Almost A Woman


This article appeared in the December 1959 issue of Screen Stars Magazine
and was written by May Mann


Finally 17--not a child anymore, not quite a woman --that's Sandra Dee, and no one presents a prettier picture of this strange, in-between age.

What's it like to be 17 and not only famous and attractive, but eager to live and do everything, like Sandra? Well, for one thing--if you are like Sandra-you're definitely not cynical about things, and you're perfectly free of inhibitions.

This is how she spoke the day I interviewed her.
Sandra was curling up cozily in a big chair in her dressing room. It was lunch hour and she was taking a break from work. She doesn't eat lunch, she said, "because it makes me sleepy. I eat a big breakfast, and then a big dinner. But not in between."

"They all tease me about not eating lunch," she explained with a little laugh. Then she grew thoughtful.

"I'm an honest person," she remarked. "I just blurt out what I think. I do it all the time. I guess I'm that way," she sighed. "I'm 17 now. And so," she paused to reflect, "I'm sure I'll keep right on being the same. I like honesty. And besides, being 17 is betwixt and between. I'm not grown up, and I'm not a baby. So I can take my choice. Part of the time I'll be an adult, and the rest of the time I'll be a teenager. I can still get away with it, I hope, until I am 18."

Sandra looked at her nails, shaded a ladylike pastel pink. "They grow so fast, a manicure doesn't even last a week. And this bracelet--they tell me it was Natalie Wood's, but I don't see how she wore it. It's so tight it pinches my arm."

She was speaking of a four inch wide gold bracelet she was wearing. It accented her pretty green jersey wool dress.

"Do you like my,hair?" Sandra asked, her velvety brown eyes contrasting with her pink and white complexion. "It's an abbreviated bubble. When I look at a picture of myself with long hair" -- she picked up a national magazine featuring a long haired Sandra on the cover--"I think it looks terrible. But Mother keeps saying, 'Let it grow back long, Sandy.' But I like it short, don't you?"

On Sandra, hair long or short--or any way for that matter-looks good, you have to admit. She always looks tip-top. But how about her heart? Is that in top condition? "Are you in love yet," I asked.

"No. But you know, it's on my mind. I said to Mother last night, 'Mother, do you think I already know the boy I'll fall in love with? How terrible if it would be someone I don't particularly like right now!'

"No, I'm not in love. I guess I just haven't had the chance or the right break. As it is, I keep thinking about it. It's easy to get into the mood of falling in love, especially after all of these pictures I play in, where I fall in love with Johnny Saxon or some other nice boy. Only then, it's just before the camera. When the make-up is removed, it's all off, and I go home and dream of what it would be like if it had happened to me, and if it were really for real.

Sandra and Troy Donahue
"Here's an example," she said, "In Summer Place I play opposite Troy Donahue. He's 22 and a real doll. We had a studio date to a premiere and I was quite excited about it. Troy had been under contract to my own studio, UI, but I hadn't noticed him much until now; but working in the same picture, all his charms came into full focus. I thought, well, working on the picture and all, when we went on location in Monterey, one of the most romantic places in the world, it would be wonderful.

"We'd probably go boating or for long walks, and maybe we'd see the moon through the pine trees. So what happened? The first day we were there, his girl friend and her mother arrived to visit him. I didn't even know Troy had a girlfriend.

"Of course, Johnny Saxon always had girl friends, too. So where does that leave me? I guess being between 15 and 16 was the reason I lost out. But now that I'm 17, I think I'll rate their attention a little more seriously. They'll have to regard me as a woman, not just a kid--I hope."

Sandra's eyes started to shine and she said, "Remember, May, when we talked before and you said I should meet Ricky Nelson? Well, I finally met him on the Peter Potter Show. And he was wonderful!" As Sandra said it, she twisted a little gold ring on her little finger. "My daddy's family crest, and I wear it for good luck."

Getting back to Ricky, I said, "I'm glad you two liked each other. I think Ricky is the nicest boy I ever met, and with his blue eyes and dark hair, and your brown eyes and blonde hair, the two of you should be quite a combination!"

Sandra smiled! "It was fun meeting him," she said.
"It sounds funny, I know, but it's true," she went on. "I seldom date. I don't have much of a chance to meet boys my age. I did meet a couple of boys from UCLA. They were at Mother's friends' on Thanksgiving. One of them called back a few days later and asked me out to dinner. I suggested Malibu by the sea, because that's where we made Gidget. It was all so new going out for a date on my own, and not a studio premiere or a party. I liked it. He was nice, very nice.

"Then it was my luck," Sandra said, "to be called on location, and to go on a PA tour with a picture. And then we moved and bought a new house which had a different telephone number, and I haven't heard from him. He may have tried. But you know how it is. Film people's telephone numbers are unlisted, and no one can get through the iron curtain of a studio to get the number. I know, because I tried to get my director's number and I couldn't.

"Sometimes I get a crush on an actor before a picture," Sandra admitted. "I liked Johnny Saxon for a while, and then I had a crush on Jack Gavin, and now I go for Cary Grant. But once you work with a person, it's not the same. Troy, however, is a real doll. He's got a quick mind. He can talk about other subjects besides movies. Everyone else talks movies constantly. But he has other interests, and that makes him conversationally very stimulating."

At this point, the topic of Edd Byrnes came up--naturally--because there have been so many stories about her "romance" with Edd. Sandra's smile was a little mysterious, but she said she wasn't ready yet to comment freely on the subject. But at this point it's surely safe to assume that Edd and Sandra definitely do enjoy each other's company, and she has gone out with him more than a few times. They obviously like to date each other. And whether this is a romance--well, let's just say that's up to Sandra and Edd and the future.

"I love to dance," Sandra observed. "Just love to dance very slowly and smoothly. I don't go for the rock 'n roll routine, but few boys know how to dance slow."

Looking at Sandra it was not hard to see why she prefers the quieter type of dancing to the real bop stuff. Not that Sandra is retiring or shy or dull! Not at all. But there's a lot of sophistication about this charming teenager that doesn't quite fit in with hot rods and rock 'n roll.

"On the PA tour in Texas, I had a ball! It was the first time I had been around a lot of kids in my own age group. I loved it. I liked it so much, I didn't want to leave. They had college dances in two of the different towns. And I saw one boy. I don't know why, but out of thousands, one boy will often catch your eye. And this boy was the one. He had a blonde crew cut, and he was tall and well built. When he looked at me, something happened. I kept watching for him, but he never came back.

"Most of the kids stood around asking questions. A thousand kids, I guess, in one day, but I looked up and saw him. But nothing came of it. Maybe he has a girlfriend, like all the rest. Maybe that's why he didn't come back. I wish that he had, because I know that he felt something too, just by the way we looked at each other."

The PA Texas tour proved over again how very popular Sandra is with teenagers all over the country. In just a short time she's become one of the idols with the young set, with girls as well as boys. To teenage girls she seems best to fit the picture of what they would like to be: Just the right combination of sweet young charm and womanly tastes and ideas.

As for the boys--well, Sandra can't help but know how her young male fans feel about her! The PA tour was just an example of how teenage boys (and not only those in their teens!) feel about Sandra.

"I receive flowers, gold chains, handkerchiefs, and loads of notes like, 'I dig you,' 'Any chance to meet you?' 'You're my dream--and I love it," Sandra said. "It makes me feel good."

But she knows this is fan-worship, and not something which she becomes directly involved in. What she's ready --and waiting--for is a real, true emotion. You can see the beginnings of a little glow in her eyes, what will probably become something very special for a very special someone, when she says, "And now, if love would just show up."

Love, of course, will someday come to Sandra. It has to. The only question is when or how it will come. Sandra regards each boy she meets with a questioning look in her big eyes. You can almost read her mind: Will this be the one? So far, a real love has eluded her. But all her waiting and dreaming has not been in vain. When love does come, Sandra will be ready to accept it with maturity. She will know that it is the real thing at last. For a person like Sandra, you can bet Dan Cupid will not take any detours, but someday--and maybe soon--he'll show up right at her front door. And, meanwhile, that's the way it is with Sandra at 17.


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