Lena Hilda Zavaroni was born on the 4th November 1963 in Greenock Scotland. Lena spent the first 10 years of her life in the town of Rothesay on the Isle of Bute where she lived with her father Victor, mother Hilda and little sister Carla. When Lena was 10 she entered the TV talent contest Opportunity Knocks and won the show five weeks in a row. To follow this Lena recorded an album ‘Ma! He’s Making Eyes at Me’ which reached number 8 in the UK album charts. Lena is still the youngest person to have an album in the UK top 10 and she is also the youngest person ever to appear on Top Of The Pops. Lena appeared on many other TV shows including The Golden Shot and Junior Showtime.
In 1974 Lena hit America by storm; she appeared on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, The Merv Griffin Show, The MDA Telethon with Jerry Lewis, The Carol Burnett Show and The Cher Show a Hollywood charity event which starred Frank Sinatra and Lucille Ball. Lena even performed at the White House for President Gerald Ford. After visiting America Lena travelled to Japan, South Africa and Europe, and was a huge hit everywhere she went.
Lena’s talent for singing was compared to the likes of Liza Minelli and Judy Garland and she was described as the ‘little girl with the big voice’. Standing just 4 feet 2 inches Lena was tiny, but even so her huge singing voice made it difficult for people to believe she was only 10 years old.
After Lena returned to the UK she appeared in many TV shows such as, The Bachelors Show where she appeared weekly, Seaside Special, The Russell Harty Show, The Des O’Connor Show, The Morecambe & Wise Show, Wheel Tappers & Shunters Club, she also appeared weekly on Hi Summer and guested on Bruce’s Big Night. When Lena was just 15 she was given her very own TV show called Lena Zavaroni And Her Music, it was a huge success and was followed by 3 more series in 1980/81/82. The shows were full of hit songs and Lena would always sing live to an orchestra. Each series Lena would invite many famous guests to appear on her shows. Lena was also a talented dancer and natural comedy performer.
From the age of 13 Lena attended the Italia Conti Theatre School and struck up a friendship with fellow child star Bonnie Langford. They went on to make a show called The Lena and Bonnie Easter Special which was a huge hit, unfortunately the girls would not make another show together.
Lena also performed in the Royal Variety Shows, Live at Her Majesty’s, Live From the Piccadilly and A Royal Celebration Of Youth where she was introduced by Dame Vera Lynn, and she appeared in many pantomimes and on chat shows such as Des O’Connor, Pebble Mill, Good Morning, Crackerjack, The Lucy Meacock Show and many others.
Lena enjoyed her singing and worked very hard, but sometimes found it difficult as she had suffered from Anorexia from the age of 13, and she would also suffer badly from depression.
Lena found love and married her only boyfriend Peter Wiltshire in 1989. The marriage was only to last 18 months and the couple parted not long after Lena had lost her mother Hilda in tragic circumstances.
Lena worked very little after this and her final TV appearance was in Summer Praise that was filmed on the Isle of Bute. After years of suffering from Anorexia Lena appeared frail, but she still had her humour and when she wasn’t singing appeared to be the same shy person she had been as a child. I think Lena will always be fondly remembered for her wonderful personality. Sadly Lena died on the 1st October 1999 at the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff following an operation to ease her severe depression.
I was not lucky enough to meet Lena, but my grandmother did take me to see her perform live in Margate. It was an occasion I will always remember because Lena was fantastic and so full of confidence, you would not have believed she was a shy person as she oozed personality and never stopped smiling.
It is sad that we will never see Lena appear live again, but I am thankful for the recordings Lena has left for us all and I enjoy listening and watching her singing time and time again. Lena was an amazing performer and never faltered, according to those that knew and worked with her she was as kind and sweet as she appeared on screen, she always wanted to meet with her fans and would always give her all for them.
Thank you for everything Lena.
R.I.P
