AFI honors Hollywood career of ‘most lucky lady’ Andrews
Julie Andrews was recently honored by the American Film Institute for a Hollywood career that couldn’t have started more supercalifragilisticexpialidocious-ly — with an Oscar-winning performance in a film that would become an instant classic: “Mary Poppins.”
Before the AFI Life Achievement ceremony, which airs June 16 on TNT, Andrews, 86, recalled landing her first major movie gig.
“Walt Disney gave me my first big chance, and I learned so much on that film. It was a wonderful film to learn the craft of moviemaking on because there were so many special effects, so much waiting around, so many complicated things to do because it was animated as well,” Andrews said in an interview. “It was a wonderful learning film to start my career with.”
The musical adaptation inspired by the P.L. Travers children’s novels about a magical nanny first hit theaters in August 1964. “Mary Poppins” was a commercial and critical smash, becoming the year’s highest grossing film released in North America. It earned 13 Oscar nominations, including best picture, and won five, including best actress for Andrews.
Six months after “Poppins” hit big screens, along came what would not only be Andrews’ biggest hit but also one of the all-time box office successes: the adaptation of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s stage show “The Sound of Music.” Andrews played Maria von Trapp, the nun-turned-schoolteacher-turned-stepmother and matriarch of the Trapp Family Singers.
Released in March 1965, “The Sound of Music” stayed in cinemas for more than four years. While the critics weren’t nearly as kind to the film as they were to “Poppins,” the academy showed its love, with 10 nominations and five wins. There was no statue for Andrews, but winning best picture was a great consolation.
At the AFI ceremony, Andrews spoke of “The Sound of Music,” but only in general terms. “I’ve been the most lucky lady, because happening to be in the right place at the right time and having the wonderful directors and people that I’ve worked with and just learning my craft and learning what it’s all about. I never expected it to be like that.”
The special features guests representing chapters of Andrews’ career over the decades, including friend and TV partner Carol Burnett, whose 1971 “Julie and Carol at Lincoln Center” won them Emmys; actor Hector Elizondo, her co-star in the two “Princess Diaries” films (2001, 2004); Steve Carell, who worked with Andrews on the upcoming animated film “Minions: The Rise of Gru”; and Bo Derek who portrayed the titular perfect “10” in the 1979 comedy written and
directed by Andrews’ late husband Blake Edwards. He and Andrews were married for 41 years, until his death in 2010.
“When Julie talks about her decades with Blake, of the love they had for each other, you can tell that’s not acting, that’s real, that’s authentic, and it’s very, very rare,” Derek said.
Including “10,” Edwards directed Andrews in eight films, including “Victor/ Victoria.” The 1982 musical earned seven Oscar nods, including one for Andrews, with a win for the music by Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse.
While accepting her AFI Award, Andrews thanked everyone from her directors to a studio security guard for her success. “And I really honestly mean that,” she said, adding, “My husband Blake ...” Andrews paused for moment. “I mean ... thank you.”
As for Andrews’ professional legacy? In addition to the AFI’S turf of film and TV, there are award-winning recordings, books, Broadway and West End appearances.
“I just hope I gave a little pleasure,” she said in the interview. “That’s the only legacy I would be happy about. That’s what it’s all about. It’s the giving. And I just hope that, you know, they had a good time.”