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Born
Julia Elizabeth Wells on 1st October 1935 in Walton-on-Thames, she was named
after her 2 grandmothers - Julia Morris and Elizabeth Wells. Her
father, Edward C. Wells, taught woodwork and metalcraft in a state school. Her
mother, Barbara Morris, was a part-time pianist at her sister Joan's evening
dance school. When she played at the school, she also took along the infant
Julie. When
Julie was two, she appeared in the dance school pageant in the non-speaking role
of a fairy. The next year, she had her first speaking role in the school's
production of Wynken, Blynken and Nod. In
1939, Barbara Morris took a job as a pianist in a variety show, where she met
Ted Andrews, a Canadian tenor. When
World War II erupted in Europe, Ted Andrews and Barbara Morris both joined ENSA,
a volunteer organization that entertained the British Troops. The marriage
between Ted Wells and Barbara Morris eventually collapsed, and soon after, Barbara
Morris Wells became Barbara Morris Andrews. In
a effort to get to know her better, Ted Andrews gave the young Julie singing
lessons. To his surprise and everyone else's, she had a fully developed adult
larynx, perfect pitch and a 4 octave vocal range. When
Julie was 8, she began taking singing lessons from Madame Lilian Stiles-Allen,
who had formerly been a renowned concert singer. World
War II ended when Julie was 10. For the first time, she was allowed to make
unbilled performances with her parents on stage. She spent most of her summer
school holidays touring England with Ted and Barbara as part of their act. In
1946, Julie made her radio debut on a BBC variety show called Monday Night at
Eight, singing a duet with Ted Andrews. The same year, on December 5, she
performed solo for the first time at London's Stage Door Canteen with Queen
Elizabeth and Princess Margaret in attendance. On
October 12, 1947, she made her official stage debut in Starlight Roof, singing the
Polonaise from Mignon. The show ran for 649 performances. During
this time, Julie made her first appearance in a Royal Command Variety
Performance at the London Palladium, the youngest performer ever to appear
before royalty there. She sang the Polonaise from Mignon in front
of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. In
December 1947, she was given a screen test by MGM, who did not sign her as they
said that she was unfilmable. On
October 8th 1949, Julie made her TV debut appearing in a BBC TV program called Radiolympia
Showtime. In
1950 Julie regularly appeared on BBC radio with Peter Brough and his dummy,
Archie Andrews, in the popular comedy programme, Educating Archie. Around
this time Julie toured Great Britain making Music Hall appearances, and at
Christmas, would perform in pantomimes such as Red Riding Hood. At the
age of thirteen Julie was cast as Humpty Dumpty in Emile Little's pantomime of
the same name. It was at this time that Julie met Tony Walton, whom she would
later marry. Julie's
voice was used in the English translation of an Italian animated film, La Rosa di Bagdad, which was
released in Britain in 1952 under the title The Singing Princess. In
December 1953, Julie played the title role in Cinderella (her last pantomime).
During the run of Cinderella, Julie was seen by director Cy Feuer and composer
Sandy Wilson. They
were casting a Broadway production of The Boyfriend, and offered Julie a
2-year contract for the part of Polly Browne. After much hesitation, she
accepted a 1-year contract.
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