Lena Zavaroni rocketed to fame in 1974 with her recording of "Ma! he's making eyes at me", and she became the youngest-ever artiste to appear on "Top of The Pops". Her unique talent was introduced to the British public on Thames Television's "Opportunity Knocks" at the end of 1973 and for five weeks running she topped the viewers' voting polls.

 

 

Lena notched up an almost endless succession of "Firsts". She was the youngest-ever performer to appear on a Royal Variety Show where later she was to top the bill for a whole week at the tender age of 14!

In America Lena turned in a show-stopping performance at a Hollywood Charity Gala starring Frank Sinatra and Lucille Ball. During the concert the "I Love Lucy" star said to Lena: "You're special - very special and very,very good". Lena followed that memorable appearance with an outstandingly successful guest spot on American television's "Carol Burnett Show" which has been repeated scores of times.

 

 

In 1977 Lena was chosen to appear before Her Majesty The Queen in a special Royal Charity Gala in Glasgow, which was later screened throughout the entire ITV network. Within a short space of time Lena followed this success by starring in LWTV's "Hi Summer" production. Other television appearances have included "Max's Holiday Hour", "The Lena and Bonnie Show", "The Lenny and Jerry Show", "The Morecambe and Wise Show", and "Lena on Broadway" which was chosen as the BBC entry for the 1978 Golden Sea Swallow Festival in Knokke, Belgium, where it won the coveted Silver Award. In the Spring of 1979 Lena had her very own BBC1 television series "Lena Zavaroni And Her Music" which earned her wide acclaim - followed by two further series in 1980 and 1981 both of which had rave reviews. She has appeared as Special Guest Star in many major TV spectaculars such as "The Batchelors Show", "The Des O'Connor Show", "The Basil Brush Show", "The Larry Grayson Show", and the "Little and Large Christmas Special 1980 to name a few.

Pantomime 1981/82 was new to Lena, playing Maid Marion in "Babes in the Wood" at the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham. This was followed by more cabaret dates and then a short summer season at the White Rock Pavilion .

 

Shortly after that season, due to ill health, Lena decided to take a complete break from show-business for a while. Then, in the Autumn of 1984 she was invited to do a "Des O'Connor Show" for Thames TV, and bravely took the plunge!

 

Lena was overwhelmed by the tremendous public reaction to her emotional return to television, and then went on to appear in "A Night Of A Hundred Stars" for LWT, the "Jimmy Cricket Show" for Central TV, and "Give Us A Clue" for Thames TV. After these successful television spots she felt ready to resume her career full-time, and enjoyed a successful return to the live stage appearing as the Special Guest Star in the "Cannon & Ball Show" for the summer season 1985 at the Opera House, Blackpool.