Today
I was off to Julie’s again, but before that, I went to my theatre class and did
a pantomime scene... After that I had speech class. Our teacher, Mrs. Baker,
gave us different vocal qualities to practice. Some of the voices sounded like
Alice Ghostley and some like Katherine Hepburn. It was amazing.
Then, I hurried to the studio. At the gate, the guard on duty questioned me,
and I almost didn’t get in. I arrived at Studio E at quarter
to twelve .
It appeared they were beginning the taping late today.
When
the girl I met last time, Vivian, came in, she asked me to sit next to her, but
she was sitting in the front row and I didn’t want to sit that close. Instead, I
sat one row back. Vivian introduced me to “Patty," a young girl with has red hair and freckles whom she'd told me about last time. Like Vivian, "Patty" was only
fifteen. Patty liked to laugh and watched everything with eagle eyes. There
were a couple of other girls there as well, but I didn’t meet them.
The
scene they were going to tape was already set up when I arrived. It was a party
scene. The set contained a room with walls that slid in and out for the camera.
The room had a sofa, white grand piano, and other furniture.
Sitting
down in the second row, I leaned over the front row to Vivien and said, “I’m so
glad to be here!” I didn’t realize that Julie was standing on the stage,
directly in front of us, wearing “roaring 20s” flapper dress. Just then, she
looked down at us, struck a pose and said, “Hi there!”
... The girls in front of me got very excited that she had spoken to
them, and said “Hi” back to her, one after the other.
The
scene they were about to film was a tribute to the music of British playwright
and songwriter, Noel Coward.
Noel Coward, born December
16th, 1899 in a suburb of London made his professional
debut at the age of eleven. As a teenager, he began writing both plays and
songs. During his lifetime he published over fifty plays and was revered for
his work. He was also a very good friend of Gertrude Lawrence, whom Julie
Andrews played in the film Star! On March
26, 1973 ,
only four months after this show was taped, Coward passed away at his home in Jamaica .
For more information on Noel Coward,
please visit:
The
taping began with the most beautiful music, “I’ll See You Again,” a song written
by Noel Coward in 1928 for the light opera Bittersweet.
Julie sang the song, and she was in
wonderful form; the music just flowed from her. I wished she would sing it all
night.
**************************************
![]() |
From Ruth Schaufelberger's collection. Ruth often took pictures off the television. Some came out quite well. |
Later, Alice Ghostly sang, “Mad About the Boy.” She started the song by the
piano and ended up sitting on a sofa next to Rich Little, who was dressed in a white
suit and spoke like Truman Capote. When Rich said his lines, we were
hysterical, laughing. Later, when he came offstage and sat in the audience with
us...
Today,
I especially loved watching Alice Ghostly. She looked so good and sang so
well. After her performance, she came
down and sat two seats from me.
“Hi
girls, how are you?” she asked. “Did you like the scene?”
There
was a point during this Noel Coward scene where Julie had to act dizzy and fall
on a sofa. Then, one of the guest stars (not sure which) sang “Poor Little Rich
Girl” to her. After that, Julie had to fall down
and then get up with a carnation in her mouth.... But she was in great form today and hit her high notes so easily.
After
the Noel Coward scene, I had to leave for class...
***
I
rushed back to The Julie Andrews Hour
where they were working on a new scene. In this scene, Julie had to say: “I’m
bored. Do something to entertain me.”
Tony
Randall and Keith Michell were there.
![]() |
Julie Andrews and Keith Michell from the Ruth and Vannie Schaufelberger Collection |
In
the scene they were taping when I arrived, Keith was supposed to take his
handkerchief out and lean Julie down against a bar or something. As he did this,
director Bill Davis called, “Hold!”
Julie
and Keith were mouth to mouth. They held. But Julie’s back hurt and she was
slipping!....
....She
giggled, and we all laughed as she skipped across the stage. How could anyone
be mad at this delightful star!
Please note: Toward the release of a book on The Julie Andrews Hour and the author's experiences there, we are only including excerpts here.
To be continued …
***
Tony Randall was born in Tulsa , Oklahoma on February
26th, 1920 . He attended Northwestern University and then moved to New York where he studied at the
Neighborhood Playhouse under Sandford Meisner and choreographer Martha Graham.
During
the 1930s and 40s, Randall appeared onstage in many minor roles, working with
such legendary actresses as Jane Cowl, Ethel Barrymore, and Katharine Cornell.
In the 1950s, he began working in television. Two years before his appearance
on The Julie Andrews Hour, Tony Randall had taken the role of Felix Unger in
the television adaption of the Broadway play, The Odd Couple. He starred
opposite Jack Klugman.
For
more information, please visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Randall
Keith Michell was born December
1, 1926
in Adelaide , Australia . He made his stage
debut there in 1947 and by 1951 was appearing in London . During his career, he
appeared in several musicals, most notably Man
of La Mancha .
Michell starred in the first London production of the
musical.
Keith
Michell is a renowned Shakespearean actor, having worked at the Shakespeare
Memorial Theater. He is also known for his television work, including Henry
VIII in The Six Wives of Henry the VIII
and Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights .
For
more information, please visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Michell
You may find a complete list of The Julie Andrews Hour blogs and links at:
http://www.julieandrewshour1972.com
Please
Note: All photos used here are for Entertainment Purposes ONLY.
In some cases, the names of persons written
about here who were not in the show have been changed. The story of this day
will be told in three parts
If anyone knows where I can view a copy of this show, please contact me: catsong2@netzero.net
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