Julie Newmar
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| Julie Newmar | |
 Julie Newmar at the 2007 Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Ribbon of Hope Celebration |
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| Born | Julia Chalene Newmeyer August 16, 1933 Los Angeles, California U.S. |
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| Occupation | Dancer, Actress, Businesswoman, Writer |
| Years active | 1952—present |
| Spouse(s) | J. Holt Smith (1977-1983) |
Julie Newmar (born August 16, 1933) is an American actress, dancer and singer. Her most famous role is Catwoman in the Batman television series.
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[edit] Early life
Newmar was born Julia Chalene Newmeyer in Los Angeles, California, the eldest of three children. She graduated from John Marshall High School. Her mother, Helen Jesmer, was a Ziegfeld Follies girl; her father, Don Newmeyer, was head of the Physical Education Department and Head Football Coach at LACC. He played American football professionally for the Los Angeles Buccaneers (based in Chicago for one season in 1926.) Her brother[1], John Newmeyer, Harvard PhD, is a San Francisco epidemiologist, author, and Napa Valley winemaker.
Before she changed her name, she was a "dancer-assassin" in Slaves of Babylon (1953) and the "gilded girl" in Serpent of the Nile (1953) in which she was clad only in gold paint. She danced in several films including The Band Wagon and Demetrius and the Gladiators and was a ballerina with the Los Angeles Opera. She also worked as a choreographer and dancer for Universal Studios.
[edit] Career
[edit] Stage and film
Her first major role, for which she was billed as "Julie Newmeyer", was as one of the brides in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954). Her 3 minute Broadway appearance as the leggy "Stupefyin' Jones" in the musical Li'l Abner in 1956 led to a reprise in the 1959 film version. Also in 1959, she was the female lead in the low-budget comedy The Rookie.
Newmar first appeared on Broadway in 1955 in Silk Stockings which starred Hildegarde Neff and Don Ameche; she also appeared on Broadway in the 1961 play, The Marriage-Go-Round, which starred Charles Boyer and Claudette Colbert. She re-developed the role of the Swedish vixen and won a Tony Award for Best Supporting Actress. Later she appeared on stage with Joel Grey in the national tour of Stop the World - I Want to Get Off and as "Lola" in Damn Yankees! and "Irma" in Irma La Douce.
[edit] Television
Much of Newmar's fame stems from her television career, especially her roles in certain well-remembered television series. Newmar starred as "Rhoda the Robot" in the short-lived TV series My Living Doll (1964-1965). She is best known for her 12-episode recurring role in the 1966-67 TV series Batman as the "purrfect" villainess, Catwoman (portrayed in the related 1966 feature film by Lee Meriwether and in the series' final season by Eartha Kitt).
In 1962, Newmar appeared twice as motorcycle-riding, free-spirited heiress Vicki Russell in the TV series Route 66, filming on location in Tucson, Arizona ("How Much a Pound is Albatross") and in Tennessee ("Give the Old Cat a Tender Mouse"). She also guest-starred on iconic TV shows The Twilight Zone, F Troop, The Beverly Hillbillies and Get Smart. In 1967, she guest-starred as April Conquest in the most popular episode of The Monkees and as a pregnant princess in the Star Trek episode "Friday's Child". She had guest roles in 1970s series Columbo and The Bionic Woman
In the 1980s and early 1990s, Newmar appeared in several low-budget films. She also guest-starred on TV shows including The Love Boat, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Hart to Hart, CHiPs and Fantasy Island. She was seen in George Michael's video clip Too Funky in 1992 as well as appearing as herself in a 1996 episode of Melrose Place.
The 1995 film To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar pays homage to the actress; Newmar herself makes a cameo appearance near the film's end. Fashion designer Thierry Mugler, selected her as his model-muse for the catwalk of his 20 year couture celebration in Paris.
[edit] Entrepreneur
She holds three U.S. patents: 3,914,799 and 4,003,094 for "Pantyhose with shaping band for Cheeky derriere relief" and 3,935,865 for "Brassiere." After further education at UCLA in the early 1980s, Newmar began investing in Los Angeles real estate. As an article about the actress has noted, "Newmar is partly responsible for improving the Los Angeles neighborhoods on La Brea Avenue and Fairfax Avenue near the Grove."[2]
[edit] Personal life
After a brief engagement to the novelist Louis L'Amour in the early 1950s, Newmar married J. Holt Smith (born 1942), a lawyer, on August 5, 1977. The marriage was dissolved in 1984. They had one child, John Jewl Smith, who is deaf and has Down Syndrome.
A legal altercation with her neighbor, Jim Belushi, ended amicably with an invitation to co-star with him on his sitcom According to Jim in an episode ("The Grumpy Guy") that poked fun at the feud.
An avid gardener, she initiated at least a temporary ban on leaf blowers with the Los Angeles City Council.[3]
Early in 2008, she was diagnosed with Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, which impelled her to begin her 5th career - writer - the first 4 being pianist, dancer, actress and real estate entrepreneur. Newmar is currently working on 3 books.[4]
[edit] Filmography
[edit] References
- ^ San Francisco's Castro Photos
- ^ Holy Catsuit! To the Original Catwoman, Her Son is the Cat’s Meow (Cont'd)
- ^ "Actress Julie Newmar and Others Struggle With Noisy Leaf Blowers". http://online.wsj.com/article/SB881101258401263000.html?mod=googlewsj. Retrieved on 2009-01-18.
- ^ 'Batman' icon Julie Newmar says Angelina Jolie should play her old role
[edit] External links
- Julie Newmar as the Catwoman tribute
- Julie Newmar at Allmovie
- Julie Newmar at the Internet Broadway Database
- Julie Newmar at the Internet Movie Database
- Julie Newmar at TV.com
- Julie Newmar fansite
- Official Newmar website
- Official Newmar website
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