Julie Andrews
| Dame Julie Andrews DBE | |
|---|---|
 At Julie Andrews media conference at Park Hyatt, Sydney, Australia, 16 May 2013 | |
| Born |
Julia Elizabeth Wells 1 October 1935 Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England |
| Occupation | Actress, singer, author, theatre director, dancer |
| Years active |
1945–present (stage) 1949–present (screen) |
| Spouse(s) |
Tony Walton (m. 1959; div. 1967) Blake Edwards (m. 1969; his death 2010) |
| Children |
|
Dame Julia "Julie" Elizabeth Andrews, DBE, (née Wells; born 1 October 1935)[1] is an English film and stage actress, singer, author, theatre director and dancer. Andrews, a former child actress and singer, appeared on the West End in 1948, and made her Broadway debut in a 1954 production of The Boy Friend. She rose to prominence starring in musicals such as My Fair Lady and Camelot, both of which earned her Tony Award nominations. In 1957, she appeared on television with the title role in the musical Cinderella, which was seen by over 100 million viewers.
She made her feature film debut in Mary Poppins (1964), with her performance in the title role winning her the Academy Award for Best Actress. She received her second Oscar nomination for The Sound of Music (1965), playing Maria, and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Adjusted for inflation, the latter film is the third-highest grossing film of all time.[2] Between 1964 and 1967, she also had box office successes with, The Americanization of Emily, receiving a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best British Actress in a Leading Role, Hawaii, Alfred Hitchcock's Torn Curtain, and Thoroughly Modern Millie, making her the most successful film star in the world at the time.[3]
In the 1970s, Andrews' film career slowed down following the commercial disappointments of Star!, Darling Lili, and The Tamarind Seed. She returned to prominence with the critical and commercial successes of 10 (1979) and Victor Victoria (1982), receiving a third Academy Award nomination for the latter. During the remainder of the 1980s, she starred in critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful films such as That's Life! and Duet for One, before her career went into eclipse in the 1990s. Andrews' film career revived in the 2000s with the successes of The Princess Diaries (2001), its sequel The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004), the Shrek animated films (2004–2010), and Despicable Me (2010). Her vocal range, which was originally striking, was damaged during a throat operation in 1997. In 2003, Andrews revisited her first Broadway success, this time as a stage director, with a revival of The Boy Friend at the Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, New York.
Andrews is also an author of children's books, and in 2008 published an autobiography, Home: A Memoir of My Early Years, which includes memories of surviving the London Blitz. In addition to an Academy Award, she has won a BAFTA, five Golden Globes, three Grammys, two Emmys, the Disney Legend honor and the Kennedy Center Honors. In 2000, she was made a Dame by Queen Elizabeth II for services to the performing arts. In 2002, she was ranked number 59 in the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons.
Early life
Julia Elizabeth Wells[4] was born on 1 October 1935, in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England.[5][6] Her mother, Barbara Ward Wells (née Morris) was born 1910 in Chertsey[7] and married Edward Charles "Ted" Wells, a teacher of metalwork and woodwork in 1932.[8] However, Andrews was conceived as a result of an affair her mother had with an unnamed family friend.[9] Andrews discovered her true parentage from her mother in 1950,[9][10] although it was not publicly disclosed until her 2008 autobiography.[11]
With the outbreak of World War II, Barbara and Ted Wells went their separate ways and were soon divorced. They both remarried: Barbara to Ted Andrews, in 1943,[12] and Ted Wells, in 1944, to a former hairstylist working a lathe at a war work factory that employed them both in Hinchley Wood, Surrey.[9][10][13] Ted Wells assisted with evacuating children to Surrey during the Blitz, while Barbara joined Ted Andrews in entertaining the troops through the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA).
Andrews lived briefly with Ted Wells and her brother John[14] in Surrey. In 1940, Ted Wells sent young Julia to live with her mother and stepfather, who, the elder Wells thought, would be better able to provide for his talented daughter's artistic training. According to her 2008 autobiography Home, while Julie had been used to calling Ted Andrews "Uncle Ted", her mother suggested it would be more appropriate to refer to her stepfather as "Pop", while her father remained "Dad" or "Daddy" to her. Julie disliked this change.
The Andrews family was "very poor and we lived in a bad slum area of London," Andrews recalled, adding, "That was a very black period in my life." According to Andrews, her stepfather was violent and an alcoholic.[11] Ted Andrews twice, while drunk, tried to get into bed with his stepdaughter, resulting in Andrews fitting a lock on her door.[11] But, as the stage career of Ted and Barbara Andrews improved, they were able to afford to move to better surroundings, first to Beckenham and then, as the war ended, back to the Andrews' home town of Hersham. The Andrews family took up residence at the Old Meuse, in West Grove, Hersham, a house (now demolished) where Andrews' maternal grandmother had served as a maid.[10]
Andrews' stepfather sponsored lessons for her, first at the Cone-Ripman School (now known commonly as ArtsEd), an independent arts educational school in London, then with concert soprano and voice instructor Madame Lilian Stiles-Allen. "She had an enormous influence on me", Andrews said of Stiles-Allen, adding, "She was my third mother – I've got more mothers and fathers than anyone in the world." In her memoir Julie Andrews – My Star Pupil, Stiles-Allen records: "The range, accuracy and tone of Julie's voice amazed me ... she had possessed the rare gift of absolute pitch"[15] (though Andrews herself refutes this in her 2008 autobiography Home).[9][16] According to Andrews: "Madame was sure that I could do Mozart and Rossini, but, to be honest, I never was".[17] Of her own voice, she says "I had a very pure, white, thin voice, a four-octave range – dogs would come for miles around."[17] After Cone-Ripman School, Andrews continued her academic education at the nearby Woodbrook School, a local state school in Beckenham.[18]
Career
Early career in Britain
Beginning in 1945, and for the next two years, Julie Andrews performed spontaneously and unbilled on stage with her parents. "Then came the day when I was told I must go to bed in the afternoon because I was going to be allowed to sing with Mummy and Pop in the evening," Andrews explained. She would stand on a beer crate to sing into the microphone, sometimes a solo or as a duet with her stepfather, while her mother played piano. "It must have been ghastly, but it seemed to go down all right."[19][20]
Julie Andrews gained her big break when her stepfather introduced her to Val Parnell, whose Moss Empires controlled prominent venues in London. Andrews made her professional solo debut at the London Hippodrome singing the difficult aria "Je suis Titania" from Mignon as part of a musical revue called "Starlight Roof" on 22 October 1947. She played the Hippodrome for one year.[9][21] Andrews recalled "Starlight Roof" saying, "There was this wonderful American person and comedian, Wally Boag, who made balloon animals. He would say, 'Is there any little girl or boy in the audience who would like one of these?' And I would rush up onstage and say, 'I'd like one, please.' And then he would chat to me and I'd tell him I sang... I was fortunate in that I absolutely stopped the show cold. I mean, the audience went crazy."[22]
On 1 November 1948, Julie Andrews (aged 13) became the youngest solo performer ever to be seen in a Royal Command Variety Performance, at the London Palladium, where she performed along with Danny Kaye, the Nicholas Brothers and the comedy team George and Bert Bernard for members of King George VI's family.[23][24]
Julie Andrews followed her parents into radio and television.[25] She performed in musical interludes of the BBC Light Programme comedy show Up the Pole and later Educating Archie, of which she was a cast member from 1950 to 1952.[24] She reportedly made her television début on the BBC programme RadiOlympia Showtime on 8 October 1949.[26]
Andrews appeared on West End theatre at the London Casino, where she played one year each as Princess Badroulbadour in Aladdin and the egg in Humpty Dumpty. She also appeared on provincial stages in Jack and the Beanstalk and Little Red Riding Hood, as well as starring as the lead role in Cinderella.[25]
Early career in the United States
On 30 September 1954 on the eve of her 19th birthday, Julie Andrews made her Broadway debut portraying Polly Browne in the already highly successful London musical The Boy Friend.[1] To the critics, Andrews was the stand-out performer in the show.[27] Near the end of her Boy Friend contract, Andrews was asked to audition for My Fair Lady on Broadway and got the part.[28] In November 1955 Andrews was signed to appear with Bing Crosby in what is regarded as the first made-for-television film, High Tor.[29]
Andrews auditioned for a part in the Richard Rodgers musical Pipe Dream. Although Rodgers wanted her for Pipe Dream, he advised her to take the part in the Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner musical My Fair Lady if it were offered to her. In 1956, she appeared on stage in My Fair Lady as Eliza Doolittle to Rex Harrison's Henry Higgins. Rodgers was so impressed with Andrews' talent that concurrent with her run in My Fair Lady, she was featured in the Rodgers and Hammerstein television musical, Cinderella.[27] Cinderella was broadcast live on CBS on 31 March 1957 under the musical direction of Alfredo Antonini and attracted an estimated 107 million viewers.[30][31] The show was broadcast in colour from CBS Studio 72, at 2248 Broadway in New York City. Only a black-and-white kinescope remains, which has been released on DVD. Andrews was nominated for an Emmy Award for her performance.[32] Between 1958 and 1962, Andrews appeared on such specials as CBS-TV's The Fabulous Fifties and NBC-TV's The Broadway of Lerner & Loewe. In addition to guest starring on The Ed Sullivan Show (15 July 1956), she also appeared on The Dinah Shore Chevy Show, What's My Line?, The Jack Benny Program, The Bell Telephone Hour and The Garry Moore Show. In June 1962, Andrews co-starred in Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall, a CBS special with Carol Burnett.
In 1960, Lerner and Loewe again cast her in a period musical as Queen Guinevere in Camelot, with Richard Burton and newcomer Robert Goulet. However film studio head Jack L. Warner decided Andrews lacked sufficient name recognition for her casting in the film version of My Fair Lady; Eliza was played by the established film actress Audrey Hepburn instead. As Warner later recalled, the decision was easy, "In my business I have to know who brings people and their money to a cinema box office. Audrey Hepburn had never made a financial flop."[33]
Film stardom
In 1963, Andrews began her work in the title role of Disney's musical film Mary Poppins. Walt Disney had seen a performance of Camelot and thought Andrews would be perfect for the role of the British nanny who is "practically perfect in every way!" Andrews initially declined because of pregnancy, but Disney politely insisted, saying, "We'll wait for you."[34]
Mary Poppins became the biggest box-office draw in Disney history. Andrews won the 1964 Academy Award for Best Actress and the 1964 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for her performance. She and her co-stars also won the 1965 Grammy Award for Best Album for Children. As a measure of "sweet revenge," as Poppins songwriter Richard M. Sherman put it, Andrews closed her acceptance speech at the Golden Globes by saying, "And, finally, my thanks to a man who made a wonderful movie and who made all this possible in the first place, Mr. Jack Warner."[34][35] My Fair Lady was in competition for awards at the same ceremony.
Andrews starred opposite James Garner in The Americanization of Emily (1964), for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British Actress in a Leading Role. A comedy-drama war film set in London during World War II, Andrews has described it as her favourite film, a sentiment shared by her co-star Garner.[36]
In 1965, Andrews starred in The Sound of Music, which was the highest-grossing film of the year and was the biggest hit in the history of 20th Century Fox.[37] As of 2013, it is the third highest-grossing film of all time in the United States, adjusted for inflation.[38] For her performance as Maria Von Trapp, Andrews won her second Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, though she lost to Julie Christie, for Darling.
After completing The Sound of Music, Andrews appeared as a guest star on the NBC-TV variety series The Andy Williams Show. She followed this television appearance with an Emmy Award-winning special, The Julie Andrews Show, which featured Gene Kelly and the New Christy Minstrels as guests. It aired on NBC-TV in November 1965.
In 1966, Andrews starred in Hawaii, the highest grossing film of its year.[39] Also in 1966, she starred opposite Paul Newman in Torn Curtain, which was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The following year, she played the eponymous character in Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. At the time, Thoroughly Modern Millie and Torn Curtain were the biggest and second biggest hits in Universal Pictures history, respectively.
Mid-career
Andrews next appeared in two of Hollywood's most expensive flops: Star! (1968), a biopic of Gertrude Lawrence; and Darling Lili (1970), co-starring Rock Hudson and directed by her second husband, Blake Edwards.
Sometime in 1970, Andrews was one of the many actresses considered for the lead role of Eglantine Price in Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks, losing the role to Angela Lansbury.
Andrews continued working in television. In 1969, she shared the spotlight with singer Harry Belafonte for an NBC-TV special, An Evening with Julie Andrews and Harry Belafonte. In 1971, she appeared as a guest for the Grand Opening Special of Walt Disney World, and that same year she and Carol Burnett headlined a CBS special, Julie and Carol At Lincoln Center. In 1972–73, Andrews starred in her own television variety series, The Julie Andrews Hour, on the ABC network. The show won seven Emmy Awards, but was cancelled after one season.
Between 1973 and 1975, Andrews continued her association with ABC by headlining five variety specials for the network. She guest-starred on The Muppet Show in 1977,[40] and the following year, she appeared again with the Muppets on a CBS television variety special. The programme, Julie Andrews: One Step Into Spring, aired in March 1978, to mixed reviews and mediocre ratings. She made only two other films in the 1970s, The Tamarind Seed (1974) and 10 (1979).
In February 1980, Andrews headlined "Because We Care", a CBS-TV special with 30 major stars raising funds for Cambodian Famine victims through Operation California (now Operation USA, on whose Board she serves).. Later that year, she starred in the film Little Miss Marker. In 1981, she appeared in Blake Edwards' S.O.B. (1981) in which she played Sally Miles, a character who agrees to "show my boobies" in a scene in the film-within-a-film. That was Andrews's first on-screen nude scene and got much attention as she poked fun at her own squeaky clean image.
In 1982, Andrews played a dual role of Victoria Grant and Count Victor Grezhinski in the film Victor Victoria once again playing opposite James Garner. Her performance earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, as well as a nomination for the 1982 Academy Award for Best Actress, her third Oscar nomination.[1][41]
In 1983, Andrews was chosen as the Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year by the Harvard University Theatrical Society.[42] That year, she co-starred with Burt Reynolds in The Man Who Loved Women. Her next two films were That's Life! and Duet for One (both 1986), which earned her Golden Globe nominations.
In December 1987, Andrews starred in an ABC Christmas special, Julie Andrews: The Sound Of Christmas, which went on to win five Emmy Awards. Two years later, she was reunited for the third time with Carol Burnett for a variety special which aired on ABC in December 1989.
In 1991, Andrews made her television dramatic debut in the ABC made-for-TV film, Our Sons, co-starring Ann-Margret. Andrews was named a Disney Legend within the year.
In the summer of 1992 Andrews starred in her first television sitcom, the short-lived Julie aired on ABC for only seven episodes and co-starred James Farentino. In December 1992 she hosted the NBC holiday special, Christmas In Washington.
In 1993, she starred in a limited run at the Manhattan Theatre Club in the American premiere of Stephen Sondheim's revue, Putting It Together. Between 1994 and 1995 Andrews recorded two solo albums – the first saluted the music of Richard Rodgers and the second paid tribute to the words of Alan Jay Lerner. In 1995, she starred in the stage musical version of Victor/Victoria. It was her first appearance in a Broadway show in 35 years. Opening on Broadway on 25 October 1995 at the Marquis Theatre, it later went on the road on a world tour. When she was the only Tony Award nominee for the production, she declined the nomination saying that she could not accept because she felt the entire production was snubbed.[43]
Andrews was forced to quit the show towards the end of the Broadway run in 1997 when she developed hoarseness in her voice. She subsequently underwent surgery at New York's Mount Sinai Hospital to remove non-cancerous nodules from her throat.[1] (However, Andrews has recently stated that it was due to "a certain kind of muscular striation [that] happens on the vocal cords" as a result of strain from Victor/Victoria, adding "I didn't have cancer, I didn't have nodules, I didn't have anything."[44]) She emerged from the surgery with permanent damage that destroyed the purity of her singing and gave a rasp to her speaking voice. In 1999 she filed a malpractice suit against the doctors at Mount Sinai Hospital, including Scott Kessler and Jeffrey Libin, who had operated on her throat. Originally, the doctors assured Andrews that she should regain her voice within six weeks, but Andrews' stepdaughter Jennifer Edwards said in 1999 "it's been two years, and it [her singing voice] still hasn't returned."[45] The lawsuit was settled in September 2000 for an undisclosed amount.[46]
Andrews admits that she has never recovered from the botched attempt to remove nodules from her vocal cords back in 1997. Her famous, four-octave soprano was then reduced to a fragile alto – she was quoted at the time as saying "I can sing the hell out of Old Man River."[47]
Subsequently from 2000 onwards Steven M. Zeitels director of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Center for Laryngeal Surgery and Voice Rehabilitation operated on her four times and while able to improve her speaking voice, was unable to restore her singing.[48]
Despite the loss of her singing voice, she kept busy with many projects. In 1998, she appeared in a stage production of Dr. Dolittle in London. As recounted on the Julie Andrews website, she performed the voice of Polynesia the parrot and "recorded some 700 sentences and sounds, which were placed on a computer chip that sat in the mechanical bird's mouth. In the song 'Talk to the Animals,' Polynesia the parrot even sings." The next year Andrews was reunited with James Garner for the CBS made-for-TV film, One Special Night, which aired in November 1999.
In the 2000 New Year Honours List, Andrews was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to the performing arts by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.[49][50] In 2002, Andrews was among the guests at the Queen's Golden Jubilee Hollywood party held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.[51] She also appears at No.59 on the 2002 poll of the "100 Greatest Britons" sponsored by the BBC and chosen by the British public.[52]
In 2001, Andrews received Kennedy Center Honors. The same year, she reunited with Sound of Music co-star Christopher Plummer in a live television performance of On Golden Pond (an adaptation of the 1979 play).
Career revival
In 2001, Andrews appeared in The Princess Diaries, her first Disney film since Mary Poppins (1964). She starred as Queen Clarisse Marie Renaldi and reprised the role in a sequel, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004). In The Princess Diaries 2, Andrews sang on film for the first time since having throat surgery. The song, "Your Crowning Glory" (a duet with teen idol Raven-Symoné), was set in a limited range of an octave to accommodate her recovering voice.[53] The film's music supervisor, Dawn Soler, recalled that Andrews "nailed the song on the first take. I looked around and I saw grips with tears in their eyes."[53]
Andrews continued her association with Disney when she appeared as the nanny in two television films based on the Eloise books, a series of children's books by Kay Thompson about a child who lives in the Plaza Hotel in New York City. Eloise at the Plaza premiered in April 2003, and Eloise at Christmastime was broadcast in November 2003; Andrews was nominated for an Emmy Award.[32] The same year she made her debut as a theatre director, directing a revival of The Boy Friend, the musical in which she made her 1954 Broadway debut, at the Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, New York. Her production, which featured costume and scenic design by her former husband Tony Walton, was remounted at the Goodspeed Opera House in 2005 and went on a national tour in 2006.
From 2005 to 2006, Andrews served as the Official Ambassador for Disneyland's 18-month-long, 50th anniversary celebration, the "Happiest Homecoming on Earth", travelling to promote the celebration, and recording narration and appearing at several events at the park.
In 2004, Andrews performed the voice of Queen Lillian in the animated blockbuster Shrek 2 (2004), reprising the role for its sequels, Shrek the Third (2007) and Shrek Forever After (2010). Later, in 2007, she narrated Enchanted, a live-action Disney musical comedy that both poked fun at and paid homage to classic Disney films such as Mary Poppins.
In January 2007, Andrews was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Screen Actors Guild's awards and stated that her goals included continuing to direct for the stage and possibly to produce her own Broadway musical.[41] She published Home: A Memoir of My Early Years, which she characterised as "part one" of her autobiography, on 1 April 2008. Home chronicles her early years in Britain's music hall circuit and ends in 1962 with her winning the role of Mary Poppins. For a Walt Disney video release she again portrayed Mary Poppins and narrated the story of The Cat That Looked at a King in 2004.
In July through early August 2008, Andrews hosted Julie Andrews' The Gift of Music, a short tour of the United States[54] where she sang various Rodgers and Hammerstein songs and symphonised her recently published book, Simeon's Gift. These were her first public singing performances in a dozen years, due to her failed vocal cord surgery.[55]
On 8 May 2009, Andrews received the honorary George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Achievement in Music at the annual UCLA Spring Sing competition in Pauley Pavilion. Receiving the award she remarked, "Go Bruins. Beat SC ... strike up the band to celebrate every one of those victories."
2010–present
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In January 2010, Andrews was the official United States presenter of the New Year's Day Vienna concert.[56] This was her second appearance in this role, after presenting the previous year's concert.[57] Andrews also had a supporting role in the film Tooth Fairy, which opened to unfavourable reviews[58] although the box office receipts were successful.[59] On her promotion tour for the film, she also spoke of Operation USA and the aid campaign to the Haiti disaster.[60]
On 8 May 2010, Andrews made her London comeback after a 21-year absence (her last performance there was a Christmas concert at the Royal Festival Hall in 1989). She performed at the O2 Arena, accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and an ensemble of five performers.[61] Previous to it she appeared on British television (on 15 December 2009 and on many other occasions), and said that rumours that she would be singing were not true. Instead, she said she would be doing a form of "speak singing".[62] However, in the concert she actually sang two solos and several duets and ensemble pieces. The evening, though well received by the 20,000 fans present, who gave her standing ovation after standing ovation,[63] did not convince the critics.[64]
On 18 May 2010, Andrews' 23rd book (this one also written with her daughter Emma) was published. In June 2010 the book, entitled The Very Fairy Princess, reached number 1 on the New York Times Best Seller List for Children's Books.[65]
On 21 May 2010, her film Shrek Forever After was released; in it Andrews reprises her role as the Queen.[66]
On 9 July 2010, Despicable Me, an animated film in which Andrews lent her voice to Marlena, the thoughtless and soul-crushing mother of the main character Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), opened to rave reviews[67] and strong box office.[68]
On 28 October 2010, Andrews appeared, along with the actors who portrayed the cinematic Von Trapp family members, on Oprah to commemorate the film's 45th anniversary.[69][70] A few days later, her 24th book, Little Bo in Italy, was published.[71]
On 15 December 2010, Andrews' husband Blake Edwards died at the age of 88, of complications of pneumonia at the Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California. Andrews was by her husband's side when he died.[72]
In February 2011, Andrews received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and, with her daughter Emma, a Grammy for best spoken word album for children (for A Collection of Poems, Songs and Lullabies), at the 53rd Grammy Awards ceremony.[73][74]
At the age of 77, Andrews undertook her first tour of Australia and New Zealand in 2013, hosted by Nicholas Hammond[75] who was a boy of 14 when they appeared together in The Sound of Music.[47] In place of singing, she planned a series of speaking engagements in Australia's five mainland state capitals.[76] There were security concerns surrounding the event at New Zealand.[77] The following year she took the same show on a tour of England, culminating in two shows in London.
In 2015 Andrews made a surprise appearance at the Oscars, greeting Lady Gaga who paid her homage by singing a medley from The Sound of Music.[78] This became a social media sensation, trending all over the world.[79]
Lyndon Terracini announced in August 2015 that Andrews will direct My Fair Lady in 2016 for Opera Australia at the Sydney Opera House.[80]
Personal life
Andrews has been married twice, first to set designer Tony Walton from 1959 until 1967, then to director Blake Edwards from 1969 until his death in 2010.[24][81][82]
Andrews married Walton on 10 May 1959 in Weybridge, Surrey. They had first met in 1948 when Andrews was appearing at the London Casino in the show Humpty Dumpty. Andrews and Walton headed back to Britain in September 1962 to await the birth of daughter Emma Katherine Walton, who was born in London two months later.[83]
Andrews married Edwards in 1969; his children from a previous marriage, Jennifer and Geoffrey, were 3 and 5 years older than Emma, Andrews' daughter with Tony Walton.[84] In the 1970s, Edwards and Andrews adopted two daughters; Amy in 1974 and Joanna in 1975.[85][86] Andrews is a grandmother to nine[87] and great-grandmother to three.[88]
Voice
Termed "Britain’s Youngest Prima Donna",[89] Andrews' classically trained soprano,[90] lauded for its "pure and clear" sound,[91] has been described as light, bright and operatic in tone. When a young Andrews was taken by her parents to be examined by a throat specialist, the doctor concluded that she owned "an almost adult larynx."[92] In spite of the fact that her voice teacher, English soprano Lilian Stiles-Allen, continually encouraged her to pursue opera, Andrews herself felt that her voice was unsuited for the genre and "too big a stretch for [her]". At the time, Andrews described her own voice as "extremely high and thin", feeling that it lacked "the necessary guts and weight for opera", preferring musical theatre instead. As Andrews aged, so did her voice, which began to naturally deepen. Losing her vast upper register, her "top notes" became increasingly difficult to sing while "her middle register matured into the warm golden tone" for which she has become known, according to Tim Wong of The Daily Telegraph.[92]
As a result of Andrews' ill-fated throat operation, the actress' vocal range has since been reduced to that of "a fragile alto".[93] Andrews filed a malpractice suit following the 1997 throat operation against New York's Mount Sinai Hospital and the two surgeons. The case was subsequently settled for an undisclosed amount.[94] Of this incident, Andrews was quoted as saying "I am glad to have settled this case in a favourable manner and am glad to close this chapter on an event which was unfortunate for all concerned."[95]
Musically, Andrews had always preferred singing music that was "bright and sunny", choosing to avoid songs that were sad, depressing, upsetting, or written in a minor key, for fear of losing her voice "in a mess of emotion". She cited this as yet another reason for avoiding opera.[92]
In 1957, Andrews released her debut solo album, The Lass with the Delicate Air, which harked back to her British music hall days.[96] The album includes performances of English folk songs as well as the World War II anthem, "London Pride", a patriotic song written by Noël Coward in the spring of 1941 during the Blitz, which Andrews herself had survived.[96][97]
Filmography
Film
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Ford Star Jubilee | Lise | High Tor with Bing Crosby |
| 1957 | Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella | Cinderella | TV spectacular Original live broadcast, 31 March Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Best Actress in a Single Performance – Lead or Support |
| 1959 | The Gentle Flame | Trissa | BBC broadcast on 25 December |
| 1961 | The Ed Sullivan Show | Herself | CBS broadcast on 19 March; special tribute to Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe; performed songs from Brigadoon, My Fair Lady and Camelot |
| 1962 | Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall | Herself | |
| 1964 | The Andy Williams Show | Herself | Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievements in Entertainment – Actors and Performers |
| 1965 | Julie Andrews Show, TheThe Julie Andrews Show | Host | |
| 1969 | World in Music, AA World in Music | Herself | Episode: "An Evening with Julie Andrews and Harry Belafonte" |
| 1971 | Julie and Carol at Lincoln Center | Herself | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Program – Variety or Musical – Variety and Popular Music |
| 1972–73 | Julie Andrews Hour, TheThe Julie Andrews Hour | Host | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Musical Series[99] Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding New Series |
| 1973 | Julie on Sesame Street | Herself | |
| 1974 | Julie and Dick at Covent Garden | Herself | |
| Julie and Jackie: How Sweet It Is | Herself | ||
| 1975 | Julie: My Favorite Things | Herself | |
| 1977 | The Muppet Show | Herself | |
| 1978 | Julie Andrews: One Step Into Spring | Herself – host | |
| 1981 | The CBS Festival of Lively Arts for Young People | Herself | Nominated – Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Children's Programming – Performers |
| 1987 | Julie Andrews: The Sound of Christmas | Herself | |
| 1989 | Julie & Carol: Together Again | Herself | |
| 1990 | Julie Andrews in Concert | Herself | |
| 1991 | Our Sons | Audrey Grant | aka Too Little, Too Late |
| 1992 | Julie | Julie Carlisle | Series cancelled after 3 months |
| 1993 | Sound of Orchestra | ||
| 1995 | The Sound of Julie Andrews | Host | Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie |
| Victor/Victoria | Victoria Grant / Count Victor Grezhinski | TV movie | |
| 1999 | One Special Night | Catherine | |
| 2001 | On Golden Pond | Ethel Thayer | |
| 2003 | Eloise at the Plaza | Nanny | TV movie |
| Eloise at Christmastime | Nanny | TV movie Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie | |
| 2004 | Broadway: The American Musical | Herself | Narrator/Host of six part PBS documentary series about Musical Theatre Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series |
| 2009-10, 2012–15 | Great Performances: "From Vienna: The New Year's Celebration 2009" | Herself | Narrator/Host, succeeding Walter Cronkite |
| 2010 | Todos contra Juan | Herself | Argentinian TV sitcom |
| 2014 | The Graham Norton Show | Herself | Guest |
Stage
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Boy Friend, TheThe Boy Friend | Polly Brown | Theatre World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut |
| 1956 | My Fair Lady | Eliza Doolittle | Nominated — Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical |
| 1960 | Camelot | Queen Guinevere | Nominated — Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical |
| 1993 | Putting It Together | Amy | |
| 1995 | Victor/Victoria | Victoria Grant / Count Victor Grezhinski | Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical Nominated — Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical (nomination declined) |
Accolades
Honorary Degrees
Dame Julie Andrews has received many Honorary degrees in recognition of her distinguished career in entertainment. These include:
- Honorary Degrees
| Country | Date | School | Degree |
|---|---|---|---|
 Maryland | 1970 | University of Maryland | Doctor of Fine Arts (DFA)[103] |
 Connecticut | 24 May 1999 | Yale University | Doctor of Fine Arts (DFA)[104] |
 New York | 2012 | Stony Brook University | Doctor of Letters
(D. Litt)[105] |
Bibliography
Andrews has published books under her name as well as the pen names Julie Andrews Edwards and Julie Edwards.
- Andrews, Julie. Home: A Memoir of My Early Years. Hyperion 2008. ISBN 0-7868-6565-2.
- Andrews, Julie and Emma Walton Hamilton (Authors) and Christine Davenier (Illustrator). Very Fairy Princess. Little Browne 2010. ISBN 978-0-316-04050-1.
- Andrews, Julie and Emma Walton Hamilton (Authors) and James McMullan (Illustrator). Julie Andrews' Collection of Poems, Songs, and Lullabies. Little Brown 2009. ISBN 978-0-316-04049-5.
- Edwards, Julie Andrews (Author) and Judith Gwyn Brown (Illustrator). Mandy. Harper & Row, 1971. ISBN 0-06-440296-7.
- Edwards, Julie Andrews (Author) and Johanna Westerman (Illustrator). "Mandy: 35th Anniversary Edition". HarperCollins 2006. ISBN 0-06-113162-8.
- Edwards, Julie. The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles. New York: Harper and Row. 1974. ISBN 0-00-184461-X.
- Edwards, Julie Andrews. Little Bo: The Story of Bonnie Boadicea. Hyperion 1999. ISBN 0-7868-0514-5. (several others in this series)
- Edwards, Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton. Dumpy the Dumptruck]. Hyperion 2000. ISBN 0-7868-0609-5. (several others in the Dumpy series)
- Edwards, Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton, (Authors). Gennady Spirin (Illustrator). Simeon's Gift. 2003. ISBN 0-06-008914-8.
- Edwards, Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton. Dragon: Hound of Honor. HarperTrophy 2005. ISBN 0-06-057121-7.
- Edwards, Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton (Authors) and Tony Walton (Illustrator). The Great American Mousical. HarperTrophy 2006. ISBN 0-06-057918-8.
- Edwards, Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton. Thanks to You: Wisdom from Mother and Child. Julie Andrews Collection 2007. ISBN 0-06-124002-8.
References
- 1 2 3 4 "Dame Julie: The sound of music". BBC. 31 December 1999. Retrieved 29 January 2007.
- ↑ "All Time Box Office Adjusted for Ticket Price Inflation". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 3 December 2012.
- ↑ Ruhlmann, William. "Julie Andrews Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 February 2014.
- ↑ Julie Andrews. Reel Classics.
- ↑ Biography and Video Interview of Julie Andrews at Academy of Achievement.
- ↑ GRO Register of Births: DEC 1935 2a 435 Surrey NW – Julia E Wells, mmn = Morris
- ↑ GRO Register of Births: SEP 1910 2a 51 Chertsey – Barbara W Morris, mmn = not given
- ↑ GRO Register of Marriages: DEC 1932 2a 190 Chertsey – Edward C. Wells = Barbara W. Morris
- 1 2 3 4 5 Spindle, Les. Julie Andrews: A Bio-Bibliography. Greenwood Press (1989)] ISBN 0-313-26223-3. pp. 1–2.
- 1 2 3 Windeler (1970), pp 20–21
- 1 2 3 Brockes, Emma (30 March 2008). "Books About Julie Andrews — Memoir — Biography". The New York Times (New York City). ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
- ↑ GRO Register of Marriages: DEC 1943 1a 888 Westminster – Edward V Andrews = Barbara W Morris or Wells
- ↑ GRO Register of Marriages: JUN 1944 2a 316 Surrey NE – Edward C Wells = Winifred M Birkhead
- ↑ GRO Register of Births: JUN 1938 2a 564 Surrey NW – John D. Wells, mmn = Morris
- ↑ Stirling, Richard; Julie Andrews: An Intimate Biography; Portrait, 2007; ISBN 978-0-7499-5135-1; p. 22
- ↑ Windeler (1970), pp. 22–23
- 1 2 Stirling, p. 24
- ↑ Timothy White (1998) The Entertainers p. 111. Billboard Books, 1998
- ↑ Windeler (1970), pp 23–24
- ↑ Spindle, p. 2, suggests that Andrews began a few years of stage work with her parents in 1946.
- ↑ Windeler (1970), pp 24–26
- ↑ Boag, Wally and Sands, Gene. Wally Boag, Clown Prince of Disneyland, Disney Enterprises, Inc. 2009, p. 39
- ↑ Windeler (1970), p. 26. "Julie, who was described in the official announcement 14 October as 'a 13-year-old coloratura soprano with the voice of an adult,' was the youngest solo performer ever chosen to perform before royalty at the Palladium. She sang the British National Anthem. She ran onto stage in front of Danny Kaye wearing a white A-frame dress and begins to sing, the audience join in. The evening was held in the presence of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth (The Queen Mother). The show was presented by Val Parnell."
- 1 2 3 Spindle, p. 3
- 1 2 Windeler (1970), pp 26–27.
- ↑ Ruhlmann, William. Julie Andrews Biography. All-Music Guide article from Legacy Recordings.
- 1 2 Spindle, pp. 4–5.
- ↑ "In Step With: Julie Andrews". Parade Magazine. 17 October 2004.
- ↑ Windeler, pp. 41–42.
- ↑ Gans, Andrew. "Julie Andrews 'Cinderella' to Air on PBS in December". Playbill News. 6 October 2004.
- ↑ Haberman, Irving. "The Theatre World Brings A Few Musical and a Stage Success to Television This Week". The New York Times, 31 March 1957.
- 1 2 "Julie Andrews". Television Academy.
- ↑ "My Fair Lady (1964) at Reel Classics". Retrieved 18 December 2005.
- 1 2 Mary Poppins 40th Anniversary Edition DVD.
- ↑ Hollywood Be Thy Name: The Warner Brothers Story – 1966. The University Press of Kentucky Report. 1998. ISBN 978-0-8131-0958-9. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
- ↑ Blank, Ed. Andrews, as Maria – a result of 'happy circumstances' . Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. 17 November 2005.
- ↑ Times Online's 2005 review of Dame Julie Andrews' career Archived 10 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "All Time Box Office Adjusted for Ticket Price Inflation". Boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
- ↑ "Revenue Database – 1966". Box Office Report. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
- ↑ Garlen, Jennifer C.; Graham, Anissa M. (2009). Kermit Culture: Critical Perspectives on Jim Henson's Muppets. McFarland & Company. p. 218. ISBN 078644259X.
- 1 2 Julie Andrews: A Life Of Achievements. CBS News. 26 January 2007. Retrieved 29 January 2007.
- ↑ Archived 7 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Marks, Peter (9 May 1996). ""Adding Drama to a Musical, Andrews Spurns the Tonys" – Peter Marks, The New York Times, 9th May 1996". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ↑ "The Sound of Music Reunion". The Oprah Winfrey Show. Season 25. 28 October 2010.
- ↑ Andrews sues over lost voice. BBC News. 15 December 1999. Retrieved 29 January 2007.
- ↑ Julie Andrews settles lawsuit, Chicago Sun-Times, 9 September 2000
- 1 2 Paget, Clive: Julie Andrews to tour Australia at Limelight, 18 May 2013
- ↑ Colapinto, John (4 March 2013), "Giving Voice : A Surgeon Pioneers Methods to Help Singers Sing Again", The New Yorker: 56
- ↑ "Dame Julie: The sound of music". BBC. Retrieved 1 July 2012
- ↑ "Queen honours movie Dames". BBC. Retrieved 1 July 2012
- ↑ "Film capital to mark Queen's Golden Jubilee with Grand Ball". The Telegraph. Retrieved 1 July 2012
- ↑ "BBC – 100 great British heroes". BBC News. 21 August 2002. Retrieved 16 December 2010.
- 1 2 Singing comeback for Dame Julie. 19 March 2004. Retrieved 10 February 2008.
- ↑ "The Julie Andrews Collection". The Julie Andrews Collection. Archived from the original on 30 January 2009. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
- ↑ "Video Library". cbs2.com. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
- ↑ "PBS.org". PBS.org. 22 December 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ↑ PBS.org, PBS.org, 9 December 2008, retrieved 2 August 2010
- ↑ "Rottentomatoes.com". Uk.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ↑ "Box office mojo". Box office mojo. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ↑ "The Vue". Opusa.org. 26 January 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ↑ "'Dame Julie Andrews to make UK stage return'". BBC News. 25 November 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ↑ Paul Clements (9 May 2010) Review: Dame Julie Andrews at the O2 Arena. The Daily Telegraph
- ↑ "ACTUAL ARTICLE TITLE BELONGS HERE!". Sky News. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ↑ Clements, Paul (9 May 2010). "ACTUAL ARTICLE TITLE BELONGS HERE!". The Daily Telegraph (UK). Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ↑ "Children's Books". The New York Times. 6 June 2010.
- ↑ "Weekend Report: 'Shrek' Shrinks with Fourth Movie". Box Office Mojo. 24 May 2010.
- ↑ "Rotten Tomatoes". Uk.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ↑ Subers, Ray (8 February 2010). "Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ↑ "The Hills are Alive! Julie Andrews and The Sound of Music Cast Reunite on Oprah". Broadway.com.
- ↑ "The Sound of Music cast reunite on Oprah Winfrey show". BBC News. 29 October 2010.
- ↑ Jill Serjeant Julie Andrews has favourite things Reuters
- ↑ Joe Neumair (16 December 2010) Blake Edwards, 'Pink Panther' director and husband to Julie Andrews, is dead at age 88 Daily News (New York)
- ↑ Julie Andrews to get lifetime Grammy. BBC News. 22 December 2010
- ↑ Julie Andrews, Dolly Parton Win Lifetime Grammys, ABC News. 23 December 2010
- ↑ Julie Andrews to tour Australia for the first time ABC News, 16 May 2013
- ↑ Dow, Steve Australia to come alive to the story of Julie Andrews at Sydney Morning Herald, 9 February 2013
- ↑ "Julie Andrews – Released Immigration New Zealand Documents". saunalahti.fi.
- ↑ Buncombe, Andrew "Lady Gaga stuns Oscars viewers with Sound of Music medley as Julie Andrews praises singer", The Independent, 23 February 2015
- ↑ Sinha-Roy, Piya. "Lady Gaga, Julie Andrews notch Oscars' top social media moment", Reuters, 23 February 2015
- ↑ "Julie Andrews to direct Sydney Opera House production of My Fair Lady" by Alexandra Spring, The Guardian, 5 August 2015
- ↑ Spindle, p. 14.
- ↑ "Blake Edwards, Prolific Comedy Director, Dies at 88". The New York Times. 16 December 2010. Retrieved 17 December 2010.
- ↑ Windeler, Robert (1998), Julie Andrews: a life on stage and screen, Thorndike Press, p. 149
- ↑ Current biography yearbook, Volume 44 p. 127. H. W. Wilson Co., 1983.
- ↑ Wilkins, Barbara. "The Pristine Princess", People, 14 March 1977.
- ↑ "Biography", tcmdb.com. Retrieved 15 August 2010
- ↑ Laws, Roz (28 March 2014). "An Evening With Julie Andrews comes to Birmingham NIA". Birmingham Post.
- ↑ Mandell, Andrea (16 December 2013). "Julie Andrews reveals secrets behind 'Mary Poppins'". USA Today.
- ↑ O'connor, John J. (25 October 1995). "TELEVISION REVIEW; Julie Andrews, With Tough Edges". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
- ↑ "The Broadway soprano: the lineage and evolution from Julie Andrews to Kristin Chenoweth.". TheFreeLibrary.com. Farlex, Inc. 2013. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
- ↑ "Julie Andrews honoured in Gstaad". Swissinfo. 6 June 2014. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
- 1 2 3 Wong, Tim (26 May 2014). "Julie Andrews, the operatic sensation that never was". The Daily Telegraphy. Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
- ↑ Paget, Clive (9 February 2013). "Julie Andrews to tour Australia". Limelight. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
- ↑ ABC News. "Julie Andrews Settles Lawsuit Against Doctors". ABC News.
- ↑ "Julie Andrews Settles Lawsuit Against Doctors". ABC News. Retrieved 26 June 2015
- 1 2 "The Lass with the Delicate Air". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 26 June 2015
- ↑ Andrews, Julie (2008). Home: a memoir of my early years, Doubleday, p. 61.
- ↑ Sikov, Ed. Mr. Strangelove: A Biography of Peter Sellers (2002)
- ↑ "The Julie Andrews Hour". Emmys.com. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
- ↑ Spindle, pp. 123–29
- ↑ "Past Recipients: Crystal Award". Women In Film. Retrieved 10 May 2011.
- ↑ Probst, Andy."Julie Andrews to Receive Prince Rainier III Award at Princess Grace Awards Gala" theatermania.com, 3 October 2011
- ↑ http://www.lib.umd.edu/univarchives/macmil/honorarydegrees1.html
- ↑ http://www.yale.edu/opa/arc-ybc/v27.n33/story102.html
- ↑ http://www.albany.edu/academics/honorary.degree.shtml
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Julie Andrews. |
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Wikiquote has quotations related to: Julie Andrews |
- Julie Andrews at AllMovie
- Julie Andrews at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
- Julie Andrews at the Internet Broadway Database
- Julie Andrews at the Internet Movie Database
- Julie Andrews at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Julie Andrews at the TCM Movie Database
- Julie Andrews discography at Discogs
- Works by or about Julie Andrews in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
- Julie Andrews: Prim and Improper
- Official site for The Very Fairy Princess by Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton
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