I did not find out until this year that this girl (Bridgette Andersen) had passed away. I couldn't believe it, because I liked the movie so much, and it has held up well over the past two decades! There are tons of reviews on Amazon.com from people who love this film. They should be here too.
sharethat is so sad do you know how she died she was so young!!! i swear I must have watched savannah smiles three or four times a week when I was a kid
shareShe died of a heroin overdose in 1997 according to the IMDB.
shareThat's so tragic. Another former child star turns to drugs and self-destructs :(. I remember seeing her in a few things when she was older, 10-12 ish. I suppose she became depressed as an adult, and was trying to drown out her sorrows? She was such a cute little kid. I also remember seeing her in an interview on "Entertainment Tonight" I think it was, around 1982. She was telling the reporter that she told her dad she wanted to be an actress (when she was 4 or 5), so he said, "okay" and got her signed up with an agency. I guess it was as easy as that for her!
shareYou can get the information here:
http://www.starletsdatabase.com/Star_Pages/Bridgette_Andersen/
They have no pictures of here from when she was older. I'd love to see one of her at 20 or 21, but she may not have wanted any taken. :-(
The site hasn't been updated in a while--send 'em a msg and see if they're still maintaining it.
I was named after the character she played in this movie, and it's really kind of shocking to me that she's dead, having just found out.
shareI was also named after this movie. My sister was nine when my mom was pregnant, and she said, "Oh, Mom, that's such a pretty name; if we have a girl, can we name her Savannah?" ...or so the family lore goes...
sharethats so wierd i was named after this movie also, i think we have beautiful a name and im very grateful i was named after the movie and the song "when savannah smile!"
shareDoes anyone know who sings that song When Savannah Smiles? It is such a pretty song, it gives my chills when I hear it! I would love to find it. Thanks!
shareI wanted to name my daughter Savannah after this movie. I had always wanted to name my daughter Savannah. My husband wouldn't allow it. He was abusive and had to control everything.
I just found out that this actress died. So young too. It's so sad. She had so much potential.
and the adult movie star Savannah chose her name because Savannah Smiles was her favourite movie...she died of a suicide at age 24
shareShe was in an episode of the Golden Girls. She played Rose's granddaughter, Charley. Named after Rose's late husband. This was around the late 80s or early 90s. She looked to be about in her pre-teens. It is so sad that she is gone.
shareThe last time I saw her on any show was that episode on the Golden Girls.
shareI loved watching the movie when I was young, I actually saw it in the movie theater when it came out. I actually just found out today on IMDB that she had passed away, lord what a waste.
shareThe morning after I found out she had died I broke down and cried my eyes out. Not a healthy thing to do while attempting to drive to work.
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Savannah Smiles is one of my favorite movies of all time. I'll never forget the scene when Alfie says goodbye and then Savannah runs across the little stream to her Mom who gives her a hug. The mom gives Alfie a look of "Thank-You" to Alfie. what a tear jearker and what a shame that the little girl passed away.
shareGrowing up we used to rent this every weekend. I recently bought the movie on ebay and my 3 year old son loves the movie. He can recite parts and for a while was watching it 2 times daily!! I was looking yesterday for recent photographs of what she looks like now and found out she had died. How horrible!! I had to email my sisters right away cause I know that they did not know. I wont be able to watch the movie now without thinking of her passing.
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To me what is sad is not that she had an overdose, but that I, one of her fans, was not there to help when she first became a heroin addict. I don't think of her as an idiot who did drugs, but as an actress who could have had a long and successful career.
The morning after I found out I broke down and cried my eyes out. It didn't matter to me what mistakes she had made, only that she was gone.
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MichaelCheritto, it's unfortunate that your poor understanding of both how addiction works and general human psychology is expressed in such an insenstive and ignorant way. I really hope you get to experience more in life and learn that nothing ever exists in such concrete, black-and-white terms. I imagine one day you might come back to this posting and find you've grown into someone more understanding and experienced, or at least less hateful. I hope so, anyway, for the worlds' sake - we certainly need fewer ill-informed, judgmental people out there.
shareJust saw this movie for the first time yesterday. Words cannot express my dismay when I found out the actress who played the little girl died young. How tragic...
the Hollywood lifestyle destroyed another life.
My lasting image in this movie is near the beginning when Savannah is standing at the window sadly waving good-bye to her parents as they drive off to some social function leaving her alone again with the nanny. That is an event that happens way too often in real life.
Until a few minutes ago, I never new that Bridgette Anderson passed away, I'm still in shock. I used to love watching her on Savannah Smiles, I was hooked on that movie when I was kid. I'm not sure which came first, but I've also seen her on Golden Girls and Parent Trap 2.
shareI just found out she had died, very sad When there's no more room in hell, The dead will walk the earth...