ジュリー・ロンドン Julie London
1926年9月26日米国カリフォルニア州サンタクララの生まれ。2000年10月18日他界。44年に映画女優としてデビュー。歌手に転向したのは50
年代になってから。ピアニストで作曲家のボビー・トゥループ（のちに結婚）の指導を受け、55年に『彼女の名はジュリー』を録音。その中からシングル・
カットされた「クライ・ミー・ア・リヴァー」がヒットして一躍人気歌手に。ハスキー・ヴォイスによるセクシーな歌声が悩殺的。アルバムはキャピトルに多数。
Julie London
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Julie London (September 26, 1926 – October 18, 2000) was an American
singer and actress. Best known for her smoky, sensual voice, as a
singer she was at her peak in the 1950s; her acting career lasted more
than 35 years, ending with the role of nurse Dixie McCall, RN, on the
TV show Emergency! (1972–1979).
Biography
Born in Santa Rosa, California, as Gayle Peck, she was the daughter of
Jack and Josephine Peck, who had a vaudeville song-and-dance team. When
she was 14, they moved to Los Angeles. Shortly after that, she began
appearing in movies. She graduated from the Hollywood Professional High
School in 1944.
She was married to Jack Webb of Dragnet fame. Her obvious beauty and
poise (she was a pinup girl prized by GIs during World War II)
contrasted strongly with his pedestrian appearance and stiff-as-a-board
acting technique (much parodied by impersonators). This unlikely
pairing arose from his and her love for jazz music; their marriage
lasted from July 1947 to November 1953.They had two daughters, one who
was killed in a traffic accident in the 1990s and one who survived her.
In 1954, having become somewhat reclusive after her divorce from Jack
Webb, she met jazz composer and musician Bobby Troup at a club on La
Brea Blvd.They married on December 31, 1959; only his death in February
1999 ended their marriage. Together, they had one daughter and a set of
twin sons.
She suffered a stroke in 1995, and was in poor health until her death
in Encino, California, at the age of 74, survived by four of her five
children.
Career as a singer
Julie London began singing in public in her teens before appearing in a
film. She was discovered by Sue Carol (wife of Alan Ladd) while London
was working as an elevator operator. Her early film career did not
include any singing parts.
She recorded 32 albums in a career that began in 1955 with a live
performance at the 881 Club in Los Angeles.She was named one of
Billboard's most popular female vocalists for 1955, 1956, and 1957. In
1957, she was the subject of a Life magazine cover article in which she
was quoted as saying, "It's only a thimbleful of a voice, and I have to
use it close to the microphone. But it is a kind of oversmoked voice,
and it automatically sounds intimate."
One of her most famous singles "Cry Me a River", which has gained
recent attention after being featured in the movie V for Vendetta, was
actually written by her high school classmate Arthur Hamilton, and
produced by her husband Bobby Troup[4]); Other hit singles include "No
Moon at All"; "My Heart Belongs to Daddy"; and "Two Sleepy People".
Songs such as "Go Slow" epitomized her career style: her voice is slow,
smoky, and sensual. The lyrics strongly suggest sex but never
explicitly define it:
Go slow, oooooh honey, take it easy on the curves;
When love is slow, oooooh honey, what a tonic for my nerves.
Go slow, oooooh honey, we've got such a lot of time;
When love is slow, oooooh honey, how the mercury does climb.
Her whispered "you make me feel so good" at the end is breathy and
suggests a sexually satisfied partner.
Career as an actress
Movies in which Julie London appeared are:
Nabonga (1944)
Diamond Horseshoe (1945) (bit part)
On Stage Everybody (1945)
A Night in Paradise (1946) (bit part)
The Red House (1947)
Tap Roots (1948)
Task Force (1949)
Return of the Frontiersman (1950)
The Fat Man (1951)
The Fighting Chance (1955)
The Girl Can't Help It (1956)
Crime Against Joe (1956)
The Great Man (1957)
Drango (1957)
Saddle the Wind (1958)
Voice in the Mirror (1958)
Man of the West (1958)
Night of the Quarter Moon (1959)
The Wonderful Country (1959)
A Question of Adultery (1959)
The Third Voice (1960)
The George Raft Story (1961)
Television shows in which Julie London appeared are:
The Helicopter Spies (1968)
Emergency! (1972 - 1979)
Tattletales! (game show hosted by Bert Convy, 1974-1978)
Emergency: Survival on Charter #220 (1978)
Interestingly, her ex-husband, Jack Webb, was the producer of
Emergency!, and he hired both his ex-wife and her new husband to key
roles on his show. She was the still-sensual bombshell nurse, even in
her middle age; and Troup played the neurosurgeon Dr. Joe Early.
On her death in October 2000, Julie London was interred in Forest Lawn
- Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.
References
1. Staggs, Sam. (2003) Close-Up on Sunset Boulevard "St. Martin's
Press" p. 289. ISBN 0-312-30254-1.
2. Powell, D.A. (1998) Tea. "Wesleyan University Press" p. 70. ISBN
0-8195-6334-X.
3. McKnight-Trontz, Jennifer (1999) Exotiquarium: Album Art from the
Space Age "St. Martin's Press" p. 77. ISBN 0-312-20133-8.
4. Cason, Buzz (2004) Living the Rock 'N' Roll Dream: The Adventures of
Buzz Cason "Hal Leonard". p. 102. ISBN 0-634-06672-2.
Martin, D. (2000). "Julie London, Sultry Singer and Actress of 50's,
Dies at 74". New York Times, October 19, 2000. Retrieved April 22, 2005.
Life, February 18, 1957.
External links
Julie
London Biography, Discography & Photos