TV's Fair Julie

Seven months after the Poppins premiere, the west wind blew Julie Andrews into the arms of a new family, and another colossal hit. Trailers for The Sound of Music (1965, 20th Century Fox), capitalized on her Disney fame, calling her "the girl who captured the heart of the world as Mary Poppins", and promised more of "her delightful magic". Julie's Maria had more in common with Mary Poppins than the variation on their first names. Once again she sang a tuneful score conducted by Irwin Kostal, was a governess to neglected children, and altered their father's course. This time, the only flying in the film was the soaring, overhead camerawork, and the flight of millions to the box office.

 Unfortunately, despite a Best Actress Oscar for Poppins, not many of Julie's subsequent 1960s films turned as major a profit. As a British military driver in The Americanization of Emily (1964), she tried dark comedy. She played a Hitchcock heroine in one of his least known films, Torn Curtain (1966). Hawaii (1966) saw her as a devout missionary. She was the titular 1920s flapper in the charming. Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967). In Star! (1968), she was British stage legend, Gertrude Lawrence. Finally, she was a Mata Hari type spy, in Darling Lili (1970). The roles she chose were varied. Julie played them with varying success with critics and her core audience, who had already typed her as a magical, mother figure.



 Perhaps her most fitting role would have been as Amalia, the pen pal romantic, in She Loves Me. This movie version of the Broadway show, would have reunited her with Poppins co-star, Dick Van Dyke. Sadly, a change in studio regime at MGM, caused the cancelling of this intriguing project.

 As the 1970s began, Julie and her unshakable Mary/Maria image, was at a crossroads. Huge roadshow attractions were on the wane. The gritty realism of then current cinema, seemed at odds with her musical movie persona. Rather than trying to change her image, she decided to capitalize on it, this time on the small screen, in her own variety series. 

Despite rave reviews, "The Julie Andrews Hour" never garnered big ratings for ABC. The changing time slot, and viewing tastes, along with hefty competition from CBS' powerhouse Saturday night lineup, didn't help. Most of its time on air,

 it was opposite CBS’ Mary Tyler Moore, and Bob Newhart, two of the most popular shows of the day. Just like Judy Garland's infamous tv flop a decade earlier, the team behind the Andrews Hour was torn between Julie’s warm, familial screen persona, and Julie, the more remote, sophisticated chanteuse.

 The premiere episode of September 13, 1972, arguably the best of the series, presented all facets of Julie's past and personality, in tandem.

 In a mini-biography of her career, Julie revisited the roles of stage and screen that made her fans fall in love with her. Director Tony Charmoli, and the writers, hit upon the idea of using special effects to show three Julie Andrews on screen at the same time.

 Timed perfectly as a teaser for the 1973 rerelease of the film, viewers saw Julie as Mary Poppins' once more; splayed feet dropping down from the top of the soundstage, dressed in the familiar Tony Walton costume, right down to the parrot handled umbrella. Landing at the feet of a very Cockney Eliza Doolittle, the stage role that had propelled her to stardom, in My Fair Lady, there began a hilarious battle of words, with Julie, as herself, as referee.

 Eliza: Well, if it isn't the galloping governess herself! Did you just fly in on your umbrella, dearie, or are you using a broom these days?

 With a quick "Spit Spot", Mary Poppins attempts to make Eliza disappear, to no avail.

 Eliza: You're not much without your Disney special effects, are you?

 Julie-as-Julie: Girls, for my sake, won't you please try to get on?

 Soon, the trio finds literal harmony, singing a medley of "Chim Chim Cher-ee", and "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocius", floating over the blue- screen rooftops.

 The rest of the series never again reached such heights.

 The timing for this "return" was a perfect teaser for the major rereleases of both Poppins, and The Sound of Music. The return of those films would earn more millions, and a new generation of fans, but the television show faded quietly away. The early episodes emphasized music, and comedy sketches, in the vein of Carol Burnett's successful series. By mid season, some of the comedy was dropped, with emphasis on mini concerts. The guest list was impressive: Sandy Duncan,Angela Lansbury, Robert Goulet, Joel Gray, Peggy Lee, Cass Elliot, The Muppets, and the real Maria Von Trapp, to name a few. But, the abundance of talent did not translate into ratings.

 In April of 1973, the 24th, and final episode of the series was aired. Ironically, little more than a month later, it was awarded seven Emmys, including Best Musical Variety Series.

 This may have vindicated the creative team, but the program was over, and never rerun in the United States.

 Eliza: I made her a stage star!

 Mary Poppins: I made her a movie star!

 Julie's television stardom was elusive. She continued to do well received television specials, Broadway, and big screen favorites like Victor Victoria, and the Princess Diaries.

 The last line of Mary Poppins is Dick Van Dyke’s, as Bert, urging her, “Don’t stay away too long”.

She hasn’t. Julie Andrews has graced screens, stages, and pages, as she is now a very successful children’s author. Her position as a permanent entertainment icon, has remained firmly in place.

 The closing theme to her tv show, which she wrote, had these fitting lyrics by Leslie Bricusse:

 “Time now to go, for everything must end. I’ll see you soon again, knowing time is my friend”.