|
Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZANDREWS, Julie(b Julia Elizabeth Wells, 1 October 1935, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, UK) Actress, singer. She performed in music halls as a child in Ted and Barbara Andrews's family act. She was in a London show Starlight Roof '47 and on radio in the late '40s- 50s, especially in the series Educating Archie, co-starring with ventriloquist Peter Brough's dummy. Her very English voice was ideal for typical British musical roles: she played Polly Brown in NYC production of Sandy Wilson's The Boy Friend '54, then a major triumph in Lerner and Loewe's My Fair Lady NYC '56, London '58, introducing songs 'Wouldn't It Be Loverly', 'I Could Have Danced All Night'; then played Queen Guinevere in their Camelot '60. Ignored by a casting director when My Fair Lady was filmed '64 (in favour of Audrey Hepburn, whose singing voice had to be dubbed by Marni Nixon), she gained the lead that year in Walt Disney's film Mary Poppins and won an Oscar for Best Actress. Her many other films included Sound Of Music '65 (one of the biggest grossers of all time), Thoroughly Modern Millie '67, Star! '68 (playing Gertrude Lawrence), Darling Lili '69 etc. An ABC-TV variety series flopped '73, but had a hit Las Vegas nightclub act '76. Her second husband, direcor Blake Edwards, once described her image as so sweet that people thought she probably has violets between her legs; she challenged that image by appearing nude in film S.O.B. '81, then played woman passing as female impersonator in Victor/Victoria '81. She once wore a badge saying 'Mary Poppins is a Junkie'. She did a show called Julie And Carol At Carnegie Hall (with Carol Burnett); became a country singer '83 with an album Love Me Tender (the title cut a duet with Johnny Cash); other albums (as well as film soundtracks): Cinderella on Columbia is from the CBS-TV production '57 of the Rodgers & Hammerstein show; Broadway's Fair Julie '62 was on Columbia, then on Cameo UK '84, later A Little Bit Of Broadway was a CD; Love, Julie '87 on USA had her backed by a quintet. She turned down an offer to do Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard. Starring in hit NYC musical version of Victor/Victoria '96, produced and directed by Edwards, she refused a nomination for a Tony because she was the only one in the cast so honoured. Julie Andrews Sings '97 on Philips collected songs by Loewe, Lane, Weill and Previn, all with lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, catching all sides of her personality, the voice as good as ever. |