Home: A Memoir of My Early Years
by Julie Andrews
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Book Reviews of Home: A Memoir of My Early Years
Book Review: JULIE ANDREWS: A CLASS ACT
Summary: 5 Stars
I wondered if Julie Andrews, a very private celebrity, would ler her guard down in her long-awaited autobiography "Home: A Memoir Of My Early Years." To my surprise and delight, she does just that and much more-- writing about many personal and painful memories with more candor and courage than I expected. After reading this book, I realized that biographies by Robert Windeler and Richard Stirling did not even begin to do her justice. To begin with, Julie can write wrings around her other "biographers". She has a true gift for writing and providing details of people, places and eras that create very specific and clear images in the the mind's eye of the reader. Many of her memories are emotionally harrowing and filled with almost heartbreaking pathos. Yet, it is never a sad, self-pitying, or self-serving autobiography. Julie balances the sadness with perception, depth, and her own delicious, delightful, often bawdy, sense of humor.
Julie's "early years" were mostly spent touring around England in the last, dying days of British vaudeville. Most of the venues she played in were terrible and tacky; a few were gloriously fun. She never complains or despairs, but life at home was definitely not a Disney "Jolly Holiday"-- definitely not with her abusive and alcoholic stepfather; "Pop" Ted Andrews. She resented him from the start, and he quickly gave her every good reason to resent him. She must have terribly resented having to adopt his last name. Yet, she is very "matter of fact" about the turn of events: "my name was changed from Julia Elizabeth Wells to Julie Andrews...I didn't have any say in the matter, and I don't think my father (Ted Wells, whom she absolutely adored) did, either. He must have been hurt.' Her family was severely fractured and disfunctional; and she seems acutely aware of this. Writing of a visit to her boyfriend Tony Walton's house, she says, "Everything was soothing, pleasant and spoke of a real home--quite a contrast to my own rather sad and disorganized one." Her mother, Barbara, was a rather pathetic alcoholic as well. When Julie was 14, her very drunk mother dropped a huge emotional bombshell regarding Julie's "biological father," who was not, as she always assumed, Ted Wells. This revealation, understandably, knocked Julie sideways for years. Yet, she responded to every adversity with the iron will and resolve of a true survivor. She writes, "I committed myself wholeheartedly to assumming responsibility for the entire family. It seemed solely up to me now to hold us together, for there was no one else to do it."
Because of her dedication to keeping her family intact, she nearly passed on the opportunity to make her Broadway debut in "The Boyfriend" at age 19. She had to be literally shoved onto a plane to the U.S.A. Broadway provided her with a nurturing environment, an education, and another "home", of sorts. When Julie describes her lengthy, nearly three year marathon run in the megahit musical "My Fair Lady," guided by her great director/mentor Moss Hart, the autobiography is completely engrossing. After this, she details the trials and tribulations that plagued "Camelot," Lerner and Loewe's costly, often misguided follow-up to "My Fair Lady."
The book ends rather abruptly-- just at the point where the reader is totally capitivated and feeling we are just beginning to know Julie. Julie, Tony Walton, and their newborn daughter Emma, are happily flying off to Hollywood-- Julie and Tony having accepted Walt Disney's offer to work on "Mary Poppins." One hopes Julie won't wait too long before she offers a second installment. Whether writing about personal tragedies or professional triumphs, Julie displays the warmth and graciousness that have made her so endearing for over 50 years. Above all, Julie proves that she is, without a doubt, one of the last true "class acts" left in show business.
Book Review: She Has Confidence...in a Gracious, Generous Memoir of the Years Before Her International Stardom
Summary: 5 Stars
I am convinced that any baby boomer who does not admit to having had a bit of a crush on Julie Andrews is lying. I recall even as a toddler how I begged my parents to let me see Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music multiple times only to enjoy those movies again in sing-along versions forty years later. The crispness of her vocal delivery and the angularity of her wholesome appeal just seemed right before the counter-cultural revolution took over with the escalation of the Vietnam War. However, she does not get to that career pinnacle in her memoir, as her story stops just as she flew to Los Angeles in 1963 to film Mary Poppins. It's a major credit to Andrews that she makes intriguing those early years prior to her international success with such perceptive candor and gentle humor. Perhaps because of her long-standing success as a children's book author, she displays a great deal of dexterity as a writer.
Andrews' childhood memories are full of self-effacing observations about a most unenviable home life. Belying her image of elegant breeding, she was raised in poverty by an alcoholic mother and a lecherous stepfather during the dwindling days of vaudeville in England. Already a part of her parents' music hall act by age nine, Andrews found she had an acrobatic soprano voice that so astounded the press that she performed for the Queen and became a nightly sensation at the London Palladium. She had a range of over four octaves and yet most tellingly labels her voice "freakishly high". Her talent certainly impressed others more than herself as she became the toast of Broadway and London first in Sandy Wilson's The Boy Friend and then legendarily as Eliza Doolittle and Queen Guinevere in Lerner and Lowe's My Fair Lady and Camelot, respectively. Andrews' professional recollections are full of celebrity dish but not obnoxiously so between Rex Harrison's flatulence, Richard Burton's amorous advances, Cecil Beaton's bitchiness about how she wears his clothes, and impressionable backstage visits from the likes of Laurence Olivier and Ingrid Bergman.
However, the book's most resonant passages focus on her conflicted and still painful memories of her rather dysfunctional family - her late mother, a promising classical pianist who let the bottle overcome her; a philandering grandfather whose indiscretions eventually cost the life of her grandmother; and most harrowing is her stepfather whose violent tendencies instilled an unsettling fear in the young Julie. There are some surprising revelations Andrews willingly shares in that recognizably crisp manner, and reflecting the woman herself, there is no doubt of the personal bravery it took for her to share them. With the inclusion of over fifty personal photos, the 339-page autobiography really whets the appetite for the sequel which I am hopeful is in the works since it will cover her impressive big-screen career. In the meantime, this first volume clearly reflects how she evolved into the iconic persona that is her legacy - classy, disciplined, forthcoming, amusing, a bit starchy, and truly one of the great treasures. I think I still have that crush.
Book Review: A Spectacular Glimpse into an Icon
Summary: 5 Stars
Julie Andrews was born in 1935 to vaudeville pianist Barbara Morris and teacher Edward Charles "Ted" Wells. The marriage was brief because Barbara left Julie's father for her vaudeville partner, Canadian tenor Ted Andrews. Julie was raised in a rather haphazard fashion, bounced around to various relatives and friends when Barbara and Ted were on the road performing before she joined them. The Second World War was ravaging London. Rationing, shortages, nightly blackouts, anxiety and fear became a way of life for young Julie, who had vivid memories of the war years.
Ted quickly realized that Julie possessed a strong, clear, lovely soprano voice --- something quite unusual in such a young child --- and he insisted she take singing lessons. Julie also studied dance, which Barbara's sister taught. By age 9 she was on the road, regularly touring with her mother and stepfather --- hardly a normal life for a child. At age 12 she made her professional solo debut in "Starlight Roof" at the London Hippodrome. That performance set her on the road to stardom.
Julie's childhood was anything but secure and serene. Barbara and Ted's messy and protracted divorce caused much stress, and they were hardly model parents. Alcohol played a large part in their lives, and family finances were often shaky. Julie spent some time with her father whenever she could, but show business was the one constant in her life. Offstage the talented child star was awkward, shy and uncertain. She realized at an early age that the income derived from her talents was necessary to help keep the family afloat.
In 1954, at age 18, Julie left her native England to star on Broadway in a new show titled "The Boyfriend." It was an instant success. Due to her reluctance to leave her family and friends in London for such a long period of time, Julie refused to sign the standard two-year contract and instead agreed to only one year. As it turned out, her decision was certainly a good one because when she was offered the role of Eliza Doolittle in "My Fair Lady" (which she played on Broadway for two years and then in London for 16 months), she was free to take advantage of this opportunity.
In 1957 Julie starred in the television musical "Cinderella." Next came her leading role as Queen Guenevere opposite Richard Burton's King Arthur in "Camelot." During one of her performances, Walt Disney, who was in the audience, was so impressed with Julie's talent that he met her backstage and offered her a real plum --- the starring role of the delightful nanny in the film Mary Poppins.
In 1959 Julie married her childhood friend and longtime sweetheart, Tony Walton, a very talented set and costume designer.
As the book closes in 1963, Julie, Tony and their infant daughter Emma move to Hollywood as Julie begins to prepare for her Mary Poppins role.
Julie describes in detail what it was like to work with such show business luminaries as Richard Burton, Moss Hart, Walt Disney, Robert Goulet, Roddy McDowell, Carol Burnett and many others. She explains how demanding rehearsals were and how she continually worked to perfect her craft, to tweak this or that, to try each day to make her performance better than the previous one.
Those fans who have seen Julie Andrews's movies, television shows and live stage performances, and have heard her lovely voice, recognize how truly gifted she is. Reading HOME makes one realize how hard she worked to make her considerable talent seem effortless.
Book Review: Lightweight Memoir That Only Focuses on Very Early Years
Summary: 2 Stars
This disappointing memoir narrowly focuses on Julie Andrews' young years--which are pretty boring the way she tells it. She certainly had some weak family members in her background, including a number with mental illness, out-of-wedlock pregnancies and divorces at a time when divorce was taboo. She struggles with telling everyone's stories because she recalls few details and express very little emotion.
This is a very guarded autobiography and at the end you figure out that really has written this for her oldest child, a daughter named Emma who she obviously adores. The family stories of adultery and drunkenness are told in a way that you would tell a child--hinting at impropriety without coming out and giving details. The fact that the book culminates in the birth of Emma is no coincidence--this book is dedicated to her and is like a mother writing a private diary to her daughter.
There is a pretty big shocker in chapter 18 (which I won't reveal to avoid spoiling the surprise) but after reading it one has to wonder if this woman has just denied all of her emotions. She must be numb from the personal hurt she suffered at the hands of birth parents who failed to communicate love. She is guarded for a reason--too bad she didn't use this book to let that guard down.
It's hard to recommend much from this book because she recalls so few details (even though she claims that since age 7 or so "the memories are solid"--but they're not!). The basic facts are here but written with so little finesse and color that the stories are rendered pointless. She often tells a meaningless story and then just abruptly ends it, as if it's the only memory she has of that particular time period. For example she mentions getting invited as a teen to a summer picnic and wearing a dress that's too small for her, perspiring and feeling embarrassed. That's it. Why tell such a dull story? Or why be so careful in stating her emotions about the situation as "I was horribly aware of my state and acutely embarrassed all afternoon." Those are scattered throughout the book.
It's all very prim and proper--we end up knowing little more about her feelings than when we started. She certainly disliked her cheating mother. And she implies improper advances from her step-father, who ended up being the one who pushed her into show business. She adored her dad. But beyond that there is no sense that we know the real Julie Andrews. This will only appeal to those so in love with Andrews' screen image that they will accept the sweet shallowness that comes with any minor revelation here.
She covers her career highlights up until 1964, but those stories are also short and lack much insight. She ends with her offer from Walt Disney to star in Mary Poppins but that makes the book even more disappointing because she has chosen to leave out any memories of the major movies that most of us know her from. The book is ill-conceived. She needed a good editor to push her to expose herself more in this memoir--instead she was guided by her writer/daughter Emma, for whom this book becomes a saccharine family tribute.
Book Review: A Beautifully Written Memoir
Summary: 5 Stars
Julie Andrews' greatly anticipated book Home : A Memoir Of My Early Life is just as it should be - honest, practical, humourish, and told without a whiff of vengence or spite.
Like so many other child/young adult stars of film, theatre, TV, Julie Andrews was the daughter of a woman with driving ambition to become a star of vaudeville, who even sacrificed her marriage to Julie's school teacher father to achieve it.
Though this must have proved devastating to a young Julia Wells, who adored her gentle father, there is never any sense of acrimony from the author and certainly no sense of self pity.
Julia Wells comes across as an "old head on young shoulders" as she learns to negotiate the minefield of life, maintaing a close relationship with her father and joining her mother and new step-father - Ted Andrews -treading the boards in vaudeville.
Her sense of loyalty and duty to her now alchoholic mother and fractious step father as they struggle to find enough work to keep them in lodgings
is rewarded when Ted discovers his step daughter Julie has a natural singing voice of her own.And this where the singing career of Julie Andrews begins.
Like Petula Clark's early career, radio beckons as do live concerts, and Julie becomes a great favourite with the war time British public who give her standing ovations - not bad for a 12 year old !
But along the way Julie meets and befriends neighbour Tony Walton - who she will later marry - and a fascinating insight into how these incredibly talented kids had their careers mapped out at an early age emerges.
Having read Richard Rogers autobiography, I was familiar with how Miss Andrews goes to try out for a part in the musical Cinderalla, with Richard Rogers. Her recollection is much the sames as his,and again Rogers' kindness to her and generosity of spirit when he advises Julie that although he would be more than happy if she consented to do Cinderalla for him, that if she gets the nod to do the My Fair Lady lead as Eliza Doolittle for which she has also auditioned - then she should take it. And take it she did - with the rest as we say, being history.
The wear and tear on her voice singing as Eliza night after night and month after month finally took its toll - even though she has always taken great care of her voice and its correct usage.
This is a fine book, full of interesting stories about the Wells family and her mothers family that are shared with us warts and all - yet always the love of family and loyalty to that family shows through.
This isn't a rags to riches story based on "luck".
Julie tells it as a life of hard work balanced with schoolwork, performing,and of having to travel long distances on a weekly basis to continue her singing lessons with her much loved teacher
It is this eye for detail and perfection, plus utter professionalism that drives Julie Andrews on to greater heights - the West End and then Broadway beckon, with great success, and a career beyond which will hopefully be covered in her next autobiography - part 2.