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CNN Larry King Live
The Life and Times of Julie Andrews
Aired July 31, 2001 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE SOUND OF MUSIC")
JULIE ANDREWS, ACTRESS (singing): The hills are alive with the sound of music.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, HOST: You heard her music. You've seen her movies. Tonight, you are going to hear her speak. The legendary Julie Andrews, in a rare interview. We will take your calls, too. She's our fair lady, next on LARRY KING LIVE.
New movie opening this weekend, "The Princess Diaries," and the costar is Julie Andrews. She's back! It's always great to see her and be with her. She's the Oscar-winning dame commander of the British Empire. What is a dame commander?
ANDREWS: I think it's the equivalent of being a knight.
KING: A sir?
ANDREWS: A sir, exactly.
KING: Do they dub you?
ANDREWS: No. Do you know why?
KING: Why?
ANDREWS: They don't dub ladies, and they don't dub the clergy, gentlemen of the church, because they are women of peace and men of peace. They only...
KING: So, they won't take a sword out.
ANDREWS: They won't take a sword out and dub you.
KING: When were you named dame commander?
ANDREWS: Last May.
KING: What a thrill it must be.
ANDREWS: It was. KING: What, did they call you?
ANDREWS: Yes, I got...
KING: Hello!
ANDREWS: I got a call from the British ambassador in Washington, and he asked if I would like to -- would I receive the honor, because they have to check, I suppose.
KING: What were you going to say, no?
ANDREWS: Yeah, exactly. I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. And then you choose -- there are many investitures during the year, you choose which one, which dates you'd like, and it was a wonderful ceremony.
KING: So, is it correct now to call you dame?
ANDREWS: Well, it's sort of one of those private things. It's like you don't mention it, but it's just there. And you know what I mean?
KING: Because a lot of sirs want to be called sir.
ANDREWS: Do they?
KING: And some don't
ANDREWS: Well, I think most of them probably don't.
KING: So, you don't want to be Dame Andrews?
ANDREWS: No. No. I mean, I am thrilled to be dame. It's one of those -- the fact that you have been honored by your country is what it's all about, and it just feels good right there.
KING: Before we talk about your career and all the things, let's get with first things first, since everybody was asking me today. How are you?
ANDREWS: I'm well. I'm well in myself, I'm improving in my voice. I still don't have my singing voice back, but I'm working on it. I'm surrounded by wonderful specialists who are guiding me, counseling me.
KING: What was your illness?
ANDREWS: It was a -- everybody thought it was cancer, and of course...
KING: That was the rumor.
ANDREWS: That was the rumor, and it wasn't at all. It was what is known as an intracordal cyst. Inside the left vocal cord, it was a small sack, like you get a blister on your heel, and it need to be attended to -- and unfortunately, it kind of got botched.
KING: And there was a lawsuit and it's settled, so we understand you are not going to discuss what botched it, and we're not going to get into the doctor's name.
ANDREWS: I'd rather not, because it's not pleasant for anybody.
KING: Of course. But -- how did you first notice something wrong?
ANDREWS: Well, there were a number of things that contributed to it. Just the kind of feeling that I got from things that were said at the beginning, and then...
KING: Tell me, were you singing? Did you notice...
ANDREWS: No, no, no, not at all. Once I -- I couldn't sing after the operation. I had to be silent for like two weeks, and then after about six weeks, I thought, this is not getting any better, and I was told that maybe it was taking longer than usual, and then after three months...
KING: Was this supposed to be like simple?
ANDREWS: Very simple.
KING: Remove the cyst, basically.
ANDREWS: Right, right, drain it, you know.
KING: People have that done.
ANDREWS: Well, I don't know how often they have it done.
KING: Well, but cysts are removed.
ANDREWS: Right, right. And then, after about six months, I began to get a little worried and thought, now this is really not the way it should supposed to be. And then after a year, no, something was very wrong.
KING: What was it like, the thought of not being able to...
ANDREWS: Sing again?
KING: Sing again? When a singer can't sing.
ANDREWS: Well, first of all, the concept is unbelievably painful, because I don't know any thrill greater than singing with a orchestra. It's the most wonderful feeling, but I haven't stopped being optimistic. I think if I stopped being optimistic, I would fall apart, but...
KING: And your speaking voice sounds fine as ever.
ANDREWS: Yeah, and it's improving. Yeah, it's definitely improving.
KING: So what is it that you can't do? Sing?
ANDREWS: I don't have a middle voice.
KING: Really? You have a range, you can go high?
ANDREWS: Well, let me put it this way: I can sing a hell of an "Old Man River," way down in the bass.
KING: Really?
ANDREWS: But I cannot -- I cannot what they call a passagio. I cannot go through the middle of my voice.
KING: So, what does it require? Exercises?
ANDREWS: It requires a lot of monitoring, a lot of exercises, possibly one more surgery one of these days. I don't know. And I am being guided by very good people now.
KING: You want to sing again?
ANDREWS: Yes, I do.
KING: Because some...
ANDREWS: I don't even mind if it's only 50 percent of what I had. I would love to just be able to vocalize.
KING: Because what you had was an incredible gift. I want to tell you something that Barbra Streisand told us on -- sitting in that chair a few years ago. She said that while she was sometimes appreciated the sound of her own voice, most of the time she took it for granted.
ANDREWS: Yeah.
KING: It was always there. You too?
ANDREWS: I wouldn't say I took it for granted, Larry. I think that I always had huge respect for it. But the minute I didn't have it, I realized that I didn't respect it enough. It was just -- you never -- you can never imagine. You know, I was kind of, from my earliest years I sang, so you never think about it. You realize it's a gift, you're very grateful and humble about it, and yet somehow when it's not there, you think, my God, I should have been even more grateful, even more humble.
KING: Is there panic?
ANDREWS: Not panic, because I haven't given up being optimistic.
KING: But when you couldn't sing at all? I mean, that -- the moments when you -- I mean, you couldn't speak. ANDREWS: What there is is you go to make the sound that you are used to making, and when it sounds a little bit like chalk on the blackboard, you are -- you say, but I went to do what I know to do and nothing happened. What's the matter, you know?
KING: When you hear your old -- what we just played, that opening of "The Sound of Music," which you must hear dozens of times, or you have a record, or you have a new CD out, "Classic Julie, Classic Broadway," right?
ANDREWS: Right, yeah.
KING: In fact, we can put that up. "Classic Julie, Classic Broadway" is out as a CD. That was recorded some time ago, I would think?
ANDREWS: Yes, it was done -- funnily enough, it's a compilation of the best of about four albums.
KING: OK. And there we see its cover. When you hear that, do you say, damn it?
ANDREWS: All I can say is I'm very glad that this happened late in my career and not early. Because my God, that would be devastating. I don't listen to myself very much these days, because I am frightened it might make me a little depressed, and I don't want to get anymore depressed than I am.
KING: That's what I would think. Because you -- your voice described -- you had a bell, right?
ANDREWS: Well, it was a very -- it was a very individual voice. I mean, it wasn't an operatic voice, it wasn't a pop voice. It was very white and thin, as I describe it. But it functioned for me, and -- but you know...
KING: Did you have a lot of training?
ANDREWS: I did when I was young very -- oh, yeah. I mean, I was trained from about 8 years old onward. But I will tell you one thing, Gary, I do feel...
KING: Larry.
ANDREWS: Larry, sorry.
KING: Gary -- Gary directed you. I know why you're saying Gary.
ANDREWS: That's why I'm saying Gary. One thing, Larry, is I do feel that, you know, somewhere in all of this, I must be meant to learn something, or I'm going somewhere from here. I don't know where I am going, but let's see what happens with it, you know?
KING: Do you think this is like a test?
(CROSSTALK) ANDREWS: No, I wouldn't say that. I would just say, lots of things are unfolding.
KING: Really?
ANDREWS: Who knows, you know?
KING: Kind of cosmic?
ANDREWS: Maybe.
KING: We'll be right back with Julie Andrews. Her new book -- her new book? Her new movie is "The Princess Diaries." It was directed by...
ANDREWS: That's a book.
KING: That's book, that's right. We'll come right back, we'll talk about that and a lot of other things with a great start. Don't go away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE SOUND OF MUSIC")
ANDREWS (singing): The hills are alive with the sound of music, with songs they have sung for 1,000 years. The hills fill my heart with the sound of music, my heart wants to sing every song it hears.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "MARY POPPINS")
ANDREWS (singing): And snap. The job's a game. And every task you undertake, becomes a piece of cake, a luck, a spree, it's very clear to see that a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down, the medicine go down, the medicine go down, just a spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down in a most delightful way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Ah! Who could forget "Mary Poppins"? Earned an Academy Award, and by the way, "The Princess Diaries," her new movie, is the first time that she is back with Disney since "Mary Poppins." She also co-writes a series of children's books with her daughter Emma Walton Hamilton. They're called "Dumpy the Dump Trucks," and there you see the shots there.
ANDREWS: Oh, thank you.
KING: We will talk about those a little bit later. You did get -- a couple of more things on the throat. You did get brief counseling, did you not?
ANDREWS: Yes, I did. KING: Did it help?
ANDREWS: Yes, it did. It did.
KING: Because it's dealing with loss. We could have loss of a husband, loss of a child or parent, loss of a voice.
ANDREWS: Yes, and it helped.
KING: So you're on the road now? I mean, you could say it where --
ANDREWS: I would say that...
KING: Are you confident? Will you sing again?
ANDREWS: Yeah, you bet I will. Somehow, some way, I will sing again.
KING: True that -- because you didn't get the movie of "My Fair Lady" -- it went to the Audrey Hepburn and someone else, who sang for her?
ANDREWS: Marnie Nixon.
KING: Marnie Nixon.
ANDREWS: Yeah.
KING: And you got "Mary Poppins."
ANDREWS: Yes, it's very hard to get upset about...
KING: Was it true that because you didn't get "Lady," "Poppins" came open to you?
ANDREWS: I don't know whether that's true, but certainly having not gotten "My Fair Lady," suddenly Mr. Disney came by and said, would you like to come and see the designs that we have done and hear the music? And I said, well, I'm pregnant, Mr. Disney. And he said, that's OK. We'll wait. And...
KING: Did you think that "Poppins" would be the hit that it was?
ANDREWS: I don't think any of us had any idea that it would be that successful. I mean, it really was original and unusual for those days, particularly...
KING: And became much more successful as "My Fair Lady" as a film.
ANDREWS: I guess so. I think that's because it's a family film, and family films go around every generation. And every seven years there's a new generation.
KING: And you and Dick Van Dyke had a click together, didn't you?
ANDREWS: Yeah, we had a great time.
KING: Because it was romantic and something going on there.
ANDREWS: Oh, yes.
KING: With Mary and the chimney sweep.
ANDREWS: Did you ever notice the color of "Mary Poppins'" petticoats? They were kind of orange and apricot and red. I think she had a secret life going on there.
KING: How disappointed were you of not getting the film, "My Fair Lady?"
ANDREWS: In those days, I understood it completely, because I was just known on Broadway, which, compared to all of America and the movie world, it was understandable. But, later in later years, I thought, God, I would have liked to have done it definitively.
KING: It must have been something, because it was said about "My Fair Lady," there isn't one wrong note in it. Every song works.
ANDREWS: The thing about it is, it was the epitome of the Golden Era of musicals. "West Side Story" was one of them. "Gypsy" was one of them.
KING: Yeah.
ANDREWS: And really there was not a wrong note or a wrong piece of dialogue. There was not a wrong costume or a wrong set.
KING: We know that a lot of people want to talk to Julie Andrews. We will be taking calls.
Tell me about the "The Princess Diaries." This is about a young girl who inherits a throne.
ANDREWS: Yeah. It's about...
KING: If it's a Garry Marshall film, it's a comedy.
ANDREWS: It is. It is a charming family picture, it really is. About a young mid-teenager who has absolutely no idea that she is a bona fide princess. It was going to be revealed to her when she was 18, but circumstances bring about that at 15, she has to know. Because we need an heir.
KING: And there she is. And you are, what?
ANDREWS: I am the grandmother. I am the queen mother, Queen Clarice. And I have an absolute ball...
KING: Of what country?
ANDREWS: Genovia.
KING: Genovia.
ANDREWS: Which is somewhere between France and Spain on the south coast.
KING: Did you like working comedy with a guy like Garry?
ANDREWS: Like it, I had a ball. He is such fun, so kind. He is...
KING: Because you are married to a pretty good director. Blake Edwards ain't bad. And you have done comedies with him.
ANDREWS: Yes. We've been married for, what, 32 years now.
KING: Do you like comedy?
ANDREWS: Love it. Love it.
KING: Not easy?
ANDREWS: No, I think it may be more difficult than drama and certainly I know that Blake thinks that.
KING: Back with more of Julie Andrews, she stars in the "The Princess Diaries," it opens up this weekend, and her CD's released, the children's books, we'll be taking a lot of your phone calls, what a start.
Tomorrow -- speaking of stars -- tomorrow night on this program, the women of the Senate. There were 13 women in the Senate. Twelve of them are on our show tomorrow night.
ANDREWS: Oh!
KING: We'll be right back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE PRINCESS DIARIES")
ANDREWS: In my wildest dreams I never expected this to happen. But you are the legal heir. The only heir to the Genoverian throne and we will accept the challenge of helping you become the princess that you are. Oh, I could give you books, you will study languages, history, art, political science, I can teach you to walk, talk, sit, stand, eat, dress like a princess. Given time, I think that you will find the palace in Genovia is a very pleasant place to live.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wait,, just rewind and freeze! I am no princess, I am still waiting for normal body parts to arrive. I refuse to move to and rule a country and -- do you want another reason? I don't want to be a princess.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE AMERICANIZATION OF EMILY")
ANDREWS: I despise psychologists and I detest selfish people. And I loathe ruthlessness. Since you are cowardly, selfish and ruthless, I can't help but to despise, detest and loathe you. And that is not the way that a woman should feel about the man she is to marry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't be bashful, Emily.
ANDREWS: I am not being -- I have been up all bloody night staring at your bloody marriage applications. But I signed them. They're in my purse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: That was from "Americanization of Emily," one of my favorite and sexy movies ever made. Was that fun with Errol Garner?
ANDREWS: James Garner.
KING: James Garner.
ANDREWS: Absolutely.
KING: Because you had scenes in there. No clothes came off, nothing like that. But boy, was it a sexy movie.
ANDREWS: The very first love scene I ever did was with James Garner and I remember, we were all on -- lying on the bed and everything was getting very hot and heavy, and I was thinking, this is my first love scene, I can be very professional about this. This will not affect me at all. And it went on most of the afternoon, and when I finally got off of the bed, my legs buckled.
(LAUGHTER)
KING: He is some guy.
ANDREWS: Yeah, a great friend.
KING: Were you happy with that film?
ANDREWS: How could you not be? Happy that they asked me to do it because...
KING: Because you don't sing in it.
ANDREWS: No, and it was right after "Poppins," and it couldn't have been a better sort of contrast.
KING: Good choice.
ANDREWS: Yes. And it was Paddy Chayefsky who wrote it, so that was pretty wonderful.
KING: Not bad.
ANDREWS: Nope.
KING: Now, where did "The Sound of Music" fit into all of this?
ANDREWS: That was the third film that I made. In fact, I think, if I'm not mistaken, that "Poppins," "Emily" and "The Sound of Music" were all in the can, all unreleased. And so I was just making movies and having the most wonderful, spoiled time, without any responsibility.
KING: Did they hold them for certain reasons?
ANDREWS: I think release dates, and the fact that "Poppins" took a long time to finish because of special events and things like that.
KING: Now, "Sound of Music," on stage, Mary Martin did it.
ANDREWS: Yes. I saw her do it.
KING: She was great on stage, right?
ANDREWS: Yes, she was.
KING: Now, a lot of people -- that's been one of the most discussed movies of all time, some saying it's syrupy, it's sentimental, and others just praising -- what did you think of "Sound of Music"? It was not a great hit, was it, on Broadway?
ANDREWS: It wasn't a huge hit for Rogers & Hammerstein, no. But certainly, it's one of the few times, I think, that the movie was more successful than the actual stage play. But the music is lovely, and oh, I had such a good time doing it. We all recognized that it had potential for saccharin and too much sweetness, and I think we all worked very hard to get rid of it as much as possible.
KING: Do you like working with Christopher Plummer?
ANDREWS: Yes. He's a great...
KING: Because he enjoyed you.
(LAUGHTER)
ANDREWS: I know. He said some appalling, atrocious things, which I think -- well, we talked about the last time we met, you know I just did "On Golden Pond" with...
KING: I saw that. That was live television. What was that like, that night?
ANDREWS: The most scary thing I've done in 30 years, I think.
KING: Live television.
ANDREWS: Live television. It's not film, it's not theater. It's some weird hybrid in the middle, because you've got eight cameras following you around with eight cameramen, and they've got eight men playing out the cables and things like that. And so it's really an exercise in being oblivious to everything, and threading that needle.
KING: And to avoid being dated.
ANDREWS: Yes...
KING: The look of being dated.
ANDREWS: Yes. Well, thank God it wasn't so much in the present tense. You know, it was, I think we used like 1950 or '60, yes.
KING: We'll be right back with Julie Andrews. She stars in "The Princess Diaries." We're going to talk about some people she's worked with, people like Dudley Moore, and how he's doing, and Rock Hudson and Jack Lemmon.
We'll be right back with Julie Andrews. We'll go to your phone calls. Don't go away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE SOUND OF MUSIC")
ANDREWS (singing): Doe, a deer, a female deer, Ray, a drop of golden sun, Me, a name I call myself, Far, a long, long way to run...
(LAUGHTER)
Sew, a needle pulling thread, La, a note to follow sew, Tea, a drink with jam and bread, That will bring us back to do!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREWS (singing): It's easy to say...
ANDREWS AND DUDLEY MOORE, ACTOR (singing): Easy as ABC, I love you...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: That from "10," the movie that made Bo Derek famous. What was it like working with Dudley, and how's he doing?
ANDREWS: Well, first of all, working with him was a joy. He's funny, he's talented. He's a wonderful pianist, as you know. And he's not doing so well, I'm afraid.
KING: It's a rare disease he has.
ANDREWS: It's very rare. It's very unusual. The name escapes me, but it is -- he once described it to me as that terrible feeling of, he hears what you're saying to him, but by the time he's been able to form and answer, it's like a wall is gradually being built around him, and he can't out from behind it. Like he's being sealed into a room in his brain. And that is maybe the most horrifying thought.
KING: Jack Lemmon, you worked with him too?
ANDREWS: Yes.
KING: Didn't come any nicer.
ANDREWS: Didn't come any sweeter that Jack -- well, they've all been so nice, Larry. I mean, I've been too lucky.
KING: There you are with jack.
ANDREWS: Oh, Blake and Jack...
KING: That was a great movie.
ANDREWS: Yes. Blake and Jack go back a long, long way and he came into my life a little bit later -- and was adorable.
KING: That was the movie where he's dying?
ANDREWS: Well, he thinks he's having a real breakdown. He's not dying, but...
KING: He's having a nervous breakdown.
ANDREWS: That's right, yes.
KING: And you're his wife.
ANDREWS: And I'm his wife, who, funnily enough, was having throat surgery and worried about her own problems.
KING: In the film, you were...
ANDREWS: In the film. Yes.
KING: What a precursor.
ANDREWS: I know. Let's not go there.
(LAUGHTER)
KING: Jack went fast, too.
ANDREWS: Yes, he did. Thank heaven, in that sense, that he went fast. But, boy, he's going to be missed. He is missed.
KING: And you worked with Rock Hudson. Did you know -- did everyone here know that Rock was gay?
ANDREWS: Yes, we did, I think. I mean, certainly we did know in the studio, but it was no big deal.
KING: What'd you make with him? "Darling Lili."
ANDREWS: Yes. Oh, God, he was sweet. He was very funny. Oh, there he is. Oh...
(LAUGHTER)
ANDREWS: He was lovely to work with.
KING: So you -- it wasn't -- was it is a shock when he had AIDS, or...
ANDREWS: Yes. Because I think it was early on, or fairly early on, and so one wasn't aware of how devastating it could be. And I think he was extremely brave to come out the way he did about it, and probably did a lot of good work.
KING: Let's take some calls for Julie Andrews. Tawas, Michigan. The film will open this Friday, "The Princess Diaries," directed by Garry Marshall.
Tawas, go ahead.
CALLER: Yes, I'm delighted to be able to speak with you. I've always considered you a role model. How hard it is it in today's world to be a role model, and who would you consider a role model today for the young women? Thank you.
ANDREWS: Oh, my. A role model today. That's tough. Well, I suppose, obviously for youngish women, Julia Roberts is probably as good...
KING: Yes.
ANDREWS: But I really don't -- it must be very -- it is very hard to be a role model, because the press is so volatile. They're looking for news all of the time, and you're very lucky...
KING: Have the tabloids been tough on you?
ANDREWS: They used to be.
KING: Really?
ANDREWS: Yes, but I think it's kind of like a graph. It that goes up and down and up and down. And it depends -- I mean, tabloids are tabloids, so you kind of ignore them a little bit.
KING: I know the only time I saw anything -- didn't really reflect on you, I guess, is when your step-granddaughter posed sort of semi-nude for "Hustler" in Mary Poppins' outfit. What did that do to you?
ANDREWS: That's right.
(LAUGHTER)
KING: What did that do to you?
ANDREWS: Not much.
(LAUGHTER)
KING: Were you angry?
ANDREWS: No, I was more sad than angry. I mean, she's -- she's 25 years old. She's old enough to make up her own mind. I was just sad she chose to kind of -- or that "Hustler" chose, because I don't think it was Kayti -- I think they chose to kind of ride in on Blake's and my coattails.
KING: Are you friendly with her?
ANDREWS: Yes. Oh, yes.
KING: So you didn't hold it against her or get mad?
ANDREWS: No, I guess -- I think Blake was more mad than I was.
KING: It was his granddaughter, right?
ANDREWS: Yes, it's my step-granddaughter. But, I mean, my God, she's been part of our family for years. I felt mostly sad.
KING: Did you know that it was coming?
ANDREWS: Yes.
KING: At least you weren't...
ANDREWS: Yeah.
KING: We'll be right back with more phone calls for the great Julie Andrews. It's great (UNINTELLIGIBLE) but she is great.
Tomorrow night: 12 women of the Senate -- all of them!
We'll be right back. Don't go away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "DARLING LILLY")
ANDREWS: Would it be indiscrete to say that I missed you?
ROCK HUDSON, ACTOR: No.
ANDREWS: To say that I missed you terribly?
HUDSON: Not quite.
ANDREWS: Desperately?
HUDSON: Possibly.
ANDREWS: Passionately? HUDSON: Definitely.
ANDREWS: Would you settle for desperately?
HUDSON: I'll settle for passionately.
ANDREWS: What about my reputation?
HUDSON: I'll risk it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE PRINCESS DIARIES")
ANNE HATHAWAY, ACTRESS: Yeah, sure, my father was the prince of Genovia. Uh-huh, you are joking.
ANDREWS: Why would I joke about something like that?
HATHAWAY: No. No. Because if he's really a prince then I am...
ANDREWS: Exactly. You're not just Amelia Thermopolis. You are Amelia Ninonet Thermopolis Grenaldi, Princess of Genovia.
HATHAWAY: Me? Me, a princess -- shut up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: She's terrific, huh?
ANDREWS: She's wonderful. "The Princess Diaries," it opens this Friday. Our guest is Julie Andrews. Take another call, Straussberg, Pennsylvania, hello.
CALLER: Hello,
KING: Hi.
CALLER: Hi, Ms. Andrews.
ANDREWS: Hello.
CALLER: I heard that you started to write your biography and I am wondering what all of that involves. In other words, how far back you'll take us and how far forward, and when you think it might be out.
ANDREWS: Well, that is a good question. I would like to know that too. I would imagine it will be a couple of years from now. But it's probably, I am hoping to write about my childhood and the years in Vaudeville, in musical, which not many people know about. I would love to capture that piece of English history if I can.
KING: Were you a child star? ANDREWS: Yes, i was. I began when I was eight but I actually kind of -- there I am...
KING: Like Catherine Zeta-Jones started.
ANDREWS: Yes, she started at a very young age, too. And I sort of debuted at about 12, had this really freak four-octave range voice and was a kind of child brat.
KING: By the way, have you made fun of yourself? Did you kid Mary Poppins when you were Miss Goody Two Shoes and "Sound of Music" and...
ANDREWS: Sure.
KING: Because you had the image of Doris Day.
ANDREWS: Yeah, I guess that I did. I did kid it. I don't knock the image ever, because, God, it gave me so much pleasure and so many people so much pleasure.
KING: And then you departed from it when you made "S.O.B.," right?
ANDREWS: Yes, I think that the over the years the body work speaks for itself, really.
KING: "S.O.B" was a wild film. Your husband put...
ANDREWS: That's pretty much -- a lot of it is absolute Hollywood legend and lore. I mean that's the way that it was.
KING: Really? On the beach at Malibu.
ANDREWS: On the beach at Malibu is the way a lot of Hollywood worked in those days.
KING: Another wonderful person in that film, Robert Preston.
ANDREWS: Yeah and he did "Victor/Victoria." And Holden and Richard Mulligan -- so many people.
KING: Yeah, all gone.
ANDREWS: Sadly.
KING: "Victor/Victoria" fun?
ANDREWS: Yes, fun and it's -- set me on my ear. I mean, a woman playing a man, pretending to be a woman. And so it's like which one am I doing today? And luckily, Blake was tremendously helpful and so were James Garner and Robert Preston. I had asked them a lot of times what do you do with your hands? Stick them in your pocket, Jules.
KING: That was a wonderfully funny film and a very good Broadway musical, too. ANDREWS: Thank you. Blake did a wonderful job.
KING: I know we have clips from each of them, "S.O.B." and from "Victor/Victoria." And we have more phone calls as well. Our guest is Julie Andrews. This is LARRY KING LIVE. We'll be right back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "VICTOR/VICTORIA")
ANDREWS: You were saying, Mr. Marshall?
JAMES GARNER, ACTOR: Well, I just find it hard to believe that you're a man.
ANDREWS: Because you found me attractive as a woman?
GARNER: Yes, as a matter of fact.
ANDREWS: It happens frequently.
GARNER: Not to me!
ANDREWS: Just proves the old adage, there's a first time for everything.
GARNER: I don't think so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "S.O.B.")
ANDREWS: You lunatic. You maniac -- $16 million. Half of that money is mine.
RICHARD MULLIGAN, ACTOR: That entitles you to 50 percent of the profit.
ANDREWS: That entitles me to have you arrested for grand theft, larceny, fraud, embezzlement, you thieving filthy son of a (OFF-MIKE)
MULLIGAN: Sally Miles swears!
ANDREWS: Give me my $8 million or I will have you locked up for the rest of your unnatural life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: That the movie, "S.O.B." and you bared your breasts did you not?
ANDREWS: I did indeed.
KING: Julie Andrews, Mary Poppins, "The Sound of Music," bared her breasts! How did they get you to do that? ANDREWS: I had about 10 years to think about it. That script of Blake's went around every studio and every one of them said, we love it, and then they wouldn't touch it at all. And so I had about 10 years to think about it. And it was so appropriate for the film, I mean, it wasn't gratuitous. It was done because it was necessary.
KING: Was it tough to do?
ANDREWS: Not really. I mean, Blake made it so easy. I mean, the studio was cleared and you know, it was, it was just...
KING: Your's has been an unusual marriage, hasn't it.
ANDREWS: Well, we have been married for about 32 years. I think it may be even 33 this year. Unusual is a good word.
KING: And you are both kind of, you know, you are very individualist.
ANDREWS: Yeah, well, we're very different too. I mean, he is hugely funny, a wonderful black sense of humor, and I don't know -- maybe it's because the opposites work.
KING: Attract. There they are.
ANDREWS: I hope so.
KING: Arlington, Massachusetts, for Julie Andrews, hello.
CALLER: Hello, hi. Hi, Ms. Andrews.
ANDREWS: Hello.
CALLER: I just wanted to tell you that I have been a huge fan of yours for a long time.
ANDREWS: Thank you.
CALLER: And now -- before I get to your question -- well, that was it. My question is: compared to "The Sound of Music" and today, "The Princess Diaries," are -- is it different working with teenagers? Is there a difference at all?
ANDREWS: There may be a very subtle difference. Of course...
KING: Good question.
ANDREWS: I was working with some teenagers, some of them were much younger in "The Sound of Music," but I was astounded at the smarts of the teenagers in "The Princess Diaries," how talented they are, how professional they are, how courteous they are. They are all getting college educations. I mean, I think in that respect, the -- the disciplines of -- have been elevated a little bit.
KING: Do you see a lot of parts?
ANDREWS: Do I see a lot of plays?
KING: Parts. Do you get offered a lot of parts?
ANDREWS: Oh, I see. Well, I must say they don't come floating across your desk every day of the week, but I see some. Yeah, I do.
KING: Have you ever turned down anything you regretted?
ANDREWS: Yeah, a couple. I turned down...
KING: What did you turn down?
ANDREWS: I turned down -- I don't know if you remember the movie called "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" that Maggie Smith won an Oscar for.
KING: You turned that down?
ANDREWS: I did, wasn't I an idiot. But I...
KING: That was a great movie.
ANDREWS: I didn't think I could do it very well. I mean, I didn't feel confident that I could pull it off. But also, I had done "Poppins" as a nanny and "The Sound of Music" as a nanny, and I thought, can't play a prim teacher, I will just be forever typecast.
KING: Newbury Point, Massachusetts, hello.
CALLER: Hello.
KING: Hi.
CALLER: Hi. First of all, my question is to Julie is, before I get to my question, is I would just like to say to her that if our people could have a little bit of Maria, Julie Andrews and Mary Poppins in our life, it would be a much better place to live.
ANDREWS: Thank you.
KING: Amen!
CALLER: Most memorable time in your whole career, Julie?
ANDREWS: What was the most memorable time?
KING: Yeah.
ANDREWS: In my career it would be hard to say. In my life, it would probably be giving birth to my daughter. That probably is the most, the thing that moved me the most, was the most memorable, the most wonderful, the most miraculous. I think a lot of women would probably feel that way too.
KING: Professionally, I would have guessed opening night of "My Fair Lady?" Critics went berserk. ANDREWS: That was pretty special. But you know, I don't know if it was personally as memorable, because I was so young, so green, so frightened, and so -- none of us knew what we had. By the time I got to London, I think it was more scary. Most memorable night of my career. Golly, I need more time to think about it. There have been so many.
KING: How about "Camelot?"
ANDREWS: "Camelot" was wonderful. "Camelot" was a joy to do.
KING: Not a great hit.
ANDREWS: No. It became a hit.
KING: It became over the years with Kennedy and the death...
ANDREWS: That's right. And also, the director reworked it about three months after we had opened on Broadway, which is pretty unheard of, and he came back and wasn't satisfied with it. And then we happened to go on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and do an excerpt from the newly-reworked "Camelot," and the next morning it was lines all around the box office.
KING: Alan J. Lerner told me that there were some nights that he was in shock that Burton made it to the stage, he would drink so badly.
ANDREWS: Yes, yes.
KING: One night, he was lying on the dressing room floor at a quarter to 8:00, and they thought they'd make the announcement, but he worked sober.
ANDREWS: You know, whatever he did, that man, that amazing gentleman, whatever he did, he turned into his advantage. He would be probably as drunk as could be, and be the best, most weary king that night. And we would just look at him in amazement, he somehow pulled it off.
KING: What was he like as a guy?
ANDREWS: Oh, he was the most charismatic, most attractive man.
KING: He was short.
ANDREWS: Yeah, I mean, it was -- it was amazing. But he had the kind of charisma that when he came into a room, women, children, animals, men, all, all eyes turned to him, and he was the center of attention. It was amazing.
KING: What part of it, do you think, was that voice?
ANDREWS: A lot of it. And something that just came out of his pose, out of his genes, some part of that. I mean, he was -- he had sadness and he had a black soul somewhere. KING: Yeah.
ANDREWS: And yet, it was always interesting. He was so good.
KING: And he sang pretty well in "Camelot," didn't he?
ANDREWS: Yes, he did.
KING: Pulled that off.
ANDREWS: He did. And there was that wicked twinkle in his eye all the time, too.
KING: Yes. Back with more of Julie Andrews who stars in "The Princess Diaries." It opens Friday. More of your calls after this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREWS (singing): Ask every person if he's heard the story, and tell it strong and clear if he has not, that once there was a fleeting whisk of glory called Camelot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREWS: "Victor/Victoria" is a collaboration between designers, choreographer, director, cast and crew, an extremely happy and successful collaboration, which makes it especially sad that so many of my colleagues have been ignored by this year's nominating process. I could not have done this alone. I have...
(APPLAUSE)
ANDREWS: I have searched my conscience and my heart, and I find that sadly I cannot accept this nomination, and I prefer -- I prefer instead to stand with the egregiously overlooked...
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: A historic moment in American theater. We've had a couple in films, George C. Scott declined the Academy Award for "Patton," Brando didn't show up for his. Why did do you that?
ANDREWS: Because it really did seem unfair. I looked very closely at all of the other nominations, and some of them were for costumes that have just been bought off the rack for a play and things like that, and it seemed to me that the nominating process that in those -- at that time, the committee wasn't as large -- and actually, after that...
KING: They changed? ANDREWS: They changed a great many things.
KING: But what a stir that caused, did it not?
ANDREWS: It did at the time, yeah.
(CROSSTALK)
ANDREWS: I didn't mean it dispiritedly, I just meant it that, you know, it seemed the right thing to do at the time.
KING: That was a fun show, by the way.
ANDREWS: Oh, thank you.
KING: A terrific musical.
Covington, Louisiana, for Julie Andrews, hello.
CALLER: Julie, it's a thrill to talk to you. Actually, I am a lifelong fan, I still have my original ticket stub from 1965 from the very first time I saw "The Sound of Music." My question is, have you seen "The Sound of Music" sing-along version in theaters, and what do you think of it?
ANDREWS: I think it's great.
KING: What is that, people go and sing with it?
ANDREWS: Oh, not only that, they dress up, there are competitions as to who has got the best outfit on, and things like that.
KING: It's become a little like a cult phenomenon?
ANDREWS: It is a cult. It's elevated into some kind of cult status. To answer your question, I have not seen it, I would like to be a fly on the wall and go see it. I think if I showed up, it might be a little mind-boggling.
KING: You'd make a little bit of a stir.
ANDREWS: Yeah. But I tell you, I want -- I didn't get it at first and I wondered what it, what did it -- why? And what did it mean? And I had an x-ray on my foot or something like that and the doctor, the very distinguished middle-aged you know, gray...
(CROSSTALK) --
ANDREWS: Yes, doctor, said that I saw the sing-along "The Sound of Music" and I said, you saw it? Why? And he said, oh, I had such a great time to sing and to shout out at the screen...
KING: What, do they show the movie, and you sing...
ANDREWS: And you sing along with the bouncing ball and you yell anything you want.
KING: The actual movie.
ANDREWS: Yes. No, it's the film, but it's just...
KING: It has the words on the bottom.
ANDREWS: Has the words on the bottom, and you sing along with it, you boo, you hiss, you do whatever you want. And he said it was such a catharsis for him, and he got everything out for the day.
KING: Glendale, California, for Julie Andrews. Hello.
CALLER: Hi, Miss Andrews, it's just a thrill to talk to you. I just saw that wonderful, wonderful, sing-along. It was wonderful.
ANDREWS: I heard that it was spectacular.
CALLER: It was just a hoot. It really was. My question for you was: is there any character or role either on film or on the stage that you haven't played that you would like to play?
ANDREWS: I have been asked that quite a lot, and the truth is, no.
KING: There's no role that's always there, to say, boy, I would have loved to have -- like "South Pacific," I would have liked to have done that.
ANDREWS: No burning desire to play Anna Karenina or any of those things. I just think I've been so blessed, and -- just as long as I am allowed to keep on doing it, if possible, I would be very happy.
KING: Christopher Plummer, her costar in the "The Sound of Music," once said, "working with Julie Andrews is like getting hit over the head with a valentine."
ANDREWS: Yes.
KING: We'll be back with our remaining moments with the star of "The Princess Diaries" right after this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "MARY POPPINS")
ANDREWS (SINGING): Listen, she's calling to you, feed the birds, toppings are bad, toppings, toppings, toppings are bad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KING: We're back with Julie Andrews. St. Paul, Minnesota -- hello.
CALLER: Hi, there.
KING: Hi.
CALLER: Ms. Andrews, what kind of music do you like to listen to in?
ANDREWS: A little bit of everything. Mostly classical and jazz, I think. And traditional jazz and all of the golden oldies and, just about anything. I think I'm not as fond of rock 'n' roll. I mean, it's mostly just four chords, which eventually you know where they are going.
KING: But you liked the Beatles.
ANDREWS: I did. I did.
KING: They were special.
ANDREWS: I grew to like them. At the time, I thought, oh, my god! What are my kids listening to? It dates me a bit.
KING: What about rap?
ANDREWS: I think there's a place for it. A place for all of it. It's not as high on my list as the other things.
KING: You told me during the break that the biggest thrill of all is being a grandmother. Watching your daughter give birth.
ANDREWS: Really watching my daughter, I said earlier that it was the most wonderful moment my life, and watching it then become the most miraculous moment of her life. I was a basket case, I was weeping and nostalgic and it was quite wonderful.
KING: All right. Julie, do you see yourself, honestly, back on stage somewhere belting them out?
ANDREWS: I hope so. Hopefully, back on the stage, if it's belting them out or not, I don't know. But I would love to do whatever I am asked to do. The turn-on for me is being so fortunate as being asked to do a play, or a television show, or a movie, and I think that I am so lucky. And all of it is what keeps me stimulated and excited, you know?
KING: And to still to be wanted, right?
ANDREWS: Yeah, that's pretty nice too.
KING: Because this is a business of judgment of other people. You don't get the part unless someone calls.
ANDREWS: Yes. And there's always someone else that can do it just as well, or that's right around the corner waiting to go on.
KING: Now this urge to sing again, is it is a penchant, would you say that it's, I'm going to do it or you're not confident or...?
ANDREWS: No, I am confident. KING: You will sing.
ANDREWS: Yeah, and I have always seen, I think I have always seen the glass more half full than half empty, and so I am optimistic about it. It, I'd say it's a penchant.
KING: What is it like when you see scenes like we show from "Mary Poppins" or "The Sound of Music," and you look at a very young Julie Andrews.
ANDREWS: I am just hugely grateful. I mean, Larry, imagine being asked to do "Mary Poppins" and then somebody comes along and says, would you like to do "The Sound of Music"? I mean, there's nobody more lucky and, I just think, you know, every time that I look at those things I think, my god, how lucky I got!
KING: After feeling unlucky about not getting "My Fair Lady." Understanding it, but not feeling lucky.
ANDREWS: Not exactly, and Audrey became a great friend of mine. She once said to me, she said, Julie, you should have done it. I should have turned it down, but I didn't have the guts. Too tempting. Too delicious.
KING: What a lady she was.
ANDREWS: Wasn't she?
KING: What a lady you are.
ANDREWS: Thanks, Larry.
KING: Julie Andrews, dame commander, Julie Andrews of the British empire. She's got children's books, a new CD out, "Classic Julie, Classic Broadway," and she stars in "The Princess Diaries," directed by the brilliant Gary Marshall.
Tomorrow night, the women of the Senate. All of them, save one, Senator Murray could not be with us, but the other 12 of there. We're going to have a lot of fun. And you will find it most interesting.
The 12 women of the Senate tomorrow night on LARRY KING LIVE. We thank Julie Andrews, we thank you for joining us. From Los Angeles. Stay tuned for "CNN TONIGHT". And good night.
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