EP 35: Sandra Dee

This week Chanty and Lynx step back in time to give you the story behind dream lovers Bobby Darin and Sandra Dee. Joined by modern day crooner and friend Alex Bird, Lynx and Alex tell Chanty not only Sandra’s life story but Bobby’s as well.

Both Sandra and Bobby’s childhood experiences with illness and abuse would forever shape both of their careers and their relationship with one another. Meeting on set in Italy in 1960 it was (almost) love at first sight for Bobby and Sandra. By the end of the shoot the pair were engaged and would marry within 3 months of meeting. Within the year, Sandra would be pregnant with their son Dodd. While they truly loved each other, they both were struggling with issues stemming back from childhood.

Having given a life expectancy he’d already passed, Bobby was determined to become a legend before it was too late, pouring all of his energy into his career in both music and film. Sandra was more self destructive, having experienced sexual abuse since the age of 5 and being raised by an overbearing mother with strange ideas involving mealtimes; Sandra would rebel by limiting her food intake and self medicating with alcohol. While their personal issues would lead to their eventual divorce, they would remain very close until Bobby’s death at the age of 37 in 1973. Bobby’s death would hit Sandra hard and she would never again be with another man.

It wasn’t until the early 1990’s that Sandra would publicly discuss the traumas of her childhood and face her alcoholism and anorexia. In 1993 their son, along with Sandra’s help wrote ‘Dream Lovers: The Magnificent Shattered Lives of Bobby Darin & Sandra Dee’. Sandra received an outpouring of love and would spend her remaining years close with her son and 2 grandchildren.

Nowadays it’s rare to find a performer like Darin who can do it all which is one of the reasons our friend Alex Bird is so special. Like Darin, he’s a man of many talents. We want to thank Alex for joining us and for all of his insight.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices