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Unfortunately, the death of Hunter S. Thompson on Sunday stole our attention from the passing of a true Los Angeles icon. Before Blue Crush, before Roxy gear, even before Sally Field, there was Sandra Dee playing Gidget on the big screen and, perhaps single-handedly, letting girls know that they could surf too. She died Sunday at the age of 62.
We particularly like what movie critic (and California native), Carrie Rickey, had to say about the 60s Teen star in the Philadelphia Inquirer:
Dee was a perky agent of cultural change. Before Gidget, surfing was something boys did and girls watched. But Gidget resists being a beach bunny, insists on riding waves alongside the guys. Boys fall in love with her not because she's cute but because she's determined. (Who would believe that the archetypal California girl was the pride of Bayonne, N.J., born Alexandra Zuck?)
Kate Bosworth, the "surfer girl" in 2002's Blue Crush, played Sandra Dee in last year's bio pic about Dee's husband and pop idol, Bobby Darin, Beyond The Sea. It hasn't come out yet on DVD but we're going to save it to our netflix queue anyway right after we find somebody with copies of the Tammy Tyree flicks on video.
