Julie Andrews’ first movie was “Mary Poppins,” followed by “The Sound of Music.” Even if she hadn’t acted in any other films, she’d still be loved by many in Hollywood. People would keep singing along to her movies for years to come.
Julie Andrews: Finding Inspiration
Julie Andrews, who has been in showbiz for a long time, has started writing children’s books with her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton. Their newest book is about theater, but it’s told from the viewpoint of a duck.
Once upon a time, at Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, two ducks made a nest in a big pot in the courtyard.
“Andrews compared the ducks in our story to actors, saying they have a passion for drama. They even enjoy music! And then, Mr. Puddle Duck quietly enters the theater…”
“Waiting in the Wings” is the 35th book written by a famous team. They’ve helped Andrews, who lost her singing voice due to a surgery mistake 30 years ago. Andrews was sad about not being able to sing anymore. But her daughter, Emma, said something that changed her perspective. She told her mom that she had found a new way to share her voice. This made Andrews realize she could still express herself in different ways.
Sometimes, when one door closes, another opens somewhere, like how Maria once said it in “The Sound of Music.”
Sure! Both Maria and Mary Poppins have to convince children who are unsure about them. They’re all about having fun, but there’s more to them than just fun. They teach in clever ways. They stay positive, but they also understand that kids face serious issues.
Andrews explained, “We don’t talk to kids like they’re little. We treat them with respect and help them learn without talking down to them.”
She really liked books from when she was very young. She was born in 1935 and remembers hearing air raid sirens and hiding during the Blitz, when London was bombed in World War II. Her parents had separated, and it was her stepfather who found out she had a special singing voice. When she was nine years old, she became known as “Little Julie” and sang with her parents in shows.
When she was just a teenager, she started earning money to help her family. They were in urgent need of cash, so at around 15 years old, she traveled all over England by herself to work and make ends meet.
Pauley inquired, “Were you responsible for ensuring your family had a place to live?”
“I attempted it with my family,” she explained. “But in the end, it was just me because my stepdad had a drinking problem.”
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When she was young, even though she was being taught and trained, she didn’t believe she could achieve big things. Andrews said, “No, actually, I doubted if I ever could.” She was only doing it because it was helpful and necessary. As a teenager, she would wonder, “Why am I doing all of this? What’s the point?” Then, all of a sudden, everything changed, and she found success.
At 19, she got the main role in a Broadway play called “The Boy Friend” by Sandy Wilson. Even though she had been performing on stage for 10 years and could sing well, she wasn’t fully prepared. She hadn’t taken acting lessons before. She learned as she went along, and people were kind to her. She compared herself to a puppy who didn’t know what to do, but she appreciated all the help she received.
Still a newcomer, at 20 she created the role of Eliza Doolittle opposite veteran Rex Harrison in Lerner & Loewe’s 1956 smash hit, “My Fair Lady.” The following year, she starred in a CBS production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” on television. Andrews made her debut in front of a staggering 100 million Americans.
In 1960, she portrayed Guenevere alongside Richard Burton’s King Arthur in “Camelot.” However, it was during one of these performances that Walt Disney discovered his Mary Poppins. Her debut film role as Mary Poppins earned her an Academy Award, marking an extraordinary start to her career in motion pictures.
Andrews continues to exude elegance and appreciation, embodying the British ethos of resilience. “Throughout my life, I’ve felt incredibly lucky to have my singing voice as part of my identity and to have had the chance to learn and grow on stage, in film, and beyond,” she reflected.
Hamilton remarked, “You experienced both great fortune and considerable hardship – coming of age during wartime with parents struggling with alcoholism, being thrust into work at a tender age, essentially deprived of a typical childhood.”
Hamilton mentioned that her mother always says, Aren’t we fortunate? “I think whether or not it’s true, it is the thing that got you through,” Hamilton said.
Pauley mentioned that in “The Sound of Music,” Maria sings a song while falling in love, with lyrics that include the line, “Somewhere in my youth and childhood, I must have done something good.”
“Are we lucky …?”
“… or what?” laughed Hamilton.
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