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July 11th, 2005
DONNA LOREN: THE GIRL WHO DRANK DR. PEPPER
Donna's first go at the public spotlight as the
Dr. Pepper Girl was in 1963 was as co-host of "Dick Clark's Celebrity Party"
which was really nothing more than a 45 minute Dr. Pepper commercial featuring a
number of celebrities plugging their new albums and movies and performing some
musical numbers. Featured were teen idols such as Paul Peterson, Connie Stevens,
Jan and Dean, Connie Francis, Donna's future co-stars Annette and Frankie and
Dick Dale and the Del-Tones as
It wasn't much long after that Donna, Dr. Pepper
and American International Pictures joined together to create the time capsule
that would make sure that Donna Loren would be seen by future generations
(a.k.a. me). In 1964 Dr. Pepper became a sponsor for the Beach Party movies and
Donna was slated to make a cameo in Muscle Beach Party holding a bottle of Dr.
Pepper. However some genius realized that there was much more talent in Donna
and paired her up with Dick Dale for the musical number "Muscle Bustle" (written
by Brian Wilson). The performance was one of the highlights of the movie which
solidified her inclusion as part of the Beach Party gang. In her next two
outings with Annette, Frankie and the gang in "Bikini
It was at this time that Donna recorded the album
"Donna Loren Sings the Very Best of Beach Blanket Bingo". The album, which has
recently been released on the CD "The Very Best of Donna Loren", is what it is.
It's kind of an uneven album in the sense that while a number of songs, mainly
the songs that didn't appear in
However if promoting Dr. Pepper and appearing in
five Annette and Frankie projects in a two year period weren't enough, Donna
Loren also took another job appearing as a regular songstress on the popular
music program "Shindig!". The first of the rock and roll variety shows of the
1960s, Shindig! featured big rock acts performing their biggest hits,
accompanied by luscious go-go dancers dressed in good girl outfits but dancing
like they belonged in a red light district. Truly tantalizing and exciting stuff
in the early sixties. However, Shindig! kept a few celebrities as regulars, such
as Darlene Love, Bobby Sherman and, of course, Donna Loren, to sing the hits
when they were unable to get the real singers to sing them. It was also at this
time that Donna did seven consecutive appearances on Dr. Kildare in the role of
Anna Perona. Now the question is when the hell did the girl manage to sleep? At
age 18 she was getting more exposure than any teenage girl in America. One must
assume she was running on adrenaline or something. That's a lot of work for your
average 18 year old. Mind you, she was truly living the teen
Donna stopped appearing in AIP movies in 1965 but she wasn't out of the spotlight yet. Besides still representing Dr. Pepper, Donna made two major pop culture appearances between 1966 and 1967. The first was in the Adam West "Batman" series. Playing a cheerleader that Robin was in love with in the two part "The Joker Goes to School" and "He Meets His Match, That Ghastly Ghoul", Donna got to finally play what she never played before - a bad girl. Donna's character "Susie" was actually a cronie of Cesar Romero's Joker who was trying to corrupt Gotham's youth by putting silver dollars in milk machines. A year later Donna played Davy Jones' romantic interest of the week, Princess Colette Yaduin, on an episode of The Monkees. Her performances on Batman and The Monkees only strengthened her pop culture appeal. Then, all too soon, 1967 was the beginning of the
end of Donna's short but successful show business career. Just as her Dr. Pepper
contract ended she joined the regular cast of Milton Berle's new variety show.
However,
So where is Donna Loren now? Well Donna is a partner in the Hawaii-based fashion company ADASA (http://www.adasa.com/ ). However, to those who lived in the 1960s she will always be remembered as the pretty dark haired singer in the Beach Party movies or the girl who drank Dr. Pepper. In fact, I think later today I'm going to go and purchase a Dr. Pepper and think of Donna Loren as I drink it cause, well, I'm a Pepper too I guess. HEY! ARE YOU INTERESTED IN SEEING MORE OF DONNA LOREN, OR INTERESTED IN 1960s POP CULTURE?
See Donna Loren sing "It Only Hurts When I Cry" from Beach Blanket Bingo See Donna Loren sing "Love's a Secret Weapon" while Candy Johnson shakes her thing in Bikini Beach See Donna Loren sing in "Sargent Deadhead" "Holy Dr.
Pepper Girl Batman!" See Donna Loren with Adam West and Burt Ward on
"Batman" "Hey, Hey It's Donna Loren!" See Donna Loren with Davy Jones on "The Monkees"
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The true sign that we are in the sure fire,
full swing of summer is when CITY TV do their Annette and Frankie Beach Party
marathons. For one week each year CITY TV designates their afternoon movie to
the cheap and corny romps of surfing, bikinis, motorcycles, music and early
battle-of-the-sexes frolic and fun. Ever since I was a kid I have, for some
reason, had a soft spot for these films. Nobody can really understand why. I'm
not sure I even understand why. However, since I was a young teenager I have
collected and enjoyed the antics of Frankie, Dee Dee, Bonehead, Candy, Eric Von
Zipper, Big Drop and all their guys, gals and foils. And then there are the
girls... WOWZA! So much eye candy on that beach. But for me there was one
special girl on that beach I always looked for. No, it wasn't Annette. It wasn't
Marta Kristen or Linda Evans or Luciana Paluzzi or even Candy Johnson. No, it
was the dark haired, dark eyed angel who sang "It Only Hurts When I Cry" in
Beach Blanket Bingo. With the plink plink of the guitar and the enthusiastic
encouragement of "Go Donna!" I lost my heart to Donna Loren. Now growing up in
the eighties and nineties, when I discovered these films, I was a bit lost about
exactly who and what Donna Loren was. To me she was nothing more than a girl
that was found in the background of the Beach Party movies. She wasn't quite a
character exactly, as she didn't have any lines nor did she participate in much
of the action. However, being rewarded with a solo performance in Bikini Beach
and Beach Blanket Bingo and a duet with Dick Dale of the Del-Tones (recently
regaining fame when their song Misirlou was used as the opening theme for
Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction") in Muscle Beach Party, I had to assume that
Donna Loren was more than just a face in the crowd. Thus I recently went on a
search for the beautiful Donna Loren who had held a few of my heartstrings since
I was fifteen. How was I to know that I was to find a figure richly imbedded in
pop culture history? How the career of Donna Loren had escaped me all these
years hurts my brain and why this multi-talented model, actress and singer is
not more of a house hold name in the current century remains a mystery. So come
friends as Confessions of a Pop Culture Addict introduces you
to:
Donna
Loren was far more than just a girl on the beach. By the time she was ten years
old Donna was working in commercials, talent shows, radio and even making
recordings and a token appearance on "The Mickey Mouse Club". However it wasn't
until 1963 and at the age of sixteen that Donna Loren's career would really take
off when she won a national talent search by Dr. Pepper for the teenage
spokesperson for their drink. Thus began Donna Loren's five year career as "The
Dr. Pepper Girl". With her face being featured on Dr. Pepper ads, billboards,
television commercials, radio spots and every other type of advertising
imaginable Donna became a familiar sight in America's collective consciousness.
However Dr. Pepper had gotten much more than they had bargained for and it
certainly did pay off. Donna had both a radiant smile and that special
charismatic quality which made America sit up and take notice. However Donna
Loren didn't simply have a talent for just sitting about and looking pretty
while holding a bottle of Dr. Pepper - Donna Loren could also act and sing! Dr.
Pepper had a bonafide potential teenage celebrity on their hands.
well as a
few odd choices such as Wayne Newton, Johnny Mathis and Nino and April. The
special was oddly scheduled only a week after the Kennedy assassination so its
success was questionable, however the world would be introduced to the talents
of Donna Loren in a strong way. On the special she performed two musical numbers
- the slow country ballad "I Can't Make My Heart Say Goodbye" and was backed by
the Challengers on "Bill Bailey".
Beach"
and "Beach Blanket Bingo" Donna received similar musical numbers. The best of
the bunch was definitely Beach Blanket Bingo's "It Only Hurts When I Cry". Donna
also appeared in Annette's "Pajama Party" and Frankie's "Sargent
Deadhead".
the Beach Party
movies, are rather good, the rest of the songs just sort of lack something. The
highlights of the album include the Lesley Gore-ish "Ten Good Reasons", the
garage sound of "So, Do the Zonk", a slow ballad called "I'm Just a Little Girl"
and, of course, "It Only Hurts When I Cry". However some of Donna's covers from
the Beach Party films such as "I Think You Think" and "Beach Blanket Bingo"
aren't what one would call stellar. Firstly, I think part of the problem is that
the songs, which were originally written to be duets between Annette and Frankie
are recorded by Donna as solos thus they don't seem quite right. Perhaps it's
just that I am used to hearing these songs as they are done in the films. Also,
Donna's vocal range and Annette's vocal range are completely different. I prefer
Donna's strong and confident voice to Annette's squeaky under-developed one,
however in these recordings Donna seems to try to imitate Annette's style, or
sometimes the opposite happens when the song just doesn't seem to fit Donna's
style. Furthermore, the songs are all likeable enough but lack any depth -
especially with the caliber of
music
that was being produced in the sixties. With a world that was still reveling in
the British Invasion Donna's album didn't take the cake. However this was no
fault of Donna's. Her recordings display a strong and sensational voice. One
must wonder what could have happened if she had been working with better
producers or songwriters such as Phil Spector, Billy Strange or Burt Bacharach
and Hal David. A real wasted opportunity which we'll always have to wonder "What
if..." about. Under better musical direction Donna could have been another
Jackie DeShannon or Dionne Warwick. She definitely had the talent. Yet, despite
the lack of depth that might be in the songs, they all remain to be likeable.
queen
dream in the mid sixties. Who knows what the reality was?
with "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." in the same time slot,
Berle's show was cancelled after only one season. A performance on The Danny
Thomas Show and a guest spot on "Gomer Pyle, USMC" in 1968 would be Donna's last
two pieces of television work. However this wasn't by failure but by choice.
Danny Thomas and Aaron Spelling offered Donna a series called, "Two For Penny"
as a spin off from her appearance on The Danny Thomas Show. However Donna turned
it down to marry and to retire at the ripe old age of twenty-one. Twenty-one!
Can you imagine retiring at twenty-one? It only proved that Donna's continuous
hard work had truly paid off. Thus after 1968 Donna Loren disappeared from the
world of film, television and music to become little more than a memory to the
people that were there, and a "Donna Who?" to those who weren't. Perhaps it's no
wonder that I hadn't heard of Donna Loren.
I can't express enough how much I recommend that
you visit Donna Loren's website at 