Julie hits town

Like Sophia Loren at Cannes, below, another living legend has been doing the rounds. We have been following Dame Julie Andrews as she progressed from one talk show to another on her current visit to London - three shows so far. 

Pharrall, Julie, Jonah and Channing

She was amusing on both Graham Norton's show and Paul O'Grady's and she and Sir Ian McKellen made a great double act on the BBC flagship The One Show. Julie (a mere 78) has been here to promote her tour, where she talks about her career.

Back in the '70s we used to go almost every Sunday afternoon to our BFI's National Film Theatre where all the then great names were doing these personal appearances and Q&A's as a one-off and for no more than the price of the usual ticket - where we got to hear and meet the likes of Dirk Bogarde, Lee Remick, Angela Lansbury, Ingrid Bergman, Bette Davis, Olivia De Havilland, Rex Harrison, James Mason, David Niven, Charlton Heston, John Huston, Spielberg, Terence Rattigan and more. This was the first time Bette had done this and that was so popular - as per my post, NFT label - that she began touring with it. Recently Joan Collins had the same idea. Now its Dame Julie ... 

"In the Ritz elevator one just goes up and down"

Of course all the tv hosts wanted to talk about MARY POPPINS and THE SOUND OF MUSIC - cue obligatory clips from 50 years ago, and the whole BBC studio took part in a singalong to "Do Ray Me". Well I never thought POPPINS that wonderful, and resisted seeing SOM until the 1st of January 1996, when I quite liked it. In a way they must  have been millstones as nothing else could equal those early successes. The Julies I like are THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE and most of VICTOR/VICTORIA. 

Incidentally, Sir Ian disclosed that he and Julie could have worked together back in the Sixties - he spent a day testing for the role of Noel Coward in Julie's STAR! but the part went to Daniel Massey, who was Coward's godson. Its all made me realise I need to see Millie Dillmount and her pals again ....