Cindy Carol(I)
- Actress
Dainty, brown-eyed 60s starlet, best known for being the third iteration of Gidget. She was born Annette Carol Sydes, one of four siblings, to high school English teacher Thomas Sydes and his wife Ruth (née Meadows). In her mid-teens, Carol made several TV commercials for diverse products, ranging from Frisky Cat Foods and Noxzema skin cleanser to Fritos corn chips. Though her father disapproved of her acting aspirations, Carol persisted and accidentally finagled a guest spot in the TV series Medic (1954) for which her older brother (Anthony Sydes) was auditioning. Cast in bit parts for her first two years in show biz, she appeared several times on the sitcom Leave It to Beaver (1957) (still credited as Carol Sydes) and then became a fixture on The New Loretta Young Show (1962) as one of the lead characters' seven children. Though the series was axed after just 26 episodes, Carol managed to get herself selected from among 500 other applicants by producer Jerry Bresler for the coveted role of diminutive surfing beach bunny Gidget for the feature film Gidget à Rome (1963) (Deborah Walley, who had been Gidget's second screen incarnation, had become unavailable, due to matrimony and impending motherhood). Signed to a seven-year contract by Columbia at a respectable starting salary of $300 per week, Carol underwent the usual studio publicity campaign, had her hair colour changed to blonde and her name to the sweeter-sounding Cindy Carol.
She had just one significant moment on the big screen, as Pandora Leaf, the crafty 18-year old daughter of a college professor (James Stewart) in the family comedy Chère Brigitte (1965). Most of the plaudits in the junior acting stakes went to Bill Mumy, as Pandora's mathematically gifted brother. Carol's swansong was a recurring role on the daytime soap Never Too Young (1965), which was aimed at the teenage market. She retired from acting in 1966, and, as Carol Annette Connelly, devoted herself to raising a family. Her second husband, the actor Christopher Connelly, died from lung cancer in December 1988, aged just 47.
She had just one significant moment on the big screen, as Pandora Leaf, the crafty 18-year old daughter of a college professor (James Stewart) in the family comedy Chère Brigitte (1965). Most of the plaudits in the junior acting stakes went to Bill Mumy, as Pandora's mathematically gifted brother. Carol's swansong was a recurring role on the daytime soap Never Too Young (1965), which was aimed at the teenage market. She retired from acting in 1966, and, as Carol Annette Connelly, devoted herself to raising a family. Her second husband, the actor Christopher Connelly, died from lung cancer in December 1988, aged just 47.
