Real tragedy behind the little girl with the big voice; tvpreview.
THERE is a chilling moment midway through The Real Lena Zavaroni that I still can't get out of my mind.It was a piece of footage from a TV special which showed the Scots' child star performing the song Going Nowhere.
Lena belted out the sad lyrics in a powerful voice which drew comparisons with Judy Garland or Liza Minnelli.
But there was nothing behind her vacant expression - she was clearly a poor tortured soul.
That image was far more shocking than any of the pictures which showed just how the eating disorder anorexia nervosa had ravaged her slender frame.
When Lena died in 1999 - at the age of 35 - showbusiness was robbed of a real talent.
"I think she could have gone on to be another Barbra Streisand," is how theatrical agent Dorothy Solomons recalled her former client.
This compelling documentary to be shown on Channel Four on Wednesday at 10pm, looks back at the tragic life of the "little girl with the big voice".
It celebrates the great achievements of the Scots lass who was brought up on Rothesay. But inevitably, the profile focuses on the awful circumstances which led to her untimely death.
Lena rocketed to fame in 1974 when she won Opportunity Knocks five times in a row at the tender age of nine.
She lived to be a star - but, sadly, it was stardom that killed her.
"She wasn't a precocious little girl. She just enjoyed singing," said her father, Victor Zavaroni.
"When she sang for President Ford and met stars like Frank Sinatra and Lucille Ball, it was unbelievable. I expected to wake up from a dream."
The dream was soon to turn into a nightmare. When Lena hit the big time she was packed off to London to live with agent Dorothy Solomons. The stifling atmosphere of living with adults in a big city most certainly took its toll.
And Solomons spoke in a detached way about the child star placed in her care.
She said: "Due to her age, Lena could only do 39 dates a year. There wasn't the opportunity for her to make a lot of money."
I'm sure Solomons cared for Lena - but you'd never guess it from her unemotional manner. At the age of 14, concern grew about Lena's health. She was painfully thin - and anorexia nervosa began to strangle her in a vice- like grip.
Victor Zavaroni said: "I thought it was just the transition between being a teenager and an adult - I never thought in a million years she wasn't eating."
It was also eerie to hear Lena's younger sister Carla - who looks uncannily like her - describe that period.
"Her illness overtook her life completely," said Carla. "She had changed - the sister I was looking for wasn't there any more."
Lena's sad end makes shocking viewing. Her career was over by 19 - and video footage of an ill- fated comeback eight years later is disturbing.
At the end of her life, the brightest star from the Isle of Bute was a pitiful figure who lived on state benefits.
Strange as it seems, The Real Lena Zavaroni could have some educational value. If just one troubled teenage girl, who suffers from anorexia nervosa, watches this documentary and decides to sort out her life - then Lena Zavaroni's legacy will be much more than an amazing voice.
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| Title Annotation: | Features |
|---|---|
| Author: | Sloan, Billy |
| Publication: | Sunday Mail (Glasgow, Scotland) |
| Date: | Feb 20, 2000 |
| Words: | 558 |
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