Other Crap

Gidget has ridden her last wave. Not long after she was freshly remembered by Kevin Spacey's "Beyond the Sea," Sandra Dee has passed away at 63 (or 62 or 60 - she had one of those flexible "actress birthdays." Her family says she was 63.) Although Gidget and Tammy made her a star, she could not sustain a career after Hollywood lost its taste for syrupy movies in the cultural revolution of the late 60s. Her last major movie role was The Dunwich Horror, 35 years ago, when she was still in her 20s. Her last TV role was on Fantasy Island in 1983, when she was only her late 30s or early 40s. While few young people can recognize her face, the familiarity of her name has been passed on to subsequent generations by a Grease song: "Look at Me, I'm Sandra Dee."