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| Birth Name(s) : Julia Charlene Newmeyer |
Date of Birth: August 16, 1933 |
| Status:
Married
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Partner:
J. Holt Smith |
| Profession:
Actor |
Official Site
Go to the Julie Newmar Official Homepage |
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Full Julie Newmar Biography
Beauty, brains and a fantastic sense of humor. Julia Charlene Newmeyer (Chalane was her mother's maiden name) was born on August 16, 1933, in Los Angeles. Her father was a one-time Chicago Bears football player, her mother was a star of the Follies of 1920. From an early age, Julie studied piano, dance and classical ballet. She graduated from high school at the age of 15, and spent a year touring Europe with her mother and brother. Julie became prima ballerina for the Los Angeles Opera. She attended UCLA studying classical piano, philosophy and French.
Julie went to New York and tried out for Broadway musicals; in 1955 Julie made her Broadway debut as the ballerina in "Silk Stockings." Julie won acclaim for her role as Stupefyin' Jones in "Li'l Abner." Though audiences and critics alike where stupefied by her good looks, that is not the compliment Julie wanted. Julie wanted to be known for her comedy, as she told the New York Times: "Tell me I'm funny, and it's the greatest compliment in the world." Promoting her various Broadway and off-Broadway show appearances, Julie often posed as a pinup girl.
Making the transition to TV, Julie appeared in Rod Serling's science fiction series the "Twilight Zone" in 1963, playing Miss Devlin (devil). As physical perfection, Julie was perfect to play Rhoda the Robot in "My Living Doll, " the sitcom had an enthusiastic cult following. In 1966, urged on by her friends, she would try out for and be cast as Catwoman (a character she had never heard of) in the wildly popular TV series "Batman." Due to a movie commitment, Julie was unavailable to play TV's Catwoman in the 3rd season (her part was taken by Eartha Kitt). Julie was very busy in the 1960s and 1970s, making guest appearances in many TV shows and several TV-movies. Because of her love of the stage and live performances, Julie toured the country in stage productions of "Damn Yankees" and "Dames at Sea" and others.
Becoming an entrepreneur, in 1977 Julie turned up in People Magazine wearing her new invention "Nudemar" pantyhose (due to an elastic back seam it provided fanny support). In the 1980s, Julie appeared in 9 films while she was busy raising her son and working in the real estate business. Julie went back to UCLA to take a few real estate courses. In 1991 Julie toured in a stage production of "The Women." Still very active, and very beautiful, Julie will appear at fan conventions occasionally. |
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Additional Julie Newmar Biography
Julie Newmar (born Julie Chalene Newmeyer on August 16, 1933) is an American actress, dancer and singer. Her most famous role is Catwoman in the Batman television series.
Julie Newmar was born in Los Angeles, California, the eldest of three children. She graduated from John Marshall High School. Her mother, Helen Jesmer, was a Ziegfeld Follies dancer, her father, Donald Newmeyer, was a teacher, real estate investor, and former NFL tackle for the road-only Los Angeles Buccaneers (based for one season in Chicago in 1926). Her first appearances, before she changed her name, were as the "dancer-assassin" in Slaves of Babylon (1953) and as "the gilded girl" in Serpent of the Nile (1953) in which she was clad only in gold paint. She also danced in several other films including The Band Wagon and Demetrius and the Gladiators and was a ballerina with the Los Angeles Opera. She also worked as a choreographer and dancer for Universal Studios.
Her first major role, billed as "Julie Newmeyer", was as one of the brides in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954). Her show-stopping 90-second Broadway appearance as "Stupefyin' Jones" in Li'l Abner in 1956 led to a reprise in the 1959 film version.
Newmar also appeared on Broadway in the non-musical 1961 play, The Marriage-Go-Round, which starred Claudette Colbert. Newmar re-developed the stock character role of the sexy Swedish vixen and won a Tony Award for Best Supporting Actress.
In 1995, she made a cameo appearance at the end of the film : To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, a film that paid homage to her legendary beauty.
On November 2, 2004, Julie Newmar was sued by next-door neighbor and TV comedian, James Belushi, for the sum of $4,000,000. Belushi claimed that she had been harassing him and actively trying to force him to move through such acts as destroying his property, blaring loud music directed at his home, and bad-mouthing him to neighbors. Julie Newmar countered that she was the victim of a boorish and arrogant James Belushi. However, as of January 2006, the dispute was settled, and she later appeared on an episode of James Belushi's sitcom, According to Jim in an episode ("The Grumpy Guy") that poked fun at the feud. |
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Julie Newmar Quote(s)
| I'm magnificent! I'm five feet eleven inches and I weigh one hundred thirty-five pounds, and I look like a racehorse. |
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