MoPo Remembers
Sandra Dee 1942-2005
Sandra Dee, arguably the biggest female teen idol of the late 1950's and early 1960's, will forever be remembered as Gidget, the effervescent little California girl who loved the beach and the surfers who lived there.
She began her movie career in 1957, appearing in Until They Sail, along side Jean Simmons and Paul Newman. She followed up that performance with the teen drama The Restless Years in 1958. In 1959 she skyrocketed to fame, appearing in three major hits-- Gidget, A Summer Place (co-starring with Troy Donahue) and a remake of Imitation of Life (with Lana Turner).
On the heels of her movie success, she married pop singer Bobby Darin in 1960, creating a storm in the press. Her career continued as she replaced Debbie Reynolds in the Tammy film series in 1961's Tammy Tell Me True and 1963's Tammy and the Doctor. After the Tammy films, Dee saw her career and her marriage to Darin declining. By the late 1960's her movie career was coming to an end. One of her last screen appearances was in 1970's The Dunwich Horror co-starring Dean Stockwell. She appeared sporadically in the 1970's on television with her final movie appearance in 1983's Lost.
Sandra Dee died on February 20, 2005 in Thousand Oaks, California of complications from kidney disease. She was 62.
Sandra Dee at the Movies
The Restless Years (1958) Window Card (14X22)
Gidget (1959) One-Sheet (27X41)
Imitation of Life (1959) Half-Sheet (22X28)
A Summer Place (1959) Color Still (8X10), with Troy Donahue
Tammy Tell Me True (1961) Insert (14X36)
If A Man Answers (1962) One-Sheet (27X41)
Take Her, She's Mine (1963) Black & White Still (8X10)
The Dunwich Horror (1970) One-Sheet (27X41)
Click on the Ticket Above for IMDB's Complete Filmography for Sandra Dee