Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin:
"Kids On The Wrong Road"
This article, written by Bethel Every, appeared in Modern Screen Magazine July, 1961
Dear Bobby and Sandra: Your car pulled up to the entrance of the theater---and the
crowds who were standing outside were struck dumb for a moment. They couldn't
quite believe what they saw. Then from the hushed crowds came shrieks and gasps and a little laughter.
We were in the lobby the night of the
debut of your new car. And we were quite
dazzled too. Who wouldn't be? Cinderella's
golden coach and Caesar's chariot seemed
pale in comparison.
We had heard a great deal about your
fabulous new automobile. How it was
worth $150,000, and was painted with thirty
coats of imported pure essence of pearl oil
with added crushed diamond dust to make
things sparkle.
We read about its all-glass top and the
foot-thick doors and its eight-cylinder motor and the electrically operated doors.
We read about all that and more, and
frankly we didn't quite believe all we
read—until we saw the real thing.
It was spectacular, all right. And it must
be a joy to own. But—and this is a big but,
we are beginning to worry whether you
kids are driving down the wrong road.
Everyone loves a Cinderella story.
Books have been based on it, plays,
movies. And when it happens in real life,
it's even more wonderful.
Yours was a Cinderella story, Bobby--
or should we say Cinderfella.
When you first started to come to public
attention through your fine voice and
unique style, Bobby, your success was
punctuated by the long and difficult struggle you went through to "get somewhere."
You made no secret of your humble
background, or of your sickly traumatic
childhood.
You spoke candidly, publicly—and perhaps at times a little arrogantly—about
yourself, but the main thing is you were
never a big shot about yourself.
The public took you to heart.
The press criticized you for your brashness. But your fans were able to understand it.
And as you came up in the world, they
cheered. Because in a way, it was happening to them, too. Or could happen to them--
someday.
And when you met and fell in love
with Sandra Dee, the fairy tale was complete. For here was the shiny blue-eyed
blonde princess come to life.
You and Sandy got married and your
fans rooted for you both to "live happily
ever after"—as the good books of Anderson and Grimm say.
But can you really blame them if they
wanted to share that forever after?
However, when you and Sandy returned
from your honeymoon, you shut the book
tight.
"There will be no further magazine layouts or interviews about my marriage,"
you said. And Sandy, you dutifully added:
"We want our marriage to last and the
best formula is to keep our marriage apart
from our work."
Even when a dignified critic of one of
New York's top newspapers started to
congratulate you on your wedding as a
means of "breaking the ice," you "glowered" (and we're using the critic's adjective!), "I absolutely refuse to discuss
my wife or family."
As we said before—they love Cinderella
stories—but like everyone else, they can
only lose interest when their idol turns
"big shot."
And Bobby, we're beginning to fear that
you might be crossing the fine line between the two.
Suddenly we're reminded of two other
Hollywood couples.
One had backgrounds very similar to
yours and Sandy's.
The other couple's backgrounds were
different—but their actions were the same.
Can you recognize the similarity
between you and Tony Curtis, Bobby?
He too, was brought up in a poor neighborhood and came up the hard way. He
too, was made a star by the fans. And he
too married Hollywood's fairy princess of
the time, Janet Leigh.
That was 10 years ago.
A lot has happened to Janet and Tony
since then. But in all this time they never
forgot their debt to the public, they never
shut the door on their private life, on the
press, on photographers.
Tony is a millionaire today—and it's
funny but no one resents it. He owns a
Rolls-Royce and a gorgeous home, and his
own production company—and well just
about everything money can buy.
And maybe no one resents it because he
did it slowly with hard work and a feeling
of gratitude and a sense of not really deserving all the good fortune that came his
way.
Tony and Janet are as popular today as
when they first started. Even more popular, in a way.
The other couple we have in mind is
Natalie Wood and Bob Wagner.
Both those kids were well-to-do. Bob
came from a well-to-do family, Natalie
was a child star. Both were brought up
with money—and love and understanding.
Like Janet and Tony and you kids they
were discovered and boosted to stardom by
their fans.
And at first they cooperated to the fullest extent, appreciating and being more
than aware of the value of the publicity
they were receiving.
There was no reason for anyone to suspect that their attitude would change with
marriage. But change it did.
They hired a high-priced, high-powered
publicity firm—and immediately informed
the press and the public that their private
lives were their own—and they would
have no part of any stories or photographic
layouts that dealt with anything other
than the professional aspects of their
careers. In short it was no one's business
except their own what they did when they
weren't before the motion picture cameras.
If anyone tried to "invade" this privacy, he
was threatened with law suits. An edict
was issued that ail interviews on any subject must be seen and passed upon (or
more accurately censored) by either Bob,
Natalie or aforementioned high-powered
press-agent.
And while all this was going on, said
press-agents planted items in "the better
columns" about Natalie and Bob's expensive new mansion, redecorating plans,
and "upper crust way of life."
Of course, no pictures could be shown.
That would be "invasion of privacy."
Can you guess what happened, Bobby
and Sandra?
Well, pretty soon the press, fed up with
this kind of attitude, stopped begging Bob
and Nat to change their minds, and stopped
writing about them—period.
Natalie began to disappear from covers,
and ironically, she was replaced by—you,
Sandra. And do you know what else
happened?
The fans stopped caring. Their collective attitude seemed to be "if Nat and
Bob don't care about us, we don't care
about them."
Their names dropped from the tops of
the magazine polls. And the mail asking
for stories slowed down to a trickle.
And it's no secret to anyone who read
Variety what happened at the box-office.
When Natalie and Bob finally agreed to
co-star together (forgetting that they too
said that they wouldn't mix business and
pleasure for the sake of their marriage),
the picture, All The Fine Young Cannibals,
practically starved to death.
It was about this time that Bob and
Natalie, realizing the mistake they made
in alienating the press and their fans, did
another about-face. They posed at home.
They agreed to romantic-type layouts.
They began to discuss their marriage.
Only a very sad thing happened. They
couldn't recapture the same interest and
popularity they once enjoyed. Because that
interest and popularity was now all yours,
Sandy and Bobby, to do with as you
wished.
That's why we ask you kids to stop—
and reconsider what you are doing to
your public—and with your lives.
It's still not too late to turn back—and
take the other road. You'll still get everything you want—and you'll retain the love
and admiration of everyone around you.
But we fear if you continue to race at
a dizzying pace along the road you're on
now, you'll crash against a concrete wall
on a dead end street.
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