- Born
- Birth nameDonna Zukor
- Height5′ 4″ (1.63 m)
- Born in Boston, Donna was a child performer: she won an amateur talent show, sang a jingle for Meadow Gold Ice Cream, performed on radio shows, appeared as a guest on the The Mickey Mouse Club (1955), and recorded several singles, all before she was 10 years old. In 1963 she was chosen, after a nationwide talent search, to become the spokesperson for Dr. Pepper and subsequently became the one and only "Dr Pepper Girl". For five years, she was on billboards, in magazines, and on television and in movies as the teenage spokesperson for the soft drink. For her personal appearances, she designed and sewed most of her own costumes, a talent which would come in very handy later in her career. The Dr. Pepper gig led to a role in the second Frankie Avalon / Annette Funicello beach movie, Muscle Beach Party (1964). She was originally assigned a non-speaking role holding a soft-drink bottle (guess which soft drink), but the producers decided to let her perform a song instead. She performed the Brian Wilson-penned "Muscle Bustle" with Dick Dale, and the song's success led to her appearing in a featured musical number in later beach movies. Her brunette beauty and strong voice were welcome additions to the films. She could do no more than sing and speak a few lines in those pictures because her contract with Dr. Pepper forbade her to wear any outfit that showed her navel. She became a regular on the ABC shows Shindig! (1964) and The Milton Berle Show (1966). In 1968 she was even offered the lead in a series called "Two for Penny" to be produced by Aaron Spelling and Danny Thomas. Instead she chose marriage and retirement from performing. Her second husband, Jered Cargman was a member of the 1960s studio surf band Fantastic Baggys. From 1998-2008, Donna and her husband created fashion retailer ADASA Hawaii, which sold many of Donna's own '60's-inspired designs. Donna still sings and writes songs.- IMDb Mini Biography By: subcity
- On March 7, 1947, in Boston, Massachussetts, a 1960s icon was born. A multi-dimensional star, excelling at the 3M's of Hollywood -- music, movies, and modeling -- Donna Loren's name is synonymous with the Swinging 60s era of music, motion pictures, television, and fashion.
Donna began her singing career at the early age of five, when she won second prize on an amateur show. This began the momentum for the next eleven years, when she appeared on shows including Playhouse 90 (1956) and a radio program, "Squeakin' Deacon". At age 8, she sang her first commercial for "Meadow Gold Ice Cream". By nine, she had cut her first record, "I Think It's Almost Christmas Time", and by age 10, she appeared on The Mickey Mouse Club (1955) TV Show.
Donna's popularity heightened in 1963 when she was 16 and was selected to be the first and only "Dr. Pepper Girl". She promoted the soft-drink company for five years on the radio, in a huge billboard campaign, magazines, and personal appearances. One could not pass through any city without seeing the captivating image of the young beauty gracing the streets.
Her big break catapulted her to bigger screens, namely five prominent singing/acting roles in popular teen motion pictures including Bikini Beach (1964), Muscle Beach Party (1964), Pajama Party (1964), Sergeant Dead Head (1965), and Beach Blanket Bingo (1965), alongside Frankie Avalon, Annette Funicello, Tommy Kirk, Deborah Walley, and many other popular stars. Donna also appeared on numerous iconic television shows throughout the sixties, including roles on Batman (1966), The Monkees (1965), The Red Skelton Hour (1951), Gomer Pyle: USMC (1964), Dr. Kildare (1961), and The Hollywood Squares (Daytime) (1965). She was also the featured female vocalist on the wildly popular weekly ABC show, Shindig! (1964). After "Shindig", Donna appeared with Bobby Rydell as a regular on The Milton Berle Show (1966). By the end of the swinging decade, Donna had released 20 singles and the LP soundtrack from Beach Blanket Bingo (1965). A CD entitled "The Very Best of Donna Loren: Beach Blanket Bingo" was released by Collectables Records in 2000.
In 1968 she was chosen by Danny Thomas and Aaron Spelling to have her own television series entitled, "Two for Penny". However, at the height of her career, Donna decided to retire from show business, get married, and devote her energies to raising a family.
Throughout her entire Hollywood career, Donna Loren designed and created her own clothing. In 1963, she did a commercial for the Simplicity Pattern Company, a premonition of her successful future as a celebrity fashion designer. From 1997 to 2007, her "passion for fashion" resulted in her own line of clothing and three successful boutiques under the ADASA name in Hawaii. Reintroducing the 1960's fun style of clothing, Donna married French imported textiles with a fashionable tropical flair. -Adam Gerace
A new CD (Magic - The 80's Collection) of 11 tracks Donna recorded in the 80s with 'James Burton' and the TCB (Elvis) Band was released in August, 2009. Fans will be thrilled to know that today, Donna is back in the studio making new music. Stay tuned...- IMDb Mini Biography By: JC (www.donnaloren.net) - A compilation CD of all of Donna's Capitol Records recordings was released in 2014 entitled "These Are the Good Times: The Complete Capitol Recordings". It includes 8 never-before released tracks. In 2016 Donna released a photographic biography of her career published by Rare Bird Literature entitled "Pop Sixties". In 2020 Donna began her "Love's a Secret Weapon" Podcast with co-host/producer Dr. Adam Gerace. As of April 2022 the podcast is approaching 50-episodes.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Jered Cargman
- SpousesJered Cargman(March 5, 1995 - present) (2 children)Lenny Waronker(1968 - 1986) (divorced, 3 children)
- ChildrenKatherine Waronker
- ParentsRuth Zukovsky
- RelativesLou Zukor(Aunt or Uncle)
- She was one of the few "teenagers" in the AIP "Beach Party" movies who actually was a teenager, having been 17 when she made her first one. Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello were in their mid-20s, and Jody McCrea was 31.
- Gained fame in the 1960s as the one and only "Dr Pepper Girl".
- After retiring from show business in 1969, she married and devoted herself to raising a family.
- In 1995 she moved to Hawaii with her husband and started a successful fashion-design/retail business, putting out her own line of clothing under the ADASA label.
- She released two singles in the early 1980s including a country version of Dusty Springfield's "Wishin' and Hopin'".
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