In 1972, Julie Andrews was one of Hollywood’s
greatest female stars, rivaled only perhaps by Barbra Streisand. Although, years
later, critics made much of the fact that Ms. Andrews’ films after The Sound of the Music did not do that
well at the box office, I can tell you --as person who lived through that
period-- the average person was not judging Ms. Andrews based on the box
office. She was a great star and everyone knew it.
During late 1972 and the first half of 1973, because
Ms. Andrews was a great star, there was a great deal of attention as to what
took place in Studio C at ABC where The
Julie Andrews Hour was being taped.
TV
Guide – December 9, 1972
Julie posed for this lovely photo on the set of The
Julie Andrews Hour. This article, for which the writer interviewed Blake
Edwards, gives something of the history of Julie’s career and the creation of The Julie Andrews Hour. It was hoped that the television series would continue for at least two years.
In the article, producer Lew Grade states that if the show remains on the air
just two years, he will earn about $15 million.
The TV Guide article also reveals that the show
opened with a Nielsen rating of 17.3 and then descended to a rating of 11.4 the
second week. Unfortunately, the show had
been given a 10 pm weeknight slot, which, as producer Nick Vanoff noted, was obviously
too late for a good portion of Julie’s fans.
Toward the end of the article, an interview with Cass
Elliott is quoted. Ms. Elliott speaks of working until 4am with Julie, noting
how even at that hour, Julie was pulling out everything she had to make the
show work. “I was embarrassed to complain. I dunno, but there is something very
special there, which you grow to love…” |
| This McCalls cover was one of my favorite. The blue of the "McCalls" and Julie's eyes were perfectly matched! |
One week after The Julie Andrews Hour won seven Emmys, the McCall’s May 1973 issue,
with a beautiful photo of Julie on the cover, appeared on the newsstand. The
article was titled “Julie Andrews Fights Back.”
Author Chris Chase interviewed Julie before anyone knew whether The Julie Andrews Hour would be renewed or
cancelled. The article featured photos of Julie getting out of her car in front
of her Beverly Hills home, standing by her pool, in the
recording studio, and by the ocean at the beach house in Malibu.
In response to the question about how she would feel
if the show was cancelled, Julie says, “Off course I’ll be hurt, everyone wants
to be accepted and loved, but all you can do is your best… I’ll feel sorry for
all the people who’ve worked so hard…” To close our her statement, Ms. Andrews
concludes that she’ll be rather glad to be home again, hinting that her
daughter Emma has had a rather bad time with her being away from home so much.
Those who worked with her had this to say:
“She’s an angel,” -Nelson Riddle.
“She has no temperament,” -Ian Fraser.
“She’s so kind, so
sensitive, so unwilling to see anyone embarrassed.” - Alice Ghostley
Women’s
Homelife – June 1973
 |
| Summer 1973 |
The photo shoot for this cover can be seen in Blake
Edwards’ documentary film, “Julie.” The
editors chose the brightest photo of the shoot and called the article, “The
Trials and Triumphs of a Working Wife.”
The article stated that Blake was very protective
of Julie. According to the writer, Julie loved
to be silly and rowdy, but had to save that aspect of her personality for the
times when Blake wasn’t around. However, he concluded, Blake was good for
her.
