bubbly young girl's adventures in California, and Tammy and the Doctor.
The Gidget role helped her gain a huge teen following, as did her marriage to Darin in 1960. But after they broke up in 1965, Dee began to lose her fans and Universal Studios dropped her.
She went into a depression that was to affect her for the rest of her life and made her last movie in 1981.
The movie Grease (1978) mocked her clean-cut image with the song Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee.
In last year's film about Darin, Beyond the Sea, Dee was portrayed by Kate Bosworth.
Dee was born Alexandra Zuck in New Jersey in 1942. Her parents soon divorced and she took her stepfather's name, Douvan.
She was discovered at 12 while attending a school in Manhattan that catered to child performers, and took the stage name Sandra Dee.
Her family asked that no details be released, other than the time of death, said Cynthia Mead, nursing supervisor at the hospital.
Dee died of complications from kidney disease after nearly two weeks in a California hospital, a family friend told the Associated Press. Steve Blauner said Dee had been on dialysis for about four years.
Dee starred in movies like Gidget, the story of a bubbly young girl's adventures in California, and Tammy and the Doctor.
The Gidget role helped her gain a huge teen following, as did her marriage to Darin in 1960. But after they broke up in 1965, Dee began to lose her fans and Universal Studios dropped her.
She went into a depression that was to affect her for the rest of her life and made her last movie in 1981.
The movie Grease (1978) mocked her clean-cut image with the song Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee.
In last year's film about Darin, Beyond the Sea, Dee was portrayed by Kate Bosworth.
Dee was born Alexandra Zuck in New Jersey in 1942. Her parents soon divorced and she took her stepfather's name, Douvan.
She was discovered at 12 while attending a school in Manhattan that catered to child performers, and took the stage name Sandra Dee.
Her family asked that no details be released, other than the time of death, said Cynthia Mead, nursing supervisor at the hospital.