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Merrick was known for his love of publicity stunts. One of his most famous promoted the poorly-reviewed 1961 musical Subways Are For Sleeping. Merrick found seven New Yorkers who had the same names as the city's seven leading theater critics: Howard Taubman, Walter Kerr, John Chapman, John McClain, Richard Watts, Jr., Norman Nadel, and Robert Coleman. Merrick invited the seven namesakes to the musical and secured their permission to use their names and pictures in an advertisement alongside quotes such as "One of the few great musical comedies of the last thirty years" and "A fabulous musical. I love it." Merrick then prepared a newspaper ad featuring the namesakes' rave reviews under the heading 7 Out of 7 Are Ecstatically Unanimous About Subways Are For Sleeping. Only one newspaper, the New York Herald Tribune, published the ad, and only in one edition; however, the publicity that the ad garnered helped the musical remain open for 205 performances (almost six months). Merrick later revealed that he had conceived the ad several years previously, but had not been able to execute it until Brooks Atkinson retired as the New York Times theater critic in 1960 since he could not find anyone with the same name .
On the morning of August 25, 1980, Gower Champion died of a rare blood cancer. Merrick announced the news himself at the opening-night curtain call for 42nd Street, which he had produced and Champion had directed.
Merrick suffered a stroke in 1983, which confined him to a wheelchair. He established the David Merrick Arts Foundation in 1998 to support the development of American musicals.
Merrick was married six times, to Lenore Beck, Jeanne Gibson, Etan Aronson (twice), Karen Prunczik, and Natalie Lloyd. He was married to Lloyd at the time of his death in London; all of his previous marriages had ended in divorce. He had two daughters according to Peter Filichia, writing in the Newark Star-Ledger on April 27, 2000.
In 2001 Merrick was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame.
An unauthorized biography by Howard Kissel is titled David Merrick: The Abominable Showman (ISBN 1-55783-361-3).
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| Name | Corbin Bleu |
|---|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | Corbin Bleu Reivers |
| Born | February 21, 1989Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States |
| Instrument | Vocals, Piano |
| Genre | Pop, dance, R&B;, pop rock |
| Occupation | Actor, singer-songwriter, model, dancer |
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Label | Hollywood (2006-2009) |
| Associated acts | Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Zac Efron, Lucas Grabeel, Monique Coleman |
| Url | www.corbinbleu.com |
Bleu trained in dancing, eventually becoming one of the first students at the prestigious Debbie Allen Dance Academy. He then attended as a theater major, this time following in the footsteps of his mother, who attended New York City's famed High School of Performing Arts. Like his father, he appeared in television commercials, starting at the age two, for products such as Life cereal, Bounty, Hasbro, and Nabisco. It was at that time he also discovered his love for dance when he began taking jazz and ballet classes, usually being the only boy in the class. By the age of four he was a model with the Ford Modeling Agency in New York. He appeared in print ads for stores such as Macy's, Gap (clothing retailer), Target (magazine), and Toys R Us, and fashion spreads in Child, Parent, and American Baby magazines, as well as having his image on toys and game packaging. At age six Corbin appeared in his first professional theater production off Broadway, The Town Hall, Broadway's landmark concert venue. This three-concert series, created, written an hosted by Scott Siegel, took place over one weekend and included A Tribute to David Merrick. Corbin Bleu played an abandoned homeless mute in the play "Tiny Tim is Dead".
In 2006, 2007 and 2008, Bleu played "Chad Danforth" in High School Musical, the immensely popular Emmy award winning Disney Channel original movie, and the 2008 . In each of those successive installments, Bleu reprised his role as basketball player Chad Danforth a teammate of lead character Troy Bolton (Zac Efron). Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide, and Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade as himself in 2007, He also guest star in the premiere episode of Disney's Hannah Montana as Johnny Collins alongside actresses Miley Cyrus and Emily Osment. Bleu's next film, Jump In! co-starring actress and R&B; vocalist Keke Palmer, as well as Bleu's father David Reivers, premiered on January 12, 2007, and has since become one of the highest rated Disney Channel Original Movie, and The Tyra Banks Show in 2008. Bleu also appeared in the 2007 Disney Channel Games as captain of the Blue Team.
In fall 2009, he had a lead role in the film Free Style as Cale Bryant, alongside Sandra Echeverría and Madison Pettis, and appeared in The CW Television Network's new show , alongside actresses Sara Paxton and Mischa Barton. Also in 2009, he is Voice in Beyond All Boundaries, and appeared on Entertainment Tonight and The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet. Recently, he landed the lead role in the Broadway Musical In the Heights., and guest star in one episode in The Good Wife as DJ Javier Berlin alongside actress Julianna Margulies in October 2010.
On Another Side, he wrote/co-wrote five of the album's twelve songs. He also wrote two more songs that appear as bonus tracks on the European version. One of those tracks was titled "Shake It Off", an ode to the musician Prince.
He appeared in an episode of the Broadway cast of Spring Awakening's YouTube series. The episode was titled "Notesey", and Writer and performer of "Moments That Matter", Free Style 2008 Soundtrack, and Minutemen soundtrack, song "Run It Back Again", and "Word Of Promise: The Next Geneoration" Audio Bible Voice of Peter.
He wears a lot of the clothing by designers Don Ed Hardy and Dolce & Gabbana. He also wears clothes from the label Penguin and loves sneakers by Nike.
The first song he ever recorded professionally was titled "Circles" or "Circles In My Mind" for his then TV show "Flight 29 Down". When executives from several record companies heard the song, they became eager to sign him to a contract. He later signed with Hollywood Records and has since released two albums, Another Side in (2007) and Speed of Light in (2009).
He is a frequent volunteer worker, volunteering for charities such as "Starlight Children's Foundation", "The Make-A-Wish foundation" and "St Jude's children's research hospital", and Served Thanksgiving's dinner and Christmas Eve lunch at the Los Angeles homeless shelter in 2008 with Debby Ryan.
He appeared in the music video for the song "Don't Be Shy", the debut single from the band Small Change; the commercial for , and in 2008 Modelled for OP Ocean Pacific Clothing Line. Bleu was signed as a child model with The Ford Modeling Agency at the age of four, and he is a dedicated fan of the Los Angeles Lakers Basketball team.
{|class="wikitable sortable" |+ Films ! Year ! Film ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | rowspan=2 | 1998 ||Soldier || Johnny || rowspan=2 | appearance |- | Beach Movie || Kid |- | rowspan=3 | 1999 ||Family Tree || Ricky || Main Role |- | Mystery Men || Butch || rowspan=2 | appearance |- | Galaxy Quest || Young Tommy |- |- | 2004 || Catch That Kid ||Austin ||Main Role |- | 2006 || High School Musical || Chad Danforth||made for television (Disney Channel) |- | rowspan=4 | 2007|| Flight 29 Down: The Movie || Nathan McHugh|| made for television (Discovery Kids) |- | The Secret of the Magic Gourd ||Voice|| Main Role |- | Jump In!|| Isadore "Izzy" Daniels || made for television (Disney Channel) |- |High School Musical 2 || Chad Danforth||made for television (Disney Channel) |- | 2008 || || Chad Danforth ||Main Role |First HSM to be in theatres |- | rowspan=2 | 2009 || Free Style || Cale Bryant|| Main Role |- | Beyond All Boundaries || Voice || Main Role |- | 2010 || I Owe My Life to Corbin Bleu || Corbin Bleu || Main Role
{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Producer ! Year ! Producer ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- |2008||Free Style ||Producer||Film
2007]] {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Guest Appearances ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- |2006||Dancing with the Stars||Himself - Presenter||Reality-TV |- |2006||American Music Awards of 2006 ||Himself||Presenter |- |2006||Disney Channel Games ||Himself|| Disney Channel special |- |2006||New Year Sing-A-Long Bowl-A-Thon!||Himself - host||(TV) |- |2007||Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade ||Himself||1 episode |- |2007||Disney Channel Games ||Himself||Disney Channel special |- |2007|| ||Himself|| Disney Channel special |- |2007||''Kristi Yamaguchi Friends & Family' ' ||Himself||Documentary |- |2007–2010||Live with Regis and Kelly ||Himself||(TV) |- |2008||NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Duo or Group ||Himself||(TV) |- |2008||Good Morning America ||Himself||(TV) |- |2008||2008 MTV Video Music Awards ||Himself|| Presenter |- |2008||Kids' Inaugural: We Are the Future ||Himself|| Presenter |- |2008||2008 American Music Awards Red Carpet Live ||Himself|| Presenter |- |2008||American Music Awards of 2008 ||Himself|| Presenter |- |2008||Jonas Brothers: Living The Dream || Himself || One episode |- |2008||The Tyra Banks Show || Himself || One episode |- |2008||Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade || Himself || One episode |- |2008||Fantástico || Himself || One episode |- |2009||The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet || Himself || One episode |- |2009||The Movie Loft || Himself || One episode |- |2009||HSM3: Senior Awards || Himself || Documentary |- |2009||HSM3: Prom - The Night of Nights || Himself || Documentary |- |2009||HSM3: New Cast Profiles || Himself || Documentary |- |2009||HSM3: Prom - The Night of Nights || Himself || Documentary |- |2009||HSM3: New Cast Profiles || Himself || Documentary |- |2009||HSM3: Cast Goodbyes || Himself || Documentary |- |2008–2009||Entertainment Tonight || Himself || One episode |- |2009||VH1 Divas ||Himself||TV documentary |- |2009||The 14th Annual Critics' Choice Awards ||Himself|| Presenter |- |2009||2009 Kids' Choice Awards ||Himself|| Presenter |- |2009||Teen Choice Awards ||Himself|| Presenter |- |2009||This Is It, Los Angeles Premiere ||Himself|| Presenter |- |2010||The Wendy Williams Show ||Himself||(TV) |- |2010||In the Heights ||Usnavi||Broadway theatre
Category:1989 births Category:American child actors Category:American child singers Category:American dance musicians Category:American film actors Category:American male models Category:American male singers Category:American pop singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American voice actors Category:American television actors Category:English-language singers Category:American actors of Italian descent Category:American people of Jamaican descent Category:Corbin Bleu Category:Hollywood Records artists Category:Actors from New York City Category:Musicians from New York City Category:People from Brooklyn Category:Living people
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
| Name | Tony Bennett |
|---|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
| Voice type | Tenor His father was a grocer who had emigrated from Podàrgoni, a rural eastern district of the southern Italian city of Reggio Calabria, and his mother was a seamstress. Drawing and caricatures were also an early passion of his. But mostly he set his sights on a professional singing career, performing as a singing waiter in several Italian restaurants around the borough of Queens. |
| Name | Bennett, Tony |
| Date of birth | 1926-08-03 |
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
| Name | Shirley Bassey |
|---|---|
| Background | solo_singer |
| Birth name | Shirley Veronica Bassey |
| Born | January 08, 1937Tiger Bay, Cardiff, Wales |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Years active | 1953–present |
| Genre | Popular music |
| Label | Philips, Columbia, United Artists, Decca, Geffen |
| Url | Official website |
Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey, DBE (born 8 January 1937 in Cardiff, Wales), is a Welsh singer who found fame in the late 1950s and has continued a successful career since then worldwide. She is best known for recording the theme songs to the James Bond films Goldfinger (1964), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), and Moonraker (1979), and is a UNESCO Artist for Peace.
In 1965, Bassey enjoyed her first -- and only -- U.S. Top 40 Billboard Hot 100 hit with the title song of the James Bond film, Goldfinger. The single peaked at #8, while the original soundtrack of Goldfinger hit #1 in the U.S. that same year. Also in 1965, she sang the title track for the spoof James Bond film The Liquidator, and had a Top 20 live album recorded during a sell-out run at London's Pigalle.
From 1964 onwards the "Goldfinger" single had a lasting impact on her career: writing for the sleeve notes of Bassey's 25th Anniversary Album, Clayton (1978) notes that: "Acceptance in America was considerably helped by the enormous popularity of (Goldfinger)...But she had actually established herself there as early as 1961, in cabaret in New York. She was also a success in Las Vegas...'I suppose I should feel hurt that I've never been really big in America on record since Goldfinger...But, concertwise, I always sell out.'..." This was reflected in the fact that Bassey had only one solo LP to reach the Top 20 in a US chart (R&B;, Live at Carnegie Hall), and she was technically a "one-hit wonder," making only one appearance in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, "Goldfinger". But in the aftermath of "Goldfinger" her UK sales started to falter as well: only two of her singles would enter the UK top 40 until 1970. She had signed to United Artists, and her first album on that label, 1966's I've Got a Song for You, spent one week on the chart; from there until 1970, only two albums would chart, one of those a compilation. In 1967 came the release of one of her best-known singles "Big Spender", although it charted just outside the UK Top 20. Also in 1968, at the Sanremo Festival in Italy, she performed "La vita", an Italian song by Bruno Canfora and Antonio Amurri, with some lyrics re-written in English by Norman Newell for her performance. Her version of the song with chorus sung in Italian became a Top 40 hit on the Italian chart, and Bassey recorded several songs in Italian, some appearing on a 1968 Italian album titled La vita. (Later, Newell would write English lyrics for the rest of "La vita", and the result was "This Is My Life".) But her UK sales continued to suffer.
Bassey's UK comeback came in 1970, leading to one of the most successful periods of her career. In this year, she returned to the UK with a record breaking run of performances at the Talk of the Town nightclub. Also in that year, she released the album Something, which showcased a new Bassey style, a shift from traditional pop to more contemporary songs and arrangements (the single of the same name was more successful in the UK charts than the original Beatles recording - the only artist to have achieved this), though Bassey would never completely abandon what had been her forte, standards, show tunes, and torch songs. "Something" was also a Top 10 U.S. hit on the Adult Contemporary chart. Other singles of this period included top ten hits "For All We Know" (1971) and "Never Never Never" (1973) – the latter also reaching the Top 10 in the U.S. Adult Contemporary Chart. The success of "Something" (single #4, album #5) spawned a series of successful albums on the UA label, including Something Else (1971), And I Love You So (1972), I Capricorn (1972), Never Never Never (1973), Good, Bad but Beautiful (1975), Life, Love and Feelings (1976), You Take My Heart Away (1977) and Yesterdays (1978). Bernard Ighner wrote and duetted with Bassey for the track "Davy" on the Nobody Does It Like Me album (1974). Additionally, two of Bassey's earlier LPs entered the charts, 1967's And We Were Lovers (re-issued as Big Spender), and 1962's Let's Face the Music (re-issued as What Now My Love). Two compilations, The Shirley Bassey Singles Album (1975) and 25th Anniversary Album (1978) both made the UK top three: The Shirley Bassey Singles Album her highest charting album at No. 2 and earning a gold disc, and 25th Anniversary Album going platinum.
Between 1970 and 1979, Bassey had 18 hit albums in the UK Albums Chart. In 1976 Bassey starred in the six-episode The Shirley Bassey Show, the first of her television programs for the BBC, followed by a second series of six episodes in 1979. The final show of the first series was nominated for the Golden Rose of Montreux in 1977. The series featured guests including Neil Diamond, Michel Legrand, The Three Degrees and Dusty Springfield; filmed in various locations throughout the world as well as in the studio.
In 1978 Bassey pleaded guilty to being drunk and disorderly "after shouting abuse in the street and pushing a policeman". Also in 1987, Bassey provided vocals for Swiss artists Yello on "The Rhythm Divine", a song co-written by Scottish singer Billy Mackenzie. It was also a top ten hit in Italy. On 7 October 1998 in Egypt, Bassey performed for a benefit at an open air concert close to the Sphinx and the Great Pyramid.
In the 1998 film Little Voice, Bassey was one of three central figures along with Marilyn Monroe and Judy Garland, and Bassey's track "Goldfinger" featured in the movie. Jane Horrocks, the lead actress in the film, went on to impersonate Bassey both on record and television, as well as during a UK tour.
In 1998 Bassey was sued by her former personal assistant in a breach of contract case, who also accused Bassey of hitting her and making an ethnic slur. Bassey won the case.
Two popular Audiences with Shirley Bassey have aired on British TV, one in 1995 that attracted more than 10 million viewers in the UK, with the most recent in 2006. Bassey returned to perform in five arenas around the UK in June the same year, culminating at Wembley. She also performed a concert in front of 10,000 people at the Bryn Terfel Faenol Festival in North Wales broadcast by BBC Wales.
Marks & Spencer signed her for their Christmas 2006 'James Bond style' TV advertising campaign. Bassey is seen in a glamorous Ice Palace singing a cover version of Pink's song "Get the Party Started", wearing an M&S; gown.
"The Living Tree", written, produced and originally recorded by the group Never the Bride, was released as a single on 23 April 2007, marking Bassey's 50th anniversary in the UK Singles Chart – and the record for the longest span of Top 40 hits in UK chart history. The same year, Bassey performed "Big Spender" with Elton John at his annual White Tie and Tiara Ball to raise money for The Elton John AIDS Foundation. In 2007, Bassey performed in Fashion Rocks in aid of The Prince's Trust at the Royal Albert Hall.
, Debbie Harry, Lady GaGa, Elton John, Bassey and Bruce Springsteen at Carnegie Hall 2010]] She was rushed to hospital in Monaco on 23 May 2008 to have an emergency operation on her stomach after complaining of abdominal pains. She was forced to pull out of the Nelson Mandela 90th Birthday Tribute concert because of her illness. A biography, Diamond Diva, was published in 2008. In 2009 her granddaughter appeared on The X Factor.
In 2009 Bassey recorded a new album, The Performance, with James Bond composer David Arnold as co-producer (with Mike Dixon). A number of artists wrote songs expressly for Bassey, including Manic Street Preachers, Gary Barlow, KT Tunstall, Pet Shop Boys, Nick Hodgson of the Kaiser Chiefs, John Barry and Don Black.
Bassey headlined at the BBC Electric Proms on 23 October 2009, in her only full live set of 2009.
In November 2009, she performed several of the new songs from The Performance on various TV shows: The Graham Norton Show, The Paul O'Grady Show and as the guest singer on Strictly Come Dancing.
Bassey performed at the Rainforest Foundation Fund 21st Birthday concert at Carnegie Hall, New York City on 13 May 2010.
Bassey currently resides in Monte Carlo.
Category:1937 births Category:1950s singers Category:1960s singers Category:1970s singers Category:1980s singers Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Living people Category:Black British musicians Category:BRIT Award winners Category:Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Category:People from Cardiff Category:Traditional pop music singers Category:Welsh female singers Category:Welsh people of Nigerian descent Category:British expatriates in Monaco
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| Name | Marge Champion |
|---|---|
| Birthname | Marjorie Celeste Belcher |
| Othername | Marjorie BellMarge Champion Sagal |
| Birth date | September 02, 1919 |
| Birth place | Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Occupation | Actor, choreographer, dancer, pedagogue |
| Spouse | Art Babbitt (1937–1940)Gower Champion (1947–1973)Boris Sagal (1977-1981) |
| Yearsactive | 1930s–present |
Marge Champion (September 2, 1919) is an American dancer choreographer, and pedagogue. In addition, she also worked in film and appeared in a number of television variety shows.
Marge and Gower appeared in many successful films for MGM, such as the 1951 version of Show Boat and their own starring vehicle, Everything I Have Is Yours.
During the summer of 1957, they had their own TV series, a sitcom with song and dance numbers: The Marge and Gower Champion Show. Marge played a dancer, Gower a choreographer, and Buddy Rich a fictional drummer named Cozy.
Champion first married Art Babbitt (1907–1992), a Walt Disney's top animator. She married Gower Champion in 1947. They divorced in 1973 and had two sons, Blake and actor Gregg Champion. Her third marriage was to Boris Sagal, father of actress Katey Sagal, on January 1, 1977 until his death on May 22, 1981. She is the half-sister of actress Lina Basquette.
In the 1970s Champion, actress Marilee Zdenek, and choreographer John West were part of a team at Bel Aire Presbyterian church that created several creative worship services, later offering workshops and related liturgical arts programs throughout the country. She and Zdenek co-authored two books, Catch the New Wind (1972; Word Books, ASIN: B00005VJEH) and God is A Verb (1976; Word Books, ASIN: B000IOCVXW) related to this work.
Since retiring, Marge Champion works as a dance teacher and choreographer in New York City. In 1982, she made a rare television acting appearance on the dramatic series Fame, playing a ballet teacher with a prejudice against African-American dance students. In 2001 she appeared as Emily Whitman in a Broadway revival of Follies
Category:1919 births Category:Living people Category:American film actors Category:American stage actors Category:American dancers Category:American choreographers Category:Dance instructors Category:People from Los Angeles, California
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Klea next turned her passion for musical-theatre history toward the Broadway career of composer Vernon Duke and debuted Autumn in New York: Vernon Duke’s Broadway at New York’s Café Carlyle which subsequently played a sold-out engagement at Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater. In the Fall of 2007 Klea teamed with Billy Stritch to create Dreaming of a Song: The Music of Hoagy Carmichael which they debuted at Manhattan’s Metropolitan Room. This performance received a Bacstage Bistro Award. The recording of Dreaming of a Song: The Music of Hoagy Carmichael will be released in June 2008.
Klea’s many concert appearances include the recent London Palladium presentation of “Jerry Herman’s Broadway.” She made her Carnegie Hall debut starring with Michael Feinstein in an evening devoted to the work of composer, Jule Styne. In 2002, Klea made her London debut (stage, radio and television) at Royal Albert Hall. As part of the BBC Proms, she sang the role of Ado Annie in a special concert version of Oklahoma! celebrating composer Richard Rodgers centenary. She returned to London the following spring to debut Everything the Traffic Will Allow at the Greenwich Theatre. Other notable appearances include the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s tribute to Leonard Bernstein; The Paley Center for Media’s tribute to Kay Swift; Jazz at Lincoln Center; 92nd Street Y Lyrics & Lyricist Series (Leo Robin &Cole; Porter); The Oak Room in the fabled Algonquin Hotel; San Francisco’s Plush Room; New Jersey Performing Arts Center; Guild Hall in East Hampton; and multiple appearances at the Chicago Humanities Festival.
Klea's theatre credits include Mama Morton in Pioneer Theatre Company’s production of Chicago; the dual roles of Bernice/Marilyn in the Off Broadway production of Bingo; Nails O’Reilly Duquesne in Red, Hot and Blue at San Francisco’s 42nd Street Moon; Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven; Debbie in the original Off Broadway production of Oil City Symphony; Rennabelle in Radio Gals Off Broadway at the John Houseman Theatre; and the role of Hippolyta in By Jupiter in the York Theatre’s Musicals in Mufti series.
Klea made her screen debut in the award-winning short film, Andy Across the Water, written and directed by Leo Geter.
Klea’s television and radio appearances include The Caroline Rhea Show, The Rosie O’Donnell Show, Sesame Street, Law and Order: SVU, and A Prairie Home Companion.
Klea’s recordings of “Dreaming of a Song: The Music of Hoagy Carmichael,” “Autumn in New York: Vernon Duke’s Broadway,” and “Everything the Traffic Will Allow” are on the Ghostlight Records label are available at www.ghostlightrecords.com. Other recordings on which she is featured include “Jule Styne in Hollywood” on the PS Classics label; the original cast recordings of Bingo and Radio Gals; “Lost in Boston IV,” “Unsung Irving Berlin,” and “The Best of Off Broadway.”
Category:Living people
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| Name | Julie Andrews |
|---|---|
| Caption | Andrews, March 2003. |
| Birth name | Julia Elizabeth Wells |
| Birth date | October 01, 1935 |
| Birth place | Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England |
| Occupation | Actress, singer, author |
| Years active | 1945–present (stage)1949–present (screen) |
| Spouse | (divorced) (his death) |
Dame Julia Elizabeth Andrews, DBE (née Wells; born 1 October 1935) is an English film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honours. Andrews was a former British child actress and singer who made her Broadway debut in 1954 with The Boy Friend, and rose to prominence starring in other musicals such as My Fair Lady and Camelot, and in musical films such as Mary Poppins (1964), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress, and The Sound of Music (1965): the roles for which she is still best-known. Her voice was damaged by a throat operation in 1997.
Andrews had a revival of her film career in 2000s in family films such as The Princess Diaries (2001), its sequel (2004), the Shrek animated films (2004–2010), and Despicable Me (2010). 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, Sag Harbor, New York (and later at the Goodspeed Opera House, in East Haddam, Connecticut in 2005).
Andrews is also an author of children's books, and in 2008 published an autobiography, .
With the outbreak of World War II, Barbara and Ted Wells went their separate ways. Ted Wells assisted with evacuating children to Surrey during the Blitz, while Barbara joined Ted Andrews in entertaining the troops through the good offices of the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA). Barbara and Ted Wells were soon divorced. They both remarried: Barbara to Ted Andrews, in 1939; and Ted Wells, to a former hairstylist working a lathe at a war factory that employed them both in Hinchley Wood, Surrey.
Julia Wells lived briefly with Ted Wells and her brother John in Surrey. In about 1940, Ted Wells sent 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 Julia 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. Julia 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." In addition, according to Andrews' 2008 memoir, her stepfather was an alcoholic. Ted Andrews twice, while drunk, tried to get into bed with his stepdaughter, resulting in Andrews putting a lock on her door. (though Andrews herself refutes this in her 2008 autobiography Home). According to Andrews: "Madame was sure that I could do Mozart and Rossini, but, to be honest, I never was". Of her own voice, she says "I had a very pure, white, thin voice, a four-octave range – dogs would come for miles around."
Julie Andrews got 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. 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."
On 1 November 1948, Julie Andrews 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.
Julie Andrews followed her parents into radio and television. She reportedly made her television debut on the BBC program RadiOlympia Showtime on 8 October 1949. She garnered considerable fame throughout the United Kingdom for her work on the BBC radio comedy show Educating Archie; she was a cast member from 1950 to 1952. Near the end of her Boy Friend contract, Andrews was asked to audition for My Fair Lady on Broadway and got the part. In November 1955 Andrews was signed to appear with Bing Crosby in what is regarded as the first made-for-television movie, High Tor.
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.
Miss Andrews married set designer Tony 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. The couple filed for a divorce on November 14, 1967.
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, 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 movie studio head Jack 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 movie theatre box office. Audrey Hepburn had never made a financial flop."
Andrews and her husband headed back to the United Kingdom in September 1962 to await the birth of daughter Emma Katherine Walton, who was born in London two months later. The family returned to America in 1963 and Miss 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".
As a result of her performance in Mary Poppins, Andrews won the 1964 Academy Award for Best Actress and the 1965 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. She and her Mary Poppins 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."
In 1964 she appeared opposite James Garner in The Americanization of Emily (1964), which she has described as her favourite film. In 1966, Andrews won her second Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and was nominated for the 1965 Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as Maria von Trapp in The Sound of Music.
After completing The Sound Of Music, Andrews appeared as a guest star on the NBC-TV variety series The Andy Williams Show, which gained her an Emmy nomination. She followed this television appearance with an Emmy Award-winning color 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 with Paul Newman in the Hitchcock thriller Torn Curtain. By the end of 1967, Andrews had appeared in the television special Cinderella; the biggest Broadway musical of its time, My Fair Lady; the largest-selling long-playing album, the original cast recording of My Fair Lady; the biggest hit in Disney's history, Mary Poppins; the highest grossing movie of 1966, Hawaii; the biggest and second biggest hits in Universal's history, Thoroughly Modern Millie and Torn Curtain; and the biggest hit in 20th Century Fox's history The Sound of Music.
Andrews, appeared in Star!, a 1968 biopic of Gertrude Lawrence, and Darling Lili (1970), co-starring Rock Hudson and directed by her soon-to-be second husband, Blake Edwards (they married in 1969). According to an interview by the couple in 1982, Edwards recalled how he had got laughs at a get-together with friends, before he had met Andrews, about his explanation for her amazing success; he described her "endlessly cheerful governess" image from the movie The Sound of Music as if she had "lilacs for pubic hair." The couple stayed married for 41 years until Edwards' death in 2010. Edwards' children from a previous marriage, Jennifer and Geoffrey, were 3 and 5 years older than Emma, Andrews' daughter with Tony Walton.
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 1972–1973, 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 and appeared again with the Muppets on a CBS-TV special, Julie Andrews: One Step Into Spring, which aired in March, 1978. In February 1980, Andrews headlined "Because We Care", a CBS-TV special with 30 major stars raising funds for Cambodian Famine victims.
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 first on screen nude scene and got much attention as she poked fun at her own squeaky clean image.
In 1983, Andrews was chosen as the Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year by the Harvard University theatrical society. The roles of Victoria Grant and Count Victor Grezhinski in the film Victor Victoria earned Andrews the 1983 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.
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 movie, Our Sons, co-starring Ann-Margret.
In the summer of 1992 Andrews starred in her first television sitcom, Julie, which aired on ABC 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.
Miss Andrews was forced to quit the show towards the end of the Broadway run in 1997 when she developed vocal problems. She subsequently underwent surgery to remove non-cancerous nodules from her throat and was left unable to sing. The lawsuit was settled in September 2000.
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 movie, One Special Night, which aired in November 1999.
In the 2000 New Year's Millennium Honours List, Andrews was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for services to the performing arts. She also appears at #59 on the 2002 List of "100 Greatest Britons" sponsored by the BBC and chosen by the public.
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).
In July through early August 2008, Andrews hosted Julie Andrews' The Gift of Music, a short tour of the United States 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.
On May 8, 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."
On May 8, 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. Previous to it she appeared on British television (on December 15, 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". 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, did not convince the critics.
On May 18, 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.
On May 21, 2010, her film Shrek Forever After was released; in it Andrews reprises her role as the Queen.
On July 9, 2010, Despicable Me, an animated movie in which Andrews lent her voice to Marlena, the evil mother of the main character (Gru, voiced by Steve Carell), opened to rave reviews and strong box office.
On October 28, 2010, Andrews appeared, along with the actors who portrayed the cinematic Von Trapp family members, on Oprah to commemorate the film's 45th anniversary. A few days later, her 24th book, Little Bo in Italy, was published.
On December 15, 2010, her husband, Blake Edwards, passed away at the age of 88 following complications from pneumonia. Andrews was by her husband's side when he passed away.
It was announced on 22 December 2010, that Andrews would receive a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at the 53rd Grammy Awards ceremony in 2011.
{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Television |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 1956 | Ford Star Jubilee | Lise | High Tor |- | 1957 | Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella | Cinderella | Original live broadcast, March 31 |- |1959 |''Hans Christian Andersen's The Gentle Flame |Trissa |BBC broadcast December 25 |- | 1962 | Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall | Herself | |- | 1965 | | Host | |- | 1969 | | Herself | "An Evening with Julie Andrews and Harry Belafonte" |- | 1971 | Julie and Carol at Lincoln Center | Herself | |- | 1972–1973 | | Host | |- | 1973 | Julie on Sesame Street | Herself | |- | 1974 | Julie and Dick at Covent Garden | Herself | |- | 1974 | Julie and Jackie: How Sweet It Is | Herself | |- | 1975 | Julie: My Favorite Things | Herself | |- | 1978 | Julie Andrews: One Step Into Spring | Herself – host | |- | 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 | | |- | 1999 | One Special Night | Catherine | |- | 2001 | On Golden Pond | Ethel Thayer | |- | 2003 | Eloise at the Plaza | Nanny | |- | 2003 | Eloise at Christmastime | Nanny | |- | 2009 | Great Performances: "From Vienna: The New Year's Celebration 2009" | Herself | Narrator / Host, succeeding Walter Cronkite |- | 2010 | Todos contra Juan | Herself | Argentinian TV sitcom |}
{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Stage |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 1954 | | Polly Brown | |- | 1956 | My Fair Lady | Eliza Doolittle | Nominated—Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical |- | 1961 | Camelot | Queen Guinevere | Nominated—Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical |- | 1993 | Putting It Together | Amy | |- | 1995 | Victor/Victoria | Victor/Victoria | Nominated—Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical (nomination declined) |}
Category:1935 births Category:Actresses awarded British damehoods Category:Alumni of the Arts Educational Schools Category:American Theatre Hall of Fame inductees Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Best Actress Academy Award winners Category:Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Category:Emmy Award winners Category:English children's writers Category:English expatriates in the United States Category:English female singers Category:English film actors Category:English musical theatre actors Category:English stage actors Category:English voice actors Category:English child singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Kennedy Center honorees Category:Living people Category:Music hall performers Category:People from Walton-on-Thames
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
| Name | Jill Clayburgh |
|---|---|
| Birth date | April 30, 1944 |
| Birth place | New York City, New York, US |
| Death date | November 05, 2010 |
| Death place | Lakeville, Connecticut, US |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1968–2010 |
| Spouse | (her death); two children}} |
Jill Clayburgh (April 30, 1944 – November 5, 2010) was an American actress. She received Academy Award nominations for her roles in An Unmarried Woman and Starting Over.
Clayburgh's father's family was Jewish and wealthy. She was raised in a "fashionable" neighborhood on Manhattan's Upper East Side, where she attended the prestigious Brearley School. |- |1972 |Portnoy's Complaint |Naomi | |- |1973 |The Thief Who Came to Dinner |Jackie | |- |1974 |The Terminal Man |Angela Black | |- |rowspan=3|1976 |Gable and Lombard |Carole Lombard | |- |Griffin & Phoenix | | |- |Silver Streak |Hilly Burns | |- |1977 |Semi-Tough |Barbara Jane Bookman | |- |1978 |An Unmarried Woman |Erica |Cannes Film Festival Best Actress AwardNominated — Academy Award for Best ActressNominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading RoleNominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama |- |rowspan=2|1979 |La Luna |Caterina Silveri |Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama |- |Starting Over |Marilyn Holmberg |Nominated — Academy Award for Best ActressNominated — American Movie Award for Best ActressNominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |- |1980 |It's My Turn |Kate Gunzinger | |- |1981 |First Monday in October |Ruth Loomis |Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |- |1982 |I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can |Barbara Gordon | |- |1983 |Hanna K. |Hanna Kaufman | |- |rowspan=2|1986 |- |Miles To Go |Moira Browning | |- | |Where Are The Children? |Nancy Holder Eldridge | |- |1987 |Shy People |Diana Sullivan | |- |1990 |Oltre l'oceano |Ellen |aka Beyond the Ocean (USA) |- |1991 |Pretty Hattie's Baby | | |- |rowspan=2|1992 |Whispers in the Dark |Sarah Green | |- |Le grand pardon II |Sally White |aka Day of Atonement |- |rowspan=2|1993 |Naked in New York |Shirley, Jake's Mother | |- |Rich in Love |Helen Odom | |- |rowspan=1|1994 |For the Love of Nancy |Sally Walsh | |- |rowspan=2|1997 |Going All the Way |Alma Burns | |- |Fools Rush In |Nan Whitman | |- |rowspan=2|2001 |Never Again |Grace | |- |Vallen |Ruth |aka Falling |- |2006 |Running with Scissors |Agnes Finch | |- |2007–2009 |Dirty Sexy Money |Letitia Darling |Television |- |2010 |Love and Other Drugs |Mrs. Randall | |- |2011 |Bridesmaids | |Completed, and Clayburgh's last film. |}
Category:1944 births Category:2010 deaths Category:Cancer deaths in Connecticut Category:Deaths from leukemia Category:Alumnae of women's universities and colleges Category:American film actors Category:American Jews Category:American musical theatre actors Category:American stage actors Category:American television actors Category:Jewish actors Category:Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute alumni Category:Actors from New York City Category:Sarah Lawrence College alumni
This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.
