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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).
Born in Santa Rosa, California, as Gayle Peck, she was the daughter of Jack and Josephine Peck, who were a vaudeville song-and-dance team. When she was 14, the family moved to Los Angeles. Shortly after that, she began appearing in movies. She graduated from the Hollywood Professional School in 1945.
She was married to Jack Webb of Dragnet fame. Her widely-regarded 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 and remained married until his death in February 1999. Together, they had one daughter and 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.
On her death in October 2000, Julie London was interred in Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.
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 roles.
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 by Billboard the most popular female vocalist for 1955, 1956, and 1957. In 1957, she was the subject of a Life 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", was actually written by her high school classmate Arthur Hamilton, and produced by her husband Troup. The song was featured in the 1956 film The Girl Can't Help It. This became a million-selling single after release in April 1957 and could still sell on re-issue in April 1983 on the back of attention brought by the Mari Wilson version of the song. The song has gained recent attention after being featured in the films Passion of Mind (2000) and V for Vendetta (2006). Other hit singles include "Makin' Whoopee", "Blue Moon", "It Had To Be You". 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, serving as later inspiration for Frank Sinatra's lyrically similar song. Aside from her music, the notably suggestive portrait photos used on her album covers made lasting impressions even on the tone deaf.
The song "Yummy Yummy Yummy" was featured on the HBO series Six Feet Under, and appears on the series soundtrack album.
Her last recording was the classic song "My Funny Valentine" for the soundtrack of the 1981 Burt Reynolds film Sharky's Machine.
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Discography:
* Julie Is Her Name (1955, U.S. #2)
* Lonely Girl (1956, U.S. #16)
* Calendar Girl (1956, U.S. #18)
* About The Blues (1957, U.S. #15)
* Make Love To Me (1957)
* Julie (1958)
* Julie Is Her Name Volume 2 (1958)
* London By Night (1958)
* Swing Me An Old Song (1959)
* Your Number Please (1959)
* Julie At Home (1960)
* Around Midnight (1960)
* Send For Me (1961)
* Whatever Julie Wants (1961)
* Sophisticated Lady (1962)
* Love Letters (1962)
* Love On The Rocks (1962)
* Latin In A Satin Mood (1963)
* Julie's Golden Greats (1963)
* The End Of The World (1963, U.S. #127)
* The Wonderful World Of Julie London (1963, U.S. #136)
* Julie London (1964)
* In Person (1964)
* Our Fair Lady (1965)
* Feeling Good (1965)
* By Myself (1965, produced exclusively for the Columbia Record Club)
* All Through The Night (1965)
* For The Night People (1966)
* Nice Girls Don't Stay For Breakfast (1967)
* With Body & Soul (1967)
* Easy Does It (1968)
* Yummy, Yummy, Yummy (1969)
* The Very Best Of Julie London (1975)
Charted Recordings
* "Cry Me a River" (U.S. #9, 1955)
* "Blue Moon" (South Africa #7, 1961)
* "Desafinado" (Slightly Out Of Tune)" (U.S. # 110, 1962)
* "I'm Coming Back To You" (U.S. # 118, 1963)
* "Yummy Yummy Yummy" (U.S. #125, 1968)
* "Like To Get To Know You" (Easy Listening #15, 1969)
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