Film icon Sandra Dee didn’t like the attention she was given when her name was propelled back to fame in Grease.
Olivia Newton-John played squeaky-clean Sandra Olsson in the iconic 70s movie. Rizzo makes fun of her wholesome image in the movie singing the song “Look At Me, I’m Sandra Dee’.
Sandra Dee’s son Dodd Darin is in Australia for the Melbourne premiere of ‘Dream Lover: The Bobby Darin Musical’. “I’ve got to be honest. It sort of offended her,” Dodd tells Noise11.com. “She was trying to get out of the teen-image model role box and that cemented her in there. Nothing against the talent but it kind of wrangled her. But the name, on the other hand, because of Grease will live forever. Young people who don’t know Sandra Dee from Mars know the name now because of that. She had some issues with it.
Sandra Dee was married to pop star Bobby Darin. She was a huge star in her day. “In her day she was Top 10 global box office for five years,” Dodd says. She was a bigger star than my dad because film makes you live forever. She was talented. She had her own path and I’m glad she is remembered as well in ‘Dream Lover’”.
The story of Sandra Dee is very much a part of the Bobby Darin Musical starring David Campbell as Bobby Darin. “This is a real love story,” says David tells Noise11.com. “This wasn’t like a Tab Hunter seen dating someone story. These two were really in love. He chased her down on the set of ‘Come September’, which we portray in the show, but they really had a passion for one another.
‘Dream Lover – The Bobby Darin Musical’ was written by Frank Howson and his cousin John-Michael Howson. “My mom never recovered from my dad’s passing,” Dodd says. “They were divorced and hadn’t been together for years but a lot of her died the day he died”.
Sandra Dee’s lost ever appearance was as a caller into Frasier Crane’s radio show on the sitcom Frasier.
“It was tough in the film industry change,” Dodd says. “I say the turning point came in 1967-68 when her contract with Universal ended and then along came films like Easy Rider. The show culture changed and the star system changed. She had a good run. The films still stand up and she was a good mom.”
‘Dream Lover – The Bobby Darin Musical’ is on now and until 1 March 2018 at Arts Centre Melbourne.
Watch the Noise11 interview with Dodd Darin and David Campbell
