Julie's Career as a singer and actress:
The amateur works until he can get it right. The professional works until he cannot go wrong. ~Lillian Stiles-Allen
Her Career begins: London was a time when her talents began to develop at a faster pace. When she was living with her mother and stepfather in London her mother taught at, and Julie attended, the Cone-Ripman School. It had regular classes in the morning and taught dance in the afternoon. Here, her talents fell into place, and singing became easy and wonderful.
Throughout her childhood she'd been performing with her mother and Ted. When she was ten years old she went to a performance like any other, only this time the Queen Elizabeth was to watch her perform. After the show the Queen came backstage to compliment the performers. She told Julie, "You sang beautifully tonight." (Julie Andrews Autobiography) Later, she had her first radio debut. She performed with Ted for BBC and all went well. Ted introduced Julie to a famous producer, Val Parnell. Soon Julie was performing at the Starlight Roof. She got wonderful reviews of the show and got attention from the press. This was only the start. Julie's performances: Julie Andrews performed in many pantomimes. These were British Christmas movies, often called pantos. Her first performance in one of these was in 1948 in Humpty Dumpty. This was the first panto of many. She would perform in Red Riding Hood (15), Jack and the Beanstalk, Aladdin, and Cinderella (17). (Julie Andrews, Biography)
Throughout her career she attended many radio shows. In 1950 Julie sang for a weekly BBC show called Educating Archie. This show had 12 million weekly listeners and ran for 30 straight weeks. Much later, in 1959 she would have a four-part BBC TV show called the Julie Andrews Show. Of course, these featured her. Soon, she moved on to bigger and better things. As time went on, Julie kept working hard and moving up in the performing world. Harold Feilding invited her to sing at concerts called Music for the Millions. These we up-scale concerts and considered very classy. (Julie Andrews Autobiography) |
Moving to America: After performing in Cinderella she was recruited to move to America and perform on Broadway in The Boyfriend. She refused to sign a 2 year contract and agreed to a one-year contract. She didn't want to leave her family but felt this was a step that needed to be taken. (Julie Andrews Autobiography) This show was a huge success and helped her become well known. After her contract ended she traveled home briefly before returning to a two-year contract for My Fair Lady in 1956. This is a play she is well-known for today. She followed up this play with Camelot in 1960. Both of these plays earned her Tony's. (Julie Andrews, biography)
Performances and Movies:Julie Andrews kept working-hard and performing throughout her years. She had a TV debut with Bing Crosby in High Tor, in 1956 performed on the Ed Sullivan Show, in 1957 was in a live broadcast of Cinderella on CBS, and was on The Gary Moore Show.
In 1962 Walt Disney recruited Jule Andrews to star as Mary Poppins in Mary Poppins. This moive earn her the Academy Award for Best Actress and was a major successs. (Julie Andrews, Biography) Later, she stared in The Sound of Music, that was honored the Best Picture of the Year. “She has worked on many projects with her husband, including Darling Lili (1970), The Man Who Loved Women (1983), and That's Life (1986)” (Julie Andrews, Biography),The Tamarind Seed, 10, S.O.B. and That's Life, Victor/Victoria (Andrews Biography). Other films she is in include1966, Hawaii, Americanization of Emily, Alfred Hitchcock thriller Torn Curtain with Paul Newman, 1967Thoroughly Modern Millie, Princess Diaries, and Princess Diaries 2: The Royal Engagement, Shrek |