Trivia of Julie Andrews

Trivia of Julie Andrews (1 October 1935)

*Julie Andrews changed her name from Wells to Andrews when her mother got a divorce and married a man named Ted Andrews.Julie’s stepfather was an alcoholic and violent man and she only called him ‘dad’ because her mother insisted that she does so.Though Andrews dislike her step-father, that stepfather sponsored lessons for her, first at the independent arts educational school Cone-Ripman School (ArtsEd) in London, and thereafter with concert soprano and voice instructor Madame Lilian Stiles-Allen.

*At 12 years old, Andrews made her professional stage debut at the London Hippodrome where she performed in the musical revue, “Starlight Roof.” Although impresario Val Parnell had his doubts about including such a young performer.Singing “Je suis" from “Mignon” as the show’s first act drew to its close, Andrews had the entire crowd going wild. As Andrews recalled, her song “literally stopped the show.” The press couldn’t have been more ecstatic about her debut,with the Stage writing, “Julie Andrews, the youthful prima donna, is fully entitled to her remarkable reception for some beautiful singing.”

*On November 1, 1948, Julie Andrews, aged 13, became the youngest solo performer ever to be seen in a Royal Command Variety Performance before King George VI and Queen Elizabeth at the London Palladium.She performed alongside Danny Kaye, the Nicholas Brothers, and the comedy team George and Bert Bernard.

*Walt Disney first spotted Julie in the early 1960s when she was starring as Queen Guinevere in Camelot on Broadway. After seeing Julie perform, Walt made a beeline backstage to offer her the title role in his upcoming musical fantasy, Mary Poppins.

*While she played the original Eliza Dolittle in the Broadway musical "My Fair Lady", Audrey Hepburn played the part in the movie My Fair Lady (1964). The studio executives did not want Andrews because she hadn't had any experience in film and thought Hepburn would be the better choice. However, while the film My Fair Lady took home several Oscars in 1964, it failed to win the Best Actress category. That award went to none other than Julie Andrews for her performance in Mary Poppins (1964).

*To keep the children entertained on set during the filming of Sound of Music (1965), Andrews sang ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ to them. The children were hearing the song for the first time.Since her another movie Mary Poppins hadn't yet been released, they just thought she'd made up the song for them.

*Her musical range is as expansive as that of rock legend Freddie Mercury.For years, scientists have been debating how Freddie Mercury’s vocal chords allowed for such a wide vocal range. Really, they should just put Julie Andrews into an MRI scanner because her range is just as impressive. While Mercury famously could sing four octaves in a baritone range, Andrews can do the same with her soprano pipes.In 1998 ,Andrews had surgery on her throat.After that, her husband reported that she might never sing again. Fortunately, she recovered, but the surgeon operating on her was sued for malpractice because her voice was never truly the same again.