Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years

Julie Andrews is easily the fairest lady in this or any other land. She is blessed with the ability to create a character by finely etching details rather than beating the audience over the head with patronizing hyperbole. As a result, she has created an abundance of timeless, classic and diverse characters. From Eliza Doolittle and Guenevere to Mary Poppins and Jerusha Bromley, she has proven herself to be a seasoned veteran of television, stage and screen with a wide and varied performance range.“Home” provided the introduction to her pre-Poppins life where “Home Work” carries on through the post-Poppins era. Her fans should find the effort entertaining and very readable. The anecdotes and recollections have an easy flow about them and do help to reveal a genuine though guarded person behind the marketing facade.We all edit our lives. Why would “Home” or “Home Work” be an exception especially considering the 600-page original draft of “Home Work”. I could not help but smile when I read pages 310 and 311 of “Home” which speak about Walt Disney giving her a tour of Disneyland.As it turns out, I was there as well. I was standing alone, minding my own business when the referenced golf cart pulled up and parked directly in front of me. There were three occupants in the vehicle. The driver was male, there was a female sitting next to him while another male lounged comfortably across the back seat. When the driver stepped out of the cart there was a hushed murmur from the crowd because he was immediately recognized as Walt Disney himself.Mr. Disney looked the way he did on TV, but his manner was a bit unexpected…at least for me. He was very friendly and immediately started greeting the small gathering. I was behind him, but he eventually turned around and acknowledged me.He continued to address the crowd by asking, “has anyone heard of Winnie-the-Pooh? Anyone know who Winnie-the- Pooh is?” No one seemed to know anything about Winnie-the-Pooh. He turned back to me and asked if I had heard of Winnie-the-Pooh and I responded, “no.” He then directed his attention back to the main crowd and announced in a rather proud, somewhat too loud, but at the same time controlled, voice, that “we“ are adapting the Winnie-the-Pooh stories into a movie and he wanted everyone to look for it. He seemed to be quite the salesman and promotor.Then, without missing a beat, he started asking if anyone had heard of “Mary Poppins.” Again, the crowd, including me, was baffled. With his same somewhat restrained carnival barker voice, he announced that he was making the “Mary Poppins” books into a movie.By this time the seemingly demure young lady in the front seat had exited and was positioned on the passenger side of the golf card, while the male in the back was standing directly across from me. He seemed a rather amiable and outgoing sort, while she was much more reserved.Mr. Disney then ask, “has anyone heard of Julie Andrews?” The crowd continued to be puzzled by his questions and seemed totally uninformed. Mr. Disney gestured to the young lady and stated, “this is Julie Andrews and she is going to play Mary Poppins for us.” This announcement was greeted with blank stares.He went on to ask if anyone had heard of the Broadway plays, “My Fair Lady” or “Camelot.” Several people responded in the affirmative and smiled at Ms. Andrews who delicately reciprocated. Mr. Disney then turned back to me and asked if I had heard of Julie Andrews. I truthfully answered “no.”As an adult, I have often wondered why someone like Walt Disney, who was so closely associated with the entertainment industry and the subsequent egos, insecurities and temperaments of actors would publicly ask if “anyone has heard of [fill in the blank]” especially while standing directly in front of them.The future incarnation of Gertrude Lawrence was glaring directly at me when Mr. Disney posed the question and when I replied “no” her demeanor immediately transformed, and not in a good way. Apparently, she had had enough of the anonymity, which I suspect she genuinely missed later in her career. With piercing eyes and glowering countenance, she snapped, “well you’re going to!” The fierce scowl combined with the daggers shooting out of her eyes were astonishing.Being from a small town combined with my youth, I was 12, made for a very hurtful moment…to say the least. I was stunned. Her response was so exaggerated that I found myself on the verge of tears. Mr. Disney, along with the startled gathering, noticed my response as well as her aggression. Mr. Disney lowered his voice and said something to her.I couldn’t clearly hear him, but I did catch her grudgingly remark, “that’s what Jack Warner said” referring to a comment Mr. Warner evidently made about her not having any name recognition with people out in the “sticks.” Mr. Disney explained that “Jack has a business to run” and changing the publicity situation was up to “us” and “we” will take care of it.” He glanced back at me. Heaven only knows how I looked.The very agreeable man who was facing me looked on empathetically while registering genuine concerned. He didn’t seem to know what to say or do when he awkwardly quipped, “oh no, we can’t have Mary Poppins walking around Disneyland making children cry” followed by a rather self-conscious, barely audible chuckle. I was from the “sticks” and exactly who Jack Warner was talking about.With that, Ms. Andrews registered frustrated indignation and asked Mr. Disney, “should I apologize?” In a whispered tone, he said, “no, we should probably leave” and made an offhand remark about not knowing “where the parents [my parents] might be.”A hasty exit was made and with that the small gathering of parkgoers, dispersed and I stood silently where my mother told me to stand and waited for my family to return. The tears welled but did not fall. This was the 1960’s, males did not cry, and I knew it. I simply turned my back on everyone, gazed into the distance and repressed the harm of public humiliation.A few years later, I found myself, again with my family, this time visiting my brother in Oklahoma City. While, driving down NW23rd Street he told my mother that she and my aunt should see “that movie” and pointed to the Tower Theatre. He said, “I would take you myself, but I’ve seen it so many times I just can’t look at it again.” He continued, “every time I ask anyone out, they want to see that movie.” The movie referenced was “The Sound of Music” [in its reserved seat roadshow engagement no less – that was a really big deal back in the 60’s].That night I was dragged kicking and screaming to the screening. I had never seen a Julie Andrews movie and had forgotten the name. What can I say? The overture blared, the house lights went down, the curtain went up [I had never seen that before either, being from the “sticks” and all] and the movie started. The clouds wafted, the lakes glistened, the trees appeared and there off in the distance on a hillside, was a miniscule figure in black sparkling against the green of the meadow.The music swelled, the camera dived and suddenly, the hills were alive. I didn’t notice at the initial twirl. However, somewhere lurking in that grove of white barked trees, something welled up inside of me. Wait a minute I thought. No way. Then there was the babbling brook and tossed stones. No! It can’t be, I reasoned. Finally, the stroll across the hillside with hands clasped in a prayer pose of all things.That’s when it finally struck me. Good grief! It’s that bilious woman from Disneyland!!! What’d know! She can sing! By the closing credits, the golf cart incident though not exactly forgiven [and obviously not forgotten] had been placed in a different context. The ignorance of youth and resulting missteps are part of how we learn and mature.I highly recommend both books. They are insightfully prudent and well worth your time. With the final page, you will have a sensible portrait of someone who has overcome heart-breaking struggles that would crush a lesser spirit and the world is a better place as a result.That being said, there is a difference between acting as a craft and a public veneer. Ms. Andrews is a force to be reckoned with and I suspect, if provoked, perfectly capable of shoving that frilly pink and white “Jolly Holiday” parasol directly up your keister…and opening it.It takes real backbone to fly over London with the breeze blowing up your bloomers. Little Miss Millie Dillmount may really be exactly what Paul Newman was talking about when he said, “Of course I know Julie Andrews. She’s the last of the really great broads.”Boop-boop-ee-doop! Indeed!

the frantic life of julie andrews and her family and the way they move around the world is so unbelievable i cannot not believe it. she is great at what she does and i wish julie and her family the best.

Never realized how hard her life was. In spite of all the fame she still lived through all the same problems and heart aches as the rest of us. But always such a lady.

I really loved Dame Julie's second installment of her autobiography. She begins with a quick recapping her early life story that she wrote about in "Home". After reading the book, I understand now why the title "Home Work" was chosen. Julie is one of the rare people who works as hard at her profession as she does at her homelife. Too many stars write a memoir that is basically a "And then I did ____ movie". Not our Dame! Home Work goes into depth about what makes Julie unique. How can such a talented person get severe stage fright in front of a live audience? She covers events from her first film, Mary Poppins, through her Oscar nominated role in Victor/Victoria. She gave details about each of her films but she also gets into how she felt after the first big wave of fame hit her. If you have read her first book, you'll understand why she needed help coping with the onslaught. Her daughter and co-writer, Emma Walton Hamilton, stated that she admires her mom's resilience. I do too. She had to shift gears, learning film technique after a huge success on Broadway. Not content with being one of the best singers ever, she made sure her body of work also included dramas. Then, she leapt into a second career as an author of children's books. Her goals were to be as versitile as possible in all areas of performing. But just as much as she worked on her performance skills, she worked just as hard to be sure her family was taken care of. Julie seems to be the glue that holds many others in her family together. She was all at once, among other things, a hands-on mother of 5 of kids who ranged in age from infants to teens, caretaker for her youngest brother while he tried to control a drug habit, and the calming presence that helped her volitile husband continue to create films. Trying to juggle everything going on around her was a Herculean feat, but she does it with grace, wisdom and humor. She admits her insecurities and analyzes how she could have handled events better. Possibly the most dramatic sections of the book tell of almost burning to death during the filming of "Hawaii", adopting two Vietnamese baby girls who arrived from the Project: Baby Lift as the Americans left Saigon, and the heartbreaking sights she saw when she visited Cambodia. She didn't just go to look, she financed buying fuel for the planes taking relief supplies, giving her time for benefit performances, and bringing children with severe handicaps to the US for medical care. All of this while she tried to take care of a mother that wasn't very willing to be helped and a husband who was struggling with depression and pain by taking prescription narcotics.All through the book, Julie conveys over and over to the reader how she is a remarkably talented, intelligent and compassionate person. I really hope she sits down and begins her third book in the trilogy because I didn't want this book to end!

After reading the first book, I wanted to know what happened next. also interesting and good. A great actress and good person.

I admire Julie Andrew’s honesty in this book. It amazes me how much she shuttled between LA, NY, London, and Gstaad with children. The children had no stability and were often with nannies, away at school, or with their other parents. It’s admirable that she and Blake adopted two children, but then they were basically raised by a parade of nannies. Constant separations also impacted her marriages. I guess this is the reality when you have this type of career. Julie is immensely and seemingly effortlessly talented. I’m sure she had many more interesting stories than were included in this book and I wish she had shared them. She worked with so many talented people. I love behind the scenes stories and there were too few. It was mostly details about flying here or there which got old. This book doesn’t dig too deep and there were too many mundane details. She says she was in therapy for years but doesn’t share many insights. I appreciated the recap at the beginning and all the photos. I still enjoyed the book, but it could've been better.

There's very little "Hollywood" in this supposed "Hollywood Years" memoire. Instead you get endless repetitions of how arduous and "exhausting" supporting seemingly endless family members and in-laws is and moving between LA, London, Switzerland and Malibu is.Of the movies hereself and the stars she worked with, there's just an odd sentence or two. Paul Newman in Torn Curtain? Julie loved his blue eyes (that's it. Really! That's it!), Dick Van Dyke - "a nice man" (again, that's it) etc etc. We get the same two tired stories about "The Sound of Music" (the "I almost got flattened by the downdraft from the helicopter in the opening shot" and "They told me the little girl couldn't swim so I had to save her" in the boat sequence) that we've heard a million times before and nothing else. It's as if Andrews has no recollection whatsoever of the movies she worked on, but endless details of the "exhausting" household chores she had to perform (in spite of having a seemingly never-ending changing staff of nannies to look after the kids).The only waspishness or negativity is statements of the bleeding obvious (Rex Harrison was difficult, James Aubrey was known as "the smiling cobra", Peter Sellars became a drunken depressive who caused problems on film sets) aside from endless sniping about not having been chosen to play the lead in the film version of "My Fair Lady" which soon gets tiresome.

This is an extremely well-written memoir, coauthored by Julie Andrews and her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton. The writing style is intimate and revealing, whilst at the same time slightly reserved; you are trusted with a lot, but there is the sense that not everything has been revealed, which is as it should be.Julie comes across as a thoroughly lovely lady and became close friends with many of her costars, rarely finding anyone difficult to work with or herself losing her temper. I grew up watching her films on TV, so it was particularly interesting to read her accounts of my favourites: The Tamarind Seed, Hawaii and the favourite of many a Christmas viewing, The Sound of Music. Of course, it all starts with Mary Poppins, which was where everything started to take off. A small number of photographs are included for illustration.This is pleasant, easy reading about a charming actress. I couldn’t put it down once I had started and it offers an insight into Hollywood by a thoroughly nice lady.

As the famous saying goes. Well I didn't "meet" her in person, but I feel as though I have after reading this expose!I have long championed and defended her as one of the best singers EVER, and - on the face of TV appearances - a truly lovely "personality". I still say T.S.OM. is the best film that there has ever been or ever will be.I read her first bio (covering her singing and early stage career), and enjoyed it. But this book has COMPLETELY changed my outlook. Don't get me wrong, I can't write it off completely because it does have many snippets and background facts relating to her early successes which I found worth reading.However, her success has turned her into a prima donna and well..... a snob! She criticizes her mother for saying things like "don't complain, be grateful for your privileged life" etc. Well her mother was right, however much Julie moaned about her!After a while, one gets tired of hearing about Gstaad - the Swiss playground of the idle rich. Does she not remember French and Saunders taking the mickey out of it all the time, as the epitome of shallowness?! Julie is obsessed with the place, causing her family much inconvenience over the years because SHE wanted to live there. (N.B: peace and happiness doesn't come from ANY geographical "place" in the world!) Some chapters seem to be nothing but records of jet-setting, just so everyone can be where she wants them to be for all the momentous times in her life (i.e. her birthdays, Xmas, Easter, and so on). Zzzzz.She tries to argue about "living where the work is", but how many films come from Switzerland?! Plus, if you're married, you have to consider you spouse's career and decide what's more important to you : the marriage or a career? She seemed quite affronted when people criticized her for not being a good mother. Sorry, but I have to agree with them! Moving youngsters back and between countries on a whim, like they were some kind of accessory. Even adopting a few was orphans seemed more like a publicity stunt.Remember how people take the mickey out of "theatricals"? The "darling luvvie" brigade? Well that's how she now speaks all the time! Everything is "adorable" or "simply frightful". She makes out like everyone involved in movies (e.g. hairstylists, costume designers, set designers) are the most talented and genius people to have ever worked the earth..... and the way she "bigs up" some menial task that one of her inner circle did as part of their job is nauseating, to be quite frank.Post "Mary Poppins" and T.S.O.M., it's fair to say that nothing else matched those dizzy heights. Time and again she'll tell us about some project that was "marvellous" for all involved in it, only to find it is a flop with critics and, more importantly, the public. E.g. she was amazed that "Star!" wasn't T.S.O.M part 2. Well I recall going to see it a very young age, and hating it. The subject matter was just plain boring (how many people had heard of Gertrude Lawrence?), the storyline was inconsequential and not that easy to follow, and worst of all, the "songs" were nowhere near the standard people expected of her. It's like she was expecting her name to automatically make it a success. It comes down to the age old question - do you make films for your artistic urges and to indulge your cronies, or do you make them for your public?There are times when she takes the "realism" of the acting profession way too far, like all these actors who can't immerse themselves in a role unless they've first played it out in real life - which is just cobblers! For instance, she went to see an E.N.T. specialist to ask his opinion on what it would be like for a famous singer to lose her voice! HA! DID SHE TEMPT FATE HERE?! I don't know if we'll get her own take on her later disastrous throat op (seeing as I personally don't envisage a 3rd bio ever appearing), but I'm pretty sure folk will read that and think "hmmm!"Another time she was asked to do a narration, i.e. just read from a book and be recorded. She sought "advice" from someone because she was afraid the listener might not "engage" (ugh! one of my puke words, along with "empower" and "embrace") with how she read it. I thought for heaven's sake woman, you of all people were born with perfect diction in everything you pronounce - just SAY the words!Perhaps the most telling things about her revelations was the fact that the moment she had success, she started seeing an analyst - for years, and at times even daily - in the good old Hollywood tradition. Zzzzz. Yet another one who had her wishes granted yet couldn't handle it. What do they say about "if you can't stand the heat"?I'd always thought of her as one of the UK's most precious talents in the entertainment world, but I was left thinking that she was an altogether different type of "precious". What a disappointment!

Home Work: A Memoir Of My Hollywood Years, the second memoir by the great Dame Julie Andrews, is an insightful, entertaining and utterly fabulous look into the life of one of Hollywood’s true greats. Worth not only reading once, but again and again!

Julie Andrews was in my childhood my favourite star like a lot of people of my generation I have seen the sound of music many times. The book is informative about the era she was a Hollywood favourite on film and TV , her family at times seem to suffer for her and her husband's need for fame. I found this book or memoir a little self indulgent which is only to be expected her days in the studio system working for Walt Disney are interesting but her constant carping on about having no money then buying her parents a home and herself and husband a place in Switzerland. Miss Andrews idea of been poor is different from most. She works constantly which is good in the business that is notorious for been unemployed. Her first daughter is pushed from pillow to post between her and her first husband, she then goes on to adopt two more, it is clear that today she would have had a fight on her hands. The parts of the book I did enjoy were the anecdotes on set where she writes about her co stars Plummer a private man James Gardner a true professional and gentlemen she briefly writes about her time on stage but most of that is in the previous book. The book has many photographs of the stars of the day and family shots I read this book with interest it's not a page Turner by no means. In conclusion Miss Andrews is no longer the English rose she was portrayed as but a Hollywood star of yesterday with all the trappings. She needs a a wake up call if she thinks been poor is not renting villas on the Mediterranean and letting the nanny go.