FORMER TEEN STAR MOLLY BEE DEAD AT 69

Last updated: Thursday, February 12, 2009

FORMER TEEN STAR MOLLY BEE DEAD AT 69

MOLLY BEE, one of MILEY CYRUS' predecessors, has died in a California hospital, aged 69.

Born Mollie Gene Beachboard, the singer/actress became a household name in America in the 1950s and 1960s, when she was the teenage star of radio and TV shows The Pinky Lee Show, Hometown Jamboree and The Tennessee Ernie Ford Show.

Bee was just 13 when she signed with Capitol Records and had a massive success with her Christmas hit I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus in 1952.

At 14, she recorded the duet Don?t Start Courtin? in a Hot Rod Ford with Ford, which led to a longtime stint on his popular variety show.

Her TV success failed to halt the hits - she hit the charts with songs like Young Romance and Don?t Look Back.

She went on to star in stage musicals and films like Chartroose Caboose and The Young Swingers in the 1960s.

But her early promise hit a wall as she struggled with drug addiction and marriage problems; she wed five times.

In the mid-1980s, Bee moved to Oceanside, California and opened a restaurant and nightclub.

A memorial celebration is planned for Monday (16Feb09) in Encinitas.

Source: WENN

| Thursday, February 12, 2009

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