***
 |
| On Episode 15, Julie presented Keith Michell with his Emmy Award |
In the days following the taping of Episode 15, little memories that I had not written
down in my diary kept popping into my head. One memory was of Julie coming to
producer, Nick Vanoff, at two in the morning and asking,
“Is
the air conditioning on?”
I
wrote in quotes: “At two in the morning, in winter?”
I
don’t know if Nick said that, but I tend to doubt it. It may have been my
thought because we were already freezing in the studio.
“Yes,
Julie,” said Nick.
“Well,
can you turn it up?”
Nobody
complained. She was the star. We just pulled our coats over us and put our hats
on.
Then,
Julie got her hair dryer out and started blow drying herself.
“Isn’t
she going to catch cold?” someone asked.
I
imagine she was very hot under the lights in her wig and Shakespearean costume.
Plus the scene from Taming of the Shrew involved a lot of physical work.
In
another note, I described Julie and Keith discussing what kind of kiss the king
in The King’s Breakfast would give
the queen. Keith said,
“How
shall we kiss?”
Julie wanted to do one kind of kiss and Keith another, so they tried
a lot of different kisses. Keith kept kissing Julie over and over again. Although
getting this little detail just right shows the seriousness of these two actors
about their craft, in my eighteen year old vision of things, I couldn’t help
noting, “It seemed as if Keith liked kissing Julie!”
When
the Christmas show was finally aired on December 20th, I wrote in my diary:
“Julie
proved herself to be a warm and beautiful Christmas companion, even on
television. Merry Christmas always, Julie, wherever you are.”
Meanwhile,
life went on.
December
19th:
My mother and I drove over to visit my Grandfather,
who is finally out of the hospital after having had a kidney removed. He looked
very thin and tired and, suddenly, very old. It seemed so strange that Nana
wasn’t there. Grandpa had us look through her clothes; many were brand new. I
took some beaded sweaters, a turquoise silk Chinese jacket and a beautiful silk
embroidered robe, along with some 1950s sling backs.
***
 |
| Around 1973, Hollywood |
December
21st - Second Singing Lesson
I
was up at 5:30 am and at 6:00 am my step dad took me to
catch the bus for Los Angeles Hollywood
Despite
California
Mr.
Loring said that for the first two lessons, we would spend most of the time talking. He wants me
to forget about listening to my voice. He explained that expression,
concentration and emotion are the most important things.
When
he asked me who my favorite singer was, I said, “Judy Garland.” I could have
brought Julie up too, but I didn’t.
Mr.
Loring told me I had picked a "good one" with Judy—"no, a great one." He said he
had worked at the Palace when Judy did, and told me a story.
One night--the night
his parents came to the show--he was backstage afterwards and introduced them
to Judy. Then two of his friends, who
were also working on the bill, said,
“It
would be fun to have breakfast together in our hotel room tomorrow.”
Just
then they heard this little voice say, “Well, am I invited too?”
It
was Judy and they were all so surprised that Judy Garland wanted to have
breakfast with them, but they told her, “Yes, of course.” So she came to
breakfast and they had a wonderful time.
Backstage,
his mother asked Judy, “How do you know you are going to cry every night on
that certain line of “Over the Rainbow?”
“But
I don’t know I’m going to cry,” said Judy, “until I do.”
Then,
Mr. Loring asked me to sing, “You Made Me Love You.”
When
the lesson was over, he told me he thought in some ways I sounded a like Judy.
When he played back the tape of my singing, I was surprised at how much I did
sound like her. Not that much, but I never thought our voices would have
anything in common.
Today,
I also found that I am broken... When listening to the recording Mr. Loring
made of me at my lesson, I could hear all the failings that my teachers at
school have said I have. I could actually see how I act in class just by
listening to myself.
In
the afternoon, I had to usher at Los Angeles City College West Covina
****
As
the year wound down to a close, I spent my spare time studying music and being
inspired by my wonderful Christmas present, “Judy at Carnegie Hall,” which I
listened to in the family room after every one had gone to bed. I wanted to listen quietly in the dark with my eyes closed, so I could pretend I was really there; I wanted the experience of being at one of her live performances.
****
 |
| From the concert style show with Robert Goulet when Julie lost her earring. Courtesy Ruth and Vannie Schaufelberger |
December 27th - ABC repeated the concert style show with Julie and
Robert Goulet. I was delighted to see it again but, in doing so, I realized how much had changed for me in the last months. I was in love with the theater and considered anyone who inspired me to be my friend. And while I was not in any way fooling myself that Julie Andrews was a personal friend or ever
would be, the inspiration I received from her had not come to me off a movie screen or even a theater show. It came from being present for hours and hours of work, breaks, discussions about the work - it was real.
As I watched Julie at work, I never thought I was seeing "Maria" or someone famous; she was just Julie, the person I came to watch on Friday afternoons. Over time, I had grown rather fond of her; I grew to like her from being around her, more than any image I had prior to that time. I suppose that is why I noted in my diary while watching the re-run of the Goulet show, “It is a shock to see her on
television.” There were movie stars and there were the persons in my life. It was difficult to put the two together in my mind.
Now, as the year drew to a close, with all the sad and difficult things that had occurred, I had to
count the happy things and look to them as a sign that the future was indeed going to be bright. I
was looking forward to 1973!
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and her guests, please e-mail a polite request: dan.gopal@itv.com
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