Transcription
Hey, welcome back to Cool Classics. Today, we're going to take a look at the life and career of Julie Newmar, best known for playing Catwoman on the Batman '66 TV series. But there's a lot more to her story. I've got some cool clips, some freaky facts. Here we go.
She was born Julia Chalain Newmar on August 16th, 1933, in Los Angeles, California. She had two younger brothers, Peter and John, which made her the oldest child. Her father, Don Newmar, was a professional football player for the NFL team, the Los Angeles Buccaneers, in the 1920s. After that, he went into being head of the physical education department at the Los Angeles City College. Then he became an NFL coach. Her mother, Helen, was of Swedish and French descent and was also a very famous fashion designer with her own brand called Chalain, which is what she gave Julie as a middle name. The Chalain brand was worn by a lot of the movie starlets of the time, such as Jean Harlow and Barbara Stanwyck. And you know who else can be seen in a lot of pictures wearing Chalain clothing? Zasu Pitts. And she's pretty cool.
Now, Julie and her siblings grew up in a very affluent area, and so they were exposed to and got to be involved in a lot of things that other children of their age and just people in general were never going to experience in their lifetime. And so their parents made sure from a very early age that the children understood this. So whenever one of the children was to receive, like, music lessons, dance lessons, or be enrolled in a very prestigious, nice school, they made sure that the children understood this isn't how it is for everyone, and you really should feel honored about this. Julie said that the message really was conveyed to the children, and that when she was able to go to Europe on a vacation as a teenager, and there's video of it right here, she understood how privileged she was to the point where it made the trip even more enjoyable because it felt like you were experiencing something that other people were dreaming of. So you weren't taking anything for granted. It was a great way to stay humble, and she said she thanks her parents for instilling that in all the children.
Julie excelled at everything she was involved in, including things that were out of her control, such as her height. She grew at a faster rate than all the other girls in her age groups. She was in the highest percentile on all the charts when they took her in for doctor visits. And this became an advantage for her, coupled with her natural athleticism that she most likely inherited from her father. Julie was able to pick up on pretty much any physical activity rather quickly, which started as somersaults and cartwheels in the backyard and then advanced into dance and swimming. Starting with piano lessons at the age of five, by the end of the first year, Julie could already read and play music. Then at age six, she started dance lessons, but by seven, she was in ballet and in her first play, which was a performance of Alice in Wonderland held at a local department store. And playing Alice, she was to step through a mirror, which was really just a large picture frame up on the stage. And as she walked through, the sides of her dress caused the frame to fall over and crash. This startled the audience, but it didn't bother her in the least. Julie just turned around and looked behind her and improvised the line, "Well, I guess there's no going back," and continued on with the show.
From that point on, Julie continued to study piano, dance, and ballet. And she didn't become just proficient at those disciplines; she became a prodigy. And by the time she entered John Marshall High School in Los Angeles, California, she also was excelling academically. Everyone in the school knew who she was because of the way she composed herself, her look, and her height. By the age of 14, she was already 5'11" tall. Then, as Julie turned 15, she became the prima ballerina at the Los Angeles Opera. And if that wasn't a big enough achievement, she also graduated high school the same year. She said her high school career was so short that she didn't even have time to go on one date. That summer, as a reward for her hard work and success, Julie's mother took her on a vacation to Spain and then France. And you can see in this video here, Julie already almost looked like a full-grown woman.
And when they returned back home, Julie enrolled at UCLA, where she studied classical piano, philosophy, and French. While attending college, Julie also enrolled at the Jack Cole Dance Studio, where she became one of his lead dancers. Now, Jack was a famous American dancer, choreographer, and theater director. He was known as the father of theatrical jazz dance. He was also the first person that the movie studios were turning to when they needed extra dancers for a movie scene. So it wasn't long before the studios noticed Julie because she had the look and she could dance. So they started to use her in background scenes of musicals. The first one happened in 1952, the movie "She's Working Her Way Through College," starring Virginia Mayo, Ronald Reagan, and Gene Nelson. Then later that same year, she appears in her second film, "Just for You," starring Jane Wyman and Bing Crosby. And even though she's still uncredited, she had more screen time.
After this experience, Julie was so excited that she went home and told her parents that she wants to drop out of college and do this full-time. Her father tells her that this sounds like a bad idea. "Basing your entire future around your physical ability to dance is not a long-term play. What happens when you can't dance anymore? You need something to fall back on. I say, stay and get the college degree." Her mother says, "Wow, this sounds very exciting." And Julie herself said, "I'm going for it." And that's what she did.
So in 1953, she started to appear in more movies and quickly Universal Studios realized her talent. They hired Julie at the young age of 20 to teach their up-and-coming actresses their dance routines for the movies. And her first student was Anita Ekberg. Then that same year, they put her in six more movies, making it a total of eight films in 1953 alone. But this time, she was choreographing her own dance routines, which meant she was more prominent and featured right up front. Here's one called "The Band Wagon," starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. And here's a freaky one called "The Serpent of the Nile," where she's painted all in gold.
Now, something else that happened that same year, Julie met American novelist Louis L'Amour. And although he was 45 years old at the time, she thought he was wonderful, and he fell head over heels for her. Despite both of them being busy, while he was writing his westerns and she was working on these movies, they spent all their time together. And he proposed with a diamond Cartier ring. This was a very exciting time in Julie's life. She had a fiancé and a job in Hollywood where she could appear in movies. But she was only appearing uncredited in things like "Deep in My Heart" and "Demetrius and the Gladiators" because Universal wanted her to stay in the choreography department and work with the dancers. So she knew in order to get a real acting role, she had to venture outside and audition elsewhere. And that took her to a different movie. She landed the role. It would be acting, and she would be credited on screen. It's called "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers."
"I've always wanted to be a June bride and have a baby right off in the spring. Maybe the light of the silken moon."
"Home, ride, boy."
Julie's excited. She finally gets to not just dance, but sing and act in a big-budget movie.
"Re-because is all babysit."
Now, her character, Dorcas Gale, ends up with the brother, Benjamin Pontie, played by Jeff Richards. Now, Jeff Richards was a professional baseball player, and the studio wanted him in the picture no matter what. But there was a problem: he couldn't dance. And not even Julie could teach him.
"Take them over. I'd be pleased if you'd allow me."
"By thanks."
Although Julie worked around the clock with Jeff, trying to get him up to speed, once filming started, he still wasn't able to keep up. It just wasn't something that he could pick up very easily. And so it forced the studio, since they wanted to keep Jeff, to put them in the background of the big dance scenes. So they were always the couple that was behind the other couples. And this didn't sit right with Julie. She didn't think it was fair that during her audition, she had been judged over and over again on her singing, dancing, and acting abilities, only to be placed with another actor that was only hired because of his looks and status as a famous baseball player.
"What's the matter? Didn't you ever think of that?"
"It's yours, Leaning."
But this being Julie's first time hired as an actress, she didn't feel she had the position to mention this to anyone. So she was a good team player and just went along with everything.
"You're about to forget the whole..."
When the movie eventually came out, it was a smash sensation, winning a Golden Globe and the Academy Award for Best Original Musical. But for Julie, it didn't do anything to further her career. She was back to working for Universal, teaching other actresses how to dance. She said the best thing that came from this movie for her was a lifelong friendship with fellow actress Ruda Lee.
"Weddings can be like a Christmas holiday."
Now, just a few months after settling back into her normal daily routine, she made a shocking announcement to everyone in her life: she's buying out the lease on her apartment, quitting the job with Universal Studios, moving to New York, and calling off the engagement to Louis L'Amour. Being caught off guard by all of this, her parents sort of freaked out, and they asked her if she was having a nervous breakdown or something because they couldn't understand why she would even be leaving them behind, let alone calling off the engagement like this and moving away.
"It's just such a shameful way to do it. Why does it have to be so abrupt?"
Julie sat everyone down and explained to them that this isn't a spur-of-the-moment thing. The whole time she was making that movie, she knew that she wanted to be in more musicals, she wanted to be on Broadway. And the fact that Hollywood really didn't have any openings for her, she felt that she had to go to New York. And she told Lou L'Amour that she loved and cared for him, but really did not want to become his wife. And this isn't anything that he should be ashamed or embarrassed about.
So off to New York she goes. And before she even got there, she decided she needed to change her name. Newmar seemed to be too long and was mispronounced too often. So shortening it up, she became Julie Newmar.
Now, being the new girl in town meant that she had to pay her dues. You don't just get hired in as the lead actress; you have to start in the chorus line. And this is when she realized all the casting directors were telling her that she is too tall for this because she is standing out where she's not supposed to be the main attraction, just one of the girls. And once they put the heels on her, she's 6'2" and head and shoulders above the rest of the cast. She says, "I went from being an attraction to a distraction, and that wasn't good. But I needed work, so I had to take any job that I could." Which meant that she turned to modeling.
These photo shoots were taken for women's wear and swimwear catalogs, but some were used for the covers of magazines, men's magazines, where she became a cover girl and sort of a pin-up girl. Although she never did do any nude modeling, a lot of these magazines were reusing her swimsuit pictures and alluding to the fact that she was naked inside. But when they turned to the middle, if the picture was of her, it was her in a swimsuit. So they were clickbaiting, even back then.
But then Julie got her big break on Broadway when she was cast in the musical "Little Abner," which was a huge hit. So much so that Paramount wanted to turn it into a movie, and they needed her to reprise her role on the big screen, which she did. Now, this role is sort of a reverse Medusa situation where her beauty turns you to stone, and she's a bombshell, pun intended.
"Introducing Julie Newmar as Stupefyin' Jones."
"You can stop your fretting and your fussing, 'cause I really got it."
"Quickly, what is it?"
"Here, put these on. Cover up, young fella."
"[Music]"
"Jones, what does it do?"
"Here, I'll demonstrate."
"Hey, it's you, McGravy."
"Yeah, come on over here."
"Three, two..."
"Last off, Stupefyin'."
Now, this is when a lot of stuff started happening for Julie. All of a sudden, she was back on the radar of all the Hollywood producers. She was getting offers for parts in movies, and she was more popular than ever on Broadway. It's a good thing that Julie had been studying at the Lee Strasberg School for acting, world-famous. And one of her classmates was Tina Louise. And Tina also had a part in the "Little Abner" Broadway production. And Tina later went on to be Ginger on "Gilligan's Island."
"Oh, it's you."
"Ginger is next."
Julie ends up in the Broadway production of "The Marriage-Go-Round," starring Charles Boyer and Claudette Colbert. Now, Julie plays the house guest that is seducing the husband. And let's just say she wowed the audience and critics alike because she won the Tony Award that year for Best Supporting Actress. Things were really happening.
Now, after that, Julie stars alongside Tommy Noonan and Peter Marshall in the 1959 comedy movie "The Rookie." Julie's character is a movie star who, along with her agent, devised this scheme to get more publicity by having both of these soldiers fall in love with her at the same time.
"You asked me to marry you, and I said yes. Don't you remember?"
"I remember. I wanted to ask you."
"You did? If you don't remember, it couldn't have meant very much."
"Well, it's, it's just that I feel the same way."
"I don't, don't leave. Everything me off your..."
"I love you."
"And I love you."
"That was beautiful. I never saw that side before."
"Except at last."
"I love you."
"That was a little corny."
"How dare you! I'd like to see Bette Davis do it any better."
Now, the next year, when they bring "The Marriage-Go-Round" to the big screen, of course, they have Julie back. This time, starring with Susan Hayward and James Mason.
"Katherine, I think it's about time we had a girl-to-girl talk."
"Did someone do something to annoy you?"
"As someone tried to rattle my husband."
"Now, I tried to be a good hostess. I offered you liquor, cigarettes. I did not offer you the head of the house."
"Do you think I want your husband?"
"Yes, I do."
"Let me put it this way: I don't want him for keeps."
"You're very sick in the head."
"I feel fine. Mr. Davies is a great genius, and I intend to become the mother of a perfect child."
"Katherine, in this country, we're very straight-laced about marriage. Do I make myself clear?"
"I'm younger, prettier, stronger, bigger, and more intelligent than you."
Here's a freaky fact: whenever you see Julie in a movie where she's swimming or diving off of something, there were no stunt doubles used. Julie had that all under control. So after "The Marriage-Go-Round" movie, she heads back to Broadway to star in "Guys and Dolls."
Now, Julie was super close with her family this entire time. She says, other than the week where she first announced she was moving to New York, things settled down really quickly after that. It was like nothing ever really changed because when I was in New York, a family member or both my brothers were constantly visiting me, and I loved it. My brothers would stay for weeks at a time, taking in my plays and seeing all the entertainment. And then when I was in California, I stayed with my family every time I was filming a movie. I really feel like this kept me grounded and helped me avoid a lot of the pitfalls that other young actresses were falling into, such as going to parties and getting involved in drugs or alcohol. I didn't do any of that. I just hung out with my loved ones.
Unfortunately, tragedy struck Julie's family. Her younger brother, Peter, was out skiing on a mountain when a blinding snowstorm came up out of nowhere, causing the visibility to go down to zero. He couldn't find his way down or up the mountain, and the rescue workers couldn't find him for three days. And when they did, he had fallen into a chasm and had frozen to death. This devastated Julie. She didn't want to leave her family at all, but in order to stay close, she needed to find more work in California. And movie roles were still very hard to come by. So she started to audition for television shows.
Now, TV in the '60s was just about to hit the big boom, and she was at ground zero. Here's her first appearance in 1960 on a television show called "Adventures in Paradise."
"Come to the party, chum. It's time you were thinking of Captain Adam Troy."
"Right now, I'm only interested in what's happening to those people out there."
"Better get off this island before they kill you."
"Switching sides? I wouldn't mind being partners with you, Adam."
And her second TV appearance was the next year, 1961, on "The Defenders" TV series, season 1, episode 15, "Gideon's Folly."
"I'd be happy as a clam to help that girl in any way."
"Or man. A man of your age has a lot to live for, you know what I mean?"
"Pango, Pango. A figure like this doesn't grow on trees. I mean, if you want to have it, you've got to earn it. That's my motto."
"Go to Marilyn Monroe."
"Yes."
"You know what you find those girls doing?"
"No."
"What? Working out."
"I'd like to ask you about Paragon Gideon. She's in pretty good shape."
"Is she in good enough shape to carry Gideon's body down a flight of stairs?"
"It would take a pretty powerful woman to carry a dead body downstairs and prop it up in..."
"I don't know about that. He only weighed 129 pounds."
"Well, if you want to have it, you've got to earn it."
And that's what she was doing. In 1962, she made her third and fourth appearances on television on the TV show "Route 66," where she plays Vicky Russell.
"[Music]"
"[Music]"
"[Music]"
"Back there, why? Why? Why?"
"Well, you knew we'd catch you."
"I feel sorry for you."
"For me? He looks so..."
"[Music]"
"Bored."
Now, you'll notice that Julie was really only appearing on television about one time per season. The rest of the time, she spent in plays. But these were West Coast productions that toured up and down the coastline, so she was able to stay with the family and use it as a home base. This allowed Julie to keep her acting skills sharp and make enough money that she didn't need to try out for any old role on television. She was more picking and choosing the things she went out for. And this next one is really cool. It's the 1963 episode of "The Twilight Zone" called "Of Late I Think of Cliffordville," where she plays Miss Delin.
"You say you're bored? You've got everything you want. Go on."
"So let's do this. Let's send you back to Cliffordville. The Cliffordville of years ago, and you can start all over again."
"I am not one of your 'sell your soul for a nickel' country bumpkins."
"You send me back in time? Send me back to Cliffordville?"
"But I want to look exactly as I did then. I want to have a memory of everything that's occurred in the last 50 years. I want that town exactly as it was, with the same people that I remember."
"Agreed. Goodbye."
"And needless to say, Mr. Feathersmith, I wish for you everything that you deserve."
That's a freaky episode. If you can find it, you really should watch it. Now, next, she gets to be the lead character on a new TV show. They filmed a pilot episode and pitched it to the networks. It's loosely based around, like, "Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire?" But this time, it's called "Three on an Island."
"Hey, Chris, guess what?"
"Taffy?"
"No, honey. I've been doing a dude ranch layout all afternoon. I'm late, late, late."
"Oh, see you next week. Don't forget it's a date."
"Taffy, mix Perry a drink while Andy helps me change into a girl."
Even though that show wasn't picked up by any network, the producers realized that Julie was a real talent. So they used her again in their next pilot episode. This time, she would still be the star, but she'd be playing a robot. Yeah. And this time, when they pitched it to the networks, it was picked up by CBS. So on September 27th, 1964, "My Living Doll" debuts.
"I thought I programmed you to help Irene straighten up around the house. Why aren't you doing it?"
"I have vertigo."
"Now, you know that's ridiculous. You don't have vertigo. Now, stand up. Now, get this through your computers: You are not dizzy. You're a robot, and a robot can't feel dizzy. You can't feel anything."
"I can't explain myself. I'm afraid, sir, 'cause I'm not myself."
"You see," said the caterpillar. "The caterpillar."
"Alice in Wonderland."
"Now, how did this get in here?"
"The little girl next door brought it over and asked me to read it to her."
"Well, nobody will ever believe it. A robot with a computer full of Alice in Wonderland."
And there you have your second connection between Alice in Wonderland and Julie Newmar, with one more yet to come. Now, the show debuted on Sunday nights, head-to-head against "Bonanza." And although it did great in the ratings for the first two months, eventually it started to fade away. "Bonanza" was just too popular. So they moved it in December to Wednesday evenings, head-to-head against "The Virginia" and "The Patty Duke Show." But it seems that most the audience didn't move along with it, so ratings continued to drop. And that's when Bob Cummings said that he wanted to leave the show early, end his contract. And the producers told him, "Don't do that. We're committed to a second season. We're going to find the right time slot." But he was adamant, he wanted out. So they wrote him off the show in episode 21 and continued on. But by episode 26, they figured this was just too much to overcome, so they stopped production.
Here are some freaky facts about this show. First of all, the entire 26-episode collection is not available anywhere. The original 35mm prints were destroyed in an earthquake. And over time, through the help of collectors, they've been able to track down episodes 1 through 11, but 12 through 26 have never surfaced, and it's been decades. Next freaky fact is the producer Howard Leeds went on to create a similar show in the '80s called "Small Wonder." So he went from Rhoda the robot to Vicki the robot. And the third freakiest fact of this show is that Julie's catchphrase while playing Rhoda the robot was "Does not compute," and that had never been used in literature or film up until "My Living Doll."
Disappointed with how the show ended, Julie decided to head back to New York. Theater had always been good to her, so that's where she was at. She had an apartment, and her brother, who had been going to Harvard, was on break and was by her house one Friday evening with five of his friends. He was throwing a party at her house, she said. And so they're all there, and her phone rings. She goes to the other room and starts to talk. It turns out it's the producers for the TV show "Batman," which Julie didn't know anything about. And they offered her a role. And she says, "I'm not interested. I just got to New York. I'm settled in. Everything's fine here, and I really don't feel like hopping a flight out there to appear." And they go, "No, no, this isn't just a one-off. You will be a recurring character that we are creating with you in mind. We've seen you on 'My Living Doll,' and we think you would be the perfect fit." Still not sold on the idea, Julie does the polite thing, tells them that she'll think about it for the weekend, call them back on Monday and let them know. They say, "Thank you, that's all we're asking for."
So she hangs up the phone, walks back in the other room, and there stands her brother and his five friends, looking at her all suspicious-like. And then her brother says, "Did I just hear you say the word 'Batman'?" She said, "Yeah, they want me to be on the show, but I told them no." And her brother's jaw dropped. He said, "Oh my god, Julie, you got to call him back! That's like the coolest thing ever! You got to do this!" And all his friends were chanting, "Batman! Batman!" And she goes, "Are you guys serious? You really like this show?" And they said, "Yeah, we get together at Harvard and have watch parties. It's like the coolest, craziest show ever." And so she thinks to herself, "I have these six grown young men in my living room telling me this show is awesome. I think I need to go make that call."
So she goes back in the room, calls the number back. Took about four or five rings, and then one of the producers answered. She says, "I'm going to go ahead and catch a flight. I'll be out there Monday, and we can discuss it in person." And he says, "Oh, thank you, Julie. This is going to be great." So she grabs a few things and hops on the plane.
Now, on the flight there, she's going over in her head what the producers told her about this character. She's called Catwoman. Now, up until this point, Catwoman has never appeared on television or the big screen. So there's no way for her to have a visual or any influence of what the character's like. Heck, she didn't even read the comic book. So at this point, she has no clue what she even looks like. What she does know is what they told her: Catwoman is a very feminine-looking figure who has feline tendencies. She's also a cat burglar who is an evil villain.
When she arrived in California, they immediately took her into wardrobe, where the seamstresses measured her and were going to form-fit this costume. Now, over the next couple of days, they had various stages of this, and Julie really wasn't happy with any of them. At first, they were real baggy. Julie kept telling them, "Make it tighter." And eventually, the producers said, "I'm getting a little worried here. The censors might not let this go through." And Julie was like, "You did say you wanted to accentuate the female figure, so tighter we go." And then the seamstress leaned in and said, "Julie, if we make it any tighter, they'll be able to see your panties." And Julie whispered back, "I can solve that problem too." So they made it a little tighter, Julie fit right in, and they turned on the cameras.
But first, Julie wanted to make one more alteration. She reached down, and the belt was going right across her belly button, and she said, "This is too high." Loosened it up and dropped it down over her hips. So on March 16th, 1966, in the episode called "The Perfect Crime," Julie Newmar debuts as the first ever Catwoman.
"Hello, Batman. I'm glad you decided to surrender. We would have caught you eventually."
"Do you think so?"
"Shall we go?"
"Must we? So soon? Might get to know each other a little better."
"Don't run away, Batman."
"I won't bite."
"You're very beautiful, Catwoman."
"You're quite right. I am."
"Batman, let's throw caution to the winds. I can give you more happiness than anyone in the world."
"I mean, it's me and you against the world."
"Oh, what about Robin?"
"But I had him killed."
"Does it, Catwoman?"
"I thought you had a modicum of decency, but I see that I erred in my judgment."
"All of this lovey-dovey business was just a trick."
"You're attractive, Catwoman, but not that attractive."
"I have another trick up my paw."
"Pen Brown, Cornell, Fred, get him now!"
Two days after filming this first episode, Julie was in a little grocery store, and when she went up to check out, there was a sign by the counter that said, "Looking for a good home for my two cats." And she thought to herself, "This isn't just a sign, it's a sign. Who else is supposed to take care of these cats other than Catwoman?" So she adopted them, took them home, raised them, loved them. But she was also studying their mannerisms. She said, "I was still trying to develop this character of Catwoman, and having these cats around really did help." But I also asked the producers if Catwoman could not be evil, if she could talk less about killing and become more naughty. They liked the idea, so we tried it out. And I would say by my third and fourth appearances, I really nailed it, and that's the Catwoman that you know and love.
"[Music]"
"What are you waiting for? Can't you see how I feel about you, Batman?"
"If you're going to kill me, you might as well get it over with."
"When I get out of jail, will you take me on a date?"
"We'll have plenty of time to think about that, Catwoman."
"Several years, I'm afraid."
Julie said it was really fun having this sexual chemistry between Catwoman and Batman, with Robin always getting in the way and being annoyed by him.
"If I were to kiss you, would you think I was a bad girl?"
"No, of course not."
"Catwoman, come on, Batman."
"The police are here."
"Boy blunder! Holy mush!"
Now, at the end of the first season of "Batman," Julie was supposed to have enough time off that she could go film a movie. So she went and started production on "McKenna's Gold." And while she's on set, she gets a call from the producers of "Batman," and they want to make a movie while "Batman" is still hot. Well, she couldn't break her contract or leave the set, so they had to get a replacement. They brought in Lee Meriwether. Now, I made a video on her too, and in that video, there's a lot more freaky facts about "Batman."
So after both movies, "Batman" and "McKenna's Gold," are released, it's time to start production on season 2 of "Batman." So Julie comes right back. She ends up appearing in season 1 and 2, a total of 13 episodes. But these are the classic Catwoman episodes.
"Not enough for you, Batman?"
"It's too bad."
"It had..."
And now, guys, you will have starred in a new show, "Bat on a Hot Tin Roof." Now, at the end of the second season, ratings had started to decline, and they were told they do not have a contract for a third season. So Julie, just like last time, went ahead and started some new projects in the meantime. The producers were working their butt off to try and get this show picked back up again, and there's some freaky stuff that happened there too. If you want to hear about that, it's in my Avon Craig video, who ended up playing Batgirl in the third season. And when it got picked back up, Julie, of course, was too busy, and she opted out, and she was replaced by Eartha Kitt, who ended up playing Catwoman. And I made a video on her too, and let's just say that video is powerful.
After the "Batman" series, Julie went on to appear on television or in a movie every single year up into the '90s, not counting all the variety show and game show appearances along with all the theater productions. So before I get into these important facts about Julie, let's take a look at a few classic TV shows that she did appear in that fans of this channel would really enjoy. "The Monkees" episode "The Monkees Get Out More Dirt." It's a pretty good one. But she was also on "Star Trek," episode "Friday's Child."
"You will not touch me in that manner."
"I'll touch you in any way or manner that my professional judgment..."
"[Applause]"
"[Music]"
"Dang, that's tough."
Now, she also appeared in one of my favorite shows, "F Troop," where she played Yellowbird in the episode called "Yellowbird." And then she appeared on "Bewitched," episode "The 8-Year Itch."
"Witch, why don't you run back to your room?"
"Why?"
"I thought we were about to..."
"I'll be glad to go to my room, Larry."
"Where are you going?"
"To my room."
"What for?"
"I don't know. As a matter of fact, I think I'll have that second drink."
"Come out, come out, wherever you are."
"I should have known."
I liked her on "Bewitched," and I thought she would have been good as a recurring character on there. Now, another show that I thought she did really well in was "The Beverly Hillbillies," episode "The Beautiful Maid."
"You certainly are strong, Jethro."
"No stronger than your average mule. Smarter than I am."
"Strong? Are you?"
"Um, let's go for a swim, shall we?"
"[Music]"
"Okay."
And here she is on "Get Smart," episode "The Laser Blazer," where she again plays a maid, but this time she's also a secret spy.
"I'm sorry, but we cannot afford a maid, and that is final."
"How do you do? I'm Ingrid, your maid."
"Oh, come right in, Ingrid. We were beginning to get worried about you."
"Could I help you with your bag?"
"In oh, thank you."
"I hope you'll be pleased with the way I clean."
"Oh, I'll take that. Thank you."
In the 1970s, she was on every TV show from "Columbo" to "The Love Boat," from "The Bionic Woman" to "The Monster Squad." And here's another freaky fact for you: she also invented two items. One was a brazier, and the other was pantyhose, and both of which had US patents on them in her name. And when she marketed them, they were under the name Nudear.
Then on August 5th, 1977, Julie married J. Holt Smith, a lawyer from Texas, and she moved to Fort Worth to live with him. Where on February 25th, 1981, Julie gave birth to her son, John Jewel Smith. And she said at that moment, her life changed forever. She says that her son John was the best gift that she could have ever had. Now, John was born with Down syndrome and a hearing impairment that made certain noises very hard on him. But Julie is the best mother for John. She has dedicated her life to taking care of him. Unfortunately, Julie and her husband did divorce in 1984. So that's when she took John and moved back to California. This time, purchasing a house with a giant backyard where she built this beautiful garden for her and John to enjoy the peace and serenity.
So as time went on and things were going along smoothly, suddenly the house next door to her changed owners. And the new owner wanted the wall between the two yards torn down and a fence put up to match the rest of the lawn. So she went out there and was talking to a construction crew, and they were going to have to come on her side and do work too. And she thought, "Oh my gosh, this is going to destroy all of my gardening and landscaping. I really don't want this. Can you ask him not to do this?" So they went back to the owner, brought up the concerns, and he says, "No, I really want that wall gone. I want everything to match." So they came back and told her that they're going to go ahead and start on it the next week. She didn't know what to do, so she went to the city and got an injunction to stop the construction.
When this came to the attention of the new owner, he said, "I need to meet her and talk to her." And it turns out it was Jim Belushi. When Jim showed up and seen that it was Julie, and she invited him into the house, took him out into the garden, he met her son John, and she pointed out her concerns. He said, "Julie, you can stop right there. I am not taking that wall down. You can leave everything like it is. Don't worry." She was relieved, and the two of them actually became really good neighbors and friends. There are pictures online of both of them at each other's houses over the years. And later, when he got a TV show, he invited her on for an episode called "The Grumpy Neighbor," making fun of the whole situation.
Then in 1995, a movie comes out starring Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze, and John Leguizamo. And it's called "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar." And it's all based around an autographed picture of Julie. And of course, Julie does appear in the movie. How cool is that? "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar."
From there, Julie would still regularly appear on television, but she was also the voice of Catwoman in almost all of the Batman animated serieses, along with all of the video games.
"Catwoman, thank you for all your help."
"Perhaps there's a better way to show your..."
"[Music]"
"Gratitude."
But one of the most important things Julie feels she's done over the decades is have her charitable organization, which helps families with children who have Down syndrome. Along with the help of her brother John Newmar, who also was the one that wanted her to become Catwoman in the first place, they have brought a lot of help and resources to these families, and they continue to support them and have parties for the children. It's a birthday party, not just for the kids, but for the families to know that these children have brought a lot of joy to their life, and we should celebrate it.
And now for my favorite part of this video. As of October 12th, 2023, Julie and her son John are both alive and doing well. Julie is 90 years old, and she spends her days with her son John in her garden, and the two of them are very happy. And as for the third Alice in Wonderland connection, I'll let Julie explain that to you.
"What I've done for John is to create secret gardens. You need surprises, and there have to be animals. I'll show you an illusion that I created. It looks as if you can open the gate, walk in, and see Alice in Wonderland."
"Gate?"
Well, I hope you enjoyed this video. And if you did, please give it a thumbs up and subscribe. That helps you find this channel again in the future. I also have made videos on a lot of the Batman '66 cast: Burt Ward, Adam West, Eartha Kitt, Avon Craig, Lee Meriwether, and of course, Julie Newmar. Cool Classics.