Margarita Sierra

Spanish actress-dancer-singer who starred in one U.S. television series before her early death. A native of Madrid, Sierra was an accomplished tap dancer at the age of four. She appeared throughout her childhood in children's shows and later in nightclubs as a dancer and singer, touring Spain and Central and South America. At the age of 20, she arrived in the U.S. on a nightclub tour. She was a hit appearing on the Jack Paar show, but got her big break in television when Warner Bros. executive William T. Orr spotted her in performance at the Persian Room in New York. He signed her to a contract and gave her the starring role of "Cha Cha O'Brien" in the series Surfside 6 (1960). The show ran two seasons, and Sierra returned to nightclub performances. In the spring of 1963, Sierra was overcome by a heart ailment and had heart surgery. After several months, she was hospitalized again in Hollywood, where she died on September 6, at the age of 27.