Sandra Dee

Sandra Dee (born Alexandra Zuck; April 23, 1942 – February 20, 2005) was an American actress. Dee began her career as a child model, working first in commercials, and then film in her teenage years. Best known for her portrayal of ingénues, Dee earned a Golden Globe Award as one of the year's most promising newcomers for her performance in Robert Wise's Until They Sail (1958). She became a teenage star for her performances in Imitation of Life and Gidget (both 1959), which made her a household name.

By the late 1960s, her career had started to decline, and a highly publicized marriage to Bobby Darin ended in divorce. The year of her divorce, Dee's contract with Universal Pictures was dropped. She attempted a comeback with the 1970 independent horror film The Dunwich Horror, but rarely acted after this time, appearing only occasionally in television productions throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. The rest of the decade was marred by alcoholism, mental illness, plus near total reclusiveness, particularly after her mother died in 1988. Afterwards she sought medical and psychological help in the early 1990s, and died in 2005 of complications from kidney disease, brought on by lifelong anorexia nervosa.

Birth and Death Data: Born April 23, 1942 (Bayonne), Died February 20, 2005 (Thousand Oaks)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1959 - 1961

Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Decca L 11901 12/11/1959 When I fall in love Sandra Dee vocalist  
Decca L 11902 12/11/1959 Do it while you're young Sandra Dee vocalist  
Decca L 11903 12/11/1959 Dear Johnny Sandra Dee vocalist  
Decca L 11904 12/11/1959 Questions Sandra Dee vocalist  
Decca L 12506 5/5/1961 Let's fall in love Sandra Dee vocalist  
Decca L 12507 5/5/1961 Tammy, tell me true Sandra Dee vocalist  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Dee, Sandra," accessed November 10, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/311645.

Dee, Sandra. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 10, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/311645.

"Dee, Sandra." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 10 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/311645

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