Lena Zavaroni

Here is a cautionary tale to beat most others, of how high child performers can rise and the depths to which they can sink. Lena Zavaroni was a teenage sensation in the mid-'70s but was built up so far by the media that she succumbed to the eating disorder anorexia nervosa and died at the age of just 35. She was born in Rothesay on the Isle of Bute, a small island off the coast of Scotland, on November 4, 1963, and was a regular child performer in talent shows on the island. While she was still only nine years old, she was heard singing in the Athletic Bar on the island by record producer Tommy Scott, who happened to be on vacation at the time. He recommended her to the impresario Phil Solomon, who had been looking for a young girl singer. Despite her age, he immediately spotted a rare talent and brought her down to London to appear on national television in the talent show Opportunity Knocks, on which she topped the viewers' voting poll five weeks running. Early in 1974, her recording of the Johnny Otis 1950s hit "Ma He's Making Eyes at Me" was released and hit the Top Ten, quickly followed by the album Ma, which also reached the Top Ten, peaking at number eight. Because of this chart success, she became the youngest singer to date to appear on the pop program Top of the Pops, and by Easter 1974 she had her first live performance in front of a major audience at the Blackpool Opera House and an appearance in a Hollywood charity show that starred Frank Sinatra and Lucille Ball. Fast becoming a worldwide star, she also appeared on The Carol Burnett Show on TV, sharing a dressing room with Liza Minnelli. By 1975 and with Zavaroni only 11 years old, her single had been successful in many countries throughout Europe and Japan and she was invited to the White House to sing...