“Ladies and Gentlemen, here’s Julie!”
So begins the 20th Episode
of The Julie Andrews Hour as introduced by announcer Dick Tufeld. This show first aired on February 17th, 1973.
Wearing a lovely green, blue and white, floral-patterned, one shoulder gown, Julie can be seen standing center stage, surrounded by a circular, two-level seating arrangement. There was no band, and the auditorium seats are empty. She begins to sing:
Wearing a lovely green, blue and white, floral-patterned, one shoulder gown, Julie can be seen standing center stage, surrounded by a circular, two-level seating arrangement. There was no band, and the auditorium seats are empty. She begins to sing:
Let the drums roll out
Let the trumpet call!
While the people shout!
Strike Up the Band!”
(c) 1927 Music: George Gershwin, Lyrics: Ira Gershwin
At that moment, as if by magic, the orchestra appears and a
full audience can be seen in the house as well.
The opening number, a medley consisting of “Strike Up the
Band/The Sweetest Sounds/I Hear Music” is upbeat and includes a lot of close-up
shots of instruments being played. Julie looks fresh as a spring morning, and
moves from area to area as she sings. At one point she sings,
“We must treasure every measure
So that time will never change,
The strange, new music of love.”
Then, for the grand finale Julie Andrews climbs (via hidden steps)
onto a large bass drum. Even forty years later, this opening number seems fresh
and exciting.
 |
| Sandy Duncan, Julie and Sergio Franchi |
After completing her song, Julie introduces us to her guests:
Sandy Duncan and Sergio Franchi. A few
moments later, we meet Rowlf of The Muppets, who seems a bit jealous of Sergio
and wants Julie’s special attention telling her, that he is “Marcello Mastroianni
in a flea collar!”
We are then introduced to some other Muppet characters – a
lady and a furry black dog, which looks somewhat frightening. Unaware of this
black creature, the lady is happily placing flowers in a vase when they begin
to disappear. The monster/dog is sneaking around eating them. Eventually, he
becomes bold enough to grab all the flowers. At one point, he is so happy over
his conquest; he tosses the petals in the air, catches them in his mouth and
chomps them down.
Filmed with a live audience, we hear a great deal of
laughter during the segment, which makes it even funnier. After the dog is
finished with the flowers, he begins to snuggle up to the lady. If you listen
carefully, you can hear him say under his breath, “Kiss! Kiss!” The middle aged lady is a nervous wreck and soon
takes a cigarette out to smoke. The creature decides he wants one too, of course.
In response, the woman takes out what is clearly a stick of dynamite. He puts
it in his mouth and she lights it.
This entertainment was pleasing to young and old alike, but when
Julie announces that Sergio Franchi will sing the theme from “The Godfather,”
we are clearly in adult territory.
Walking onto a set of columned architecture, flowers and sunlight amid
shadows, just the site of this tall, dark and handsome singer is arresting.
[Sergio Franchi was born Sergio Franci Galli in
the Lombardi district of Italy on
After the war, Alessandro Rota, a successful opera tenor,
tutored Sergio, helping him to expand his range and learn technique.
Eventually, he went to London London
To learn more about Mr. Franchi, please visit:
From the first moment we hear Sergio Franchi open his mouth,
we are aware that we are listening to something quite amazing. Along with his
good looks, the richness of his voice and his powerful vocal ability are
overwhelming. Tremendous performance!
***
Immediately following this grand number, we see Sandy Duncan
and Julie Andrews in a restaurant/pub setting, wearing fishnet stockings, high
heeds and wrap-around skirts cut high in the middle. They sing and dance to
“The Last Blues Song.” The Tony Charmoli Dancers work as background in the
beginning of the number; they are seated at tables and standing in various
spots around the stage. Then, one of the dancers grabs Sandy and another,
Julie, and soon, all the men are after them. It’s a fun, sexy number.
[Sandra Kay Duncan was born on February 20, 1946 in Henderson , Texas Los
Angeles
In the fall of 1971, Sandy Duncan starred in the television
sitcom Funny Face, which was placed
on Saturday night between All in the
Family and The New Dick Van Dyke Show.
In September of 1972, the show became The
Sandy Duncan Show but was cancelled after 13 episodes. Thus it must have
been a great boost to Sandy
In the future, Sandy Duncan would appear in many roles, both
on television and on Broadway, where in 1979 she appeared in the title role as
Peter Pan and received rave reviews. Today, she lives in New
York City
For more information on Sandy Duncan and her television
history, please visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandy_Duncan
***
In the next scene, we see Julie and her guests—Jim Hensen,
Sandy Duncan and Sergio Franchi—seated on the “Getting to Know You” set. Julie
says to Sandy,
“Haven’t you always wanted to do a sexy number like that?”
She goes on to say that they both have always played “good
and proper” roles, to which Sandy adds that their roles have always been about
people who were, “honest, gentle, sensitive, descent, humble and sweet.”
“Just what we are in real life,” Julie comments. “That was
the other side of us.”
“The real side,” says Sandy, bubbling over a little.
Julie asks about the fact that that Sandy got married only a
couple of weeks prior to the taping. Sandy says they are lucky her husband
likes Julie
“Yes,” says Julie, “Because we worked so hard, no one has
been home this week.”
 |
| Jim Hensen, Muppets' creator and Julie Andrews |
Then, she turns to
interview Jim Henson, asking him how long the Muppets have been in existence.
She thought they began with Sesame Street, but that was not the case.
Jim Henson tells her that the Muppets have been around for
“seventeen to eighteen years” now. Their first appearance was on the old Steve Allen Sunday Show, which was
produced by Bill Harbach and Nick Vanoff, who are also the producers of The Julie Andrews Hour.
When Julie asks Jim Hensen if he has any favorites among the
Muppets, he says that “Rowlf” has always been one of his favorites and he also
likes “Kermit.” He has about a dozen people working with him, some work in the
workshop, making puppets. He’s been lucky to have “great talents” in each field
work with him, he tells us.
[Jim Hensen was born in Greenville , Mississippi September 24th, 1936 .
Although it is said he never thought he’d make a name for himself as a
puppeteer, his work obviously went far beyond what any prior puppeteer as done.
Henson’s work – his beloved Muppets – are know and loved by children and adults
of all ages. Sadly on May 16th,
1990 , Jim Henson died of a bacterial infection. His
Muppets are now, for the most part, owned by Disney.]
To
learn more about Jim Henson, please visit:
During the interview, we also learn that it often takes two
people to work a puppet. As in the case of Rowlf, Jim Henson worked Rolfe’s
head and one paw, and someone else had to work the other paw.
“Right now, there’s another character here that would like
to meet you, but he’s too shy.”
“Oh, bring the little fellow over…” is Julie’s comment, but
she soon learns this fellow is not so little. Although Jim Henson tells her
that he’s about 8 feet tall, clearly, he is taller than that, more like ten
feet.
“He would like to sing a song to you,” says Jim, so Julie
gets up and goes over to meet Thog in one of the most charming scenes.
When Julie asks Thog how he is, he says, “I’m blue.” Of
course, his color is blue, but that’s not what he means. He’s blue because he
wants to dance with her and is afraid she won’t dance with him. The humility of
this great creature is so sweet and touching. It should be mentioned that for
years, along with scores of other characters, puppeteer Jerry Nelson played
this wonderful creature, both inside the body and speaking for him, which was
quite a feat as it involved a pa system.
To learn more about Jerry Nelson, who was one of the
earliest members of Jim Hensens’ troupe,
and read an interview with him, please click here:
For more information, please visit:
As Julie and Thog
begin to dance, his mouth kind of hits her hair and later when he bumps her,
his ears go up. Julie seems so sincerely delighted to be dancing with Thog. She
clasps his hands and pulls his arms around her. Thog is so huge and that it
almost seems a bit frightening to see him dance with Julie; it seems that he
could easily fall on her and crush her. Yet watching the two of them move
together brings such a feeling of amazement and delight, that you can’t help
smiling.
***
After the commercial break, we are once again on the
“Getting to Know You” set. This time, Sergio Franchi has moved to the seat next
to Julie. She asks him when he left opera, and he tells her that his last
performance in the opera was in Samson
and Delilah, with a Delilah that weighed 350 pounds. Julie confesses that
although she sang arias as a child, she never sang opera. Sergio reassures her
by saying, “If you were my Delilah, I could sing it every night of the week.” Then, holding hands, the pair walk to a new
area of the stage and begin to sing this lovely music by Camille Saint-Saens. This lovely
piece with Sergio Franchi and Julie certainly deserves to be among the songs Julie’s
Duets CD.
***
 |
| Julie with Rolf |
To conclude the first half of the 20th Episode, Rowlf
has another bit with Julie, telling her he wants to be her dog. “But I already
have a dog,” says Julie. “Does he talk,” asks Rowlf. “No, he’s very discrete,”
says Julie.
***
Now, it’s time for the tribute to the “Music Men” and
tonight’s songwriter is Jerome Kern (1885-1945). The scene opens with a lovely
evening sky and cherry blossoms. Couples stroll along and Sergio begins to sing the wonderful, “I Hear Music.” Julie
soon joins him singing, “The Way You Look Tonight.” This becomes a glorious
duet with grand, sweeping orchestral music, something that was once popular
which we don’t hear anymore. Still, this duet is exquisite and should certainly
be on any Duets CD of The Julie Andrews
Hour.
After this very romantic scene, we find Sandy Duncan seated
demurely in a chair, singing, “I’m Old Fashioned.” Meanwhile, two of the male
dancers, Gary Menteer and Jerry Trent, dressed in bell bottoms and blossomed
sleeve shirts, dance in a very modern, sexy, 1970s style. Before long, Sandy joins them, showing what a
great dancer she is, and that she has the ability to shake it with the best of
them.
Nelson Riddle and his arranger, Ian Fraser, have updated
some of the intros to the old songs in this segment, as well as they rhythms in
the chorus. These arrangements bring an unexpected excitement to these
wonderful but familiar tunes. This is certainly the case with Sergio Franchi’s
solo, “Old Man River,” which is played with a quickened rhythmic beat, making
it up-tempo.
Sergio has a dramatic presence on the stage. His charisma
and the power of his voice, makes you feel you can’t get enough of him. All
that can be said as you watch this performance is “Wow!”
In sharp contrast to the previous scene, in the next scene
we see Julie, wrapped in a chiffon scarf, walking the streets of Paris. The
scene is dark and there are lovers seated on the ground and standing in the
shadows. She rests her head against a railing and sings, “The Last Time I Saw
Paris” with a slow and dreamy tempo. Looking into the distance, we see in her
eyes the story, and believe that she has lived every word she sings. A
beautiful moment, beautifully taped and preserved.
After these wonderful solos, the three stars come together
to sing something upbeat – “Pick Yourself Up (dust yourself off and start all
over again). Adding a little “I Won’t Dance” into the song, Sergio suddenly
breaks away and does some fine tapping. The girls join him and say, “He can
dance!” Then, in a final moment of comedy, he ends the final move by turning in
the wrong direction!
The set is flooded by long, tapered candles, which appear to
be the only thing lighting Julie as she sings, “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes.” This is certainly among Jerome Kern’s most
famous songs, but doubtless, there is another reason it was included. Producer,
Bill Harbach’s father, lyricist Otto Harbach, wrote the lyrics for this song in
19---. Julie sings it beautifully.
Bringing the show to a positive conclusion, Julie, Sergio
and Sandy sing “Look for the Silver Lining.”
Then, at the very
last moment, Thog appears on stage. This time he is wearing a little (for him)
red striped jacket. He wants to dance with Julie. Julie sings the final notes
of “Time Is My Friend” leaning against Thog, and then the pair dance, Julie
twirling and curtsying in her lovely gown. It’s a shame the set is so dark,
but it is a lovely ending to a lovely show.
(c) Michelle Russell
All photos here are for entertainment purposes only!
Coming soon: Fame Makes for Strange Bed Fellows
If you would like to see The Julie Andrews Hour put out on
DVD, along with a Duets CD of Julie and her guests (and maybe others as well), please send a respectful e-mail to requesting this to: dan.gopal@itv.com
(I have asked for another address, but this person is in charge of global products, which should include DVDs and CDs.)
(I have asked for another address, but this person is in charge of global products, which should include DVDs and CDs.)
As always, you can find a list of blog subjects on The Julie
Andrews Hour with links back to this site:
No comments:
Post a Comment