Purrrr-fect: A Conversation with Julie Newmar

There is a certain mystique that surrounds Julie Newmar.  Not only is she one of pop culture’s most beloved femme fatals of the 1960’s, she is easily one of the tallest.  Six feet of legs, curves and sex appeal, with long dark hair, cunning eyes, a sly smile and a smoky voice, Julie Newmar not only towered over her competition, but often her leading men as well.

Trained from an early age as a dancer, Julie Newmar left her home in Los Angeles in 1955 after a number of years appearing in bit role in films as dancers and chorus girls, for the bright light of the Broadway stage where she quickly began her career on the stage appearing in musical comedies.  Within a year she would get her first big break when she took the role of Stupefyin’ Jones in the Broadway production of Lil’ Abner.  A non speaking role, Julie Newmar was born to play the part, and would go on to reprise her role in the 1959 film.  Although she would eventually cross over to film once again, most notably in the 1961 film The Marriage-Go-Round in which she was nominated for a Golden Globe in the category of “Best Newcomer,” Julie Newmar found her momentum by appearing on a variety of television programs throughout the 1960s, usually playing sexy femme fatals and objects of unobtainable desire in shows such as Route 66, The Twilight Zone, Star Trek, The Monkees, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Defenders, F Troop and Get Smart.

However, it was in 1966 that Julie Newmar found the role that would burn her into the subconscious of the public forever.  Despite already having a notable career in film, television and on stage, Julie Newmar put on the leather cat suite and pointy ears and guest starred as the role of Catwoman opposite of Adam West and Burt Ward for the legendary 60’s version of Batman.  Although the series was played in a campy and kitschy fashion, Julie Newmar could not fake being sultry or sexy, and a never ending flame of desire was lit in the souls of fan boys for generations to come.  Other actresses would eventually take over the Catwoman role, but Julie Newmar still remains to be the original, and the most beloved, actress to play the iconic comic femme fatal.

Having the opportunity to talk with Julie Newmar was like having my own pop culture journey come full circle.  You see, when I was barely out of my teens, Julie Newmar was the first major celebrity that I had ever encountered at my very first autograph show.  Even back then I was struck by her sense of humor, her kindness towards her fans, her beauty, and to be honest, her height.  I just couldn’t get past the fact that Julie Newmar was the tallest person in the room even then.  Now, fourteen years later, Julie Newmar still radiates all these qualities, still managing to make an impact on me today.

CONFESSIONS OF A POP CULTURE ADDICT PRESENTS

PURRRR-FECT:

A CONVERSATION WITH JULIE NEWMAR

I spoke with Julie Newmar via telephone in August 2010 in conjunction with Toronto’s FanExpo.

Julie Newmar as Catwoman with singer Lesley Gore as guest side kick Pussy Cat on "Batman"

Sam Tweedle:  Mrs. Newmar, when I was a kid, and I am sure you hear this sort of thing all the time, I spent an entire summer watching a video tape of your Batman episode that you did with Lesley Gore over and over again.

Julie Newmar:  Oh Lesley Gore, the singer.  I liked her.  She was also the producers’ niece.  She was about four and a half feet tall while I am eight feet of talent.  Well I’m in between.  I’m about six feet.

Sam:  Well you were one of the first celebrities I had ever encountered in my career…

Julie:  Where was that?

At six feet tall, Julie Newmar's height was the thing that impressed me the most during my first encounter with her

Sam:  It was about fourteen years ago in Toronto, and when you walked into the room all the men had to look up.

Julie:  (Laughs) I take it they were all seated.

Sam:  No.  You were just a lot taller then everybody.

Julie:  Is that right?  Good heavens.

Sam:  Now even before you played the part of Catwoman you had a very successful and colorful career in stage and film.

Julie:  I started in musical comedies.

"Well maybe I’m just a cat, or became a cat"

Sam:  Right.  But why do you think the part of Catwoman has seemed the part that has clicked into the public subconscious.

Julie:  Well first of all, aren’t I lucky to have a role so….well meaty is not the right word but it did sort of meet my standards.  Well maybe I’m just a cat, or became a cat.  I hired some cats.  I found them on the street.  They belonged to June Havoc, who was the sister of Gypsy Rose Lee.  She lived next door to the Actors Studio so after I was sitting in there silently like most of us in the Actors Studio, I went next door and I was told that she adopted all these little critters.  So I took them home and they stayed near the ice box and I learnt how to mew.  I don’t know.  I sort of picked up traits.

Julie Newmar in her break out role as Stupifyin' Jones from "Lil' Abner"

Sam:  You started in theatre and did a lot of musical comedies.  Many comic fans probably don’t realize that long before you played Catwoman that you played another comic character, Stupifyin’ Jones from Lil’ Abner, in both the Broadway production and the film.  Now how did you originally start your career in theatre?

Julie:  Well my mother was a member of the Ziegfield Follies, and I got to live out the career that she didn’t and took all the dancing lessons, one after another every Saturday afternoon.  I took four classes – ballet, tap, acrobatic and flamenco.  It was a wonderful childhood.  There was such richness of teaching and talent where I grew up in Los Angeles.  New York and Los Angeles were such great theatre towns.

Sam:  Now you grew up in Los Angeles, but did you do the majority of your theatre work in New York?

Julie:  Yes.  Mostly in the beginning.  I did a Cole Porter musical called Silk Stockings.  One show that didn’t open in Broadway but was staged in Philadelphia was called Ziegfield Follies.  I continued to do theatre and all the Bob Fossie musicals.

Julie Newmar as Mrs. Devlin in "The Twilight Zone" episode "Of Late I Think of Cliffordville": "Devils are better then angels"

Sam:  One of my favorite roles was when you played the devil, Miss Devlin, in The Twilight Zone episode Of Late I Think of Cliffordville.  Did you work closely with Rod Serling on that episode?

Julie:  Well Rod Serling created that series.  That’s why it has a memory for people some fifty years ago.  He did it from a small studio on 44^th Street, above Sardis, having a marvelous time in these dark television halls.  It was the beginning of really, really good television dramas.  Yes.

Julie Newmar's dark sultry features helped her make a career out of playing "femme fatals"

Sam:  You’ve become famous for playing roles like the devil, and Catwoman, and femme fatal parts.  What is it about your mannerisms or appeal do you think lends itself to darker roles?

Julie:  (Laughs) That question is delicious!  Mmmmmmmmmm.  Well any word that begins with an ‘s’ might answer that questions – sensuous, salacious, serious.  Devils are better then angels you see.

Sam:  A couple of years ago I received a bootleg of a couple of episodes of a really fun TV series you did called My Living Doll.

Julie:  Really?  You really do your homework.

Julie Newmar and co-star Robert Cummings in the short lived sit-com "Living Doll" featuring Julie Newmar in the role of a robot

Sam:  I thought it was an odd show with some pretty taboo sexual overtones that were far beyond the time for the era it was made.  Why did My Living Doll last only a handful of episodes?

Julie:  Well we were up against Bonanza and it was the last of the black and white filmed series as well, but still there were a certain masterpiece within it.  It was certainly one of the most challenging undertakings I had ever done because of what it asked me to do which was to be a robot.  How do you make that come alive for an audience?  You can’t just be mechanical because it had to resignate.  It was a great big fabulous challenge for me and I wish that we could find the rest of the films.  There were twenty-two and I think eleven of them are in existence now.

Sam:  Now when you did Batman, were you ever privy to any of the in fighting or scandals that were rumored to have taken place on the set between some of the various actors?

Julie:  It had nothing to do with me.  Television moves like a bullet train.  You don’t have time for tantrums.

Sam:  Why did you give the part of Catwoman up?

Although Lee Merriwether and Eartha Kitt would go on to play Catwoman opposite Adam West, Julie Newmar remains to be the fan favorite

Julie:  I didn’t give it up!  It was written, in a sense, for me.  I think it was some of Stanley Ralph Ross’ most delicious and delectable writing!

Sam:  But what about Eartha Kitt and Lee Merriweather?  Now let me get the time line straight.  You did the first season of the show, then Lee Merriweather did the movie, then you did the second season and Eartha Kitt played Catwoman in the third and final season of Batman, right?

Julie:  No.  I did six one hour shows and Eartha Kitt did one half hour show and Lee did the film because I was doing something else at the time. (Pop Culture Addict Note:   In actuality, Eartha Kitt played Catwoman in three half hour episodes)

Sam:  Well obviously you are easily the most popular, and the best, of the Catwomans.

Julie:  Silence follows that statement. (Laughs)

Sam:  Besides yourself, who do you feel played Catwoman the best?

Julie Newmar puts Adam West in an awkward situation: "What will we do with Robin?" "Well we'll kill him."

Julie:  We hope it is in the future.  The reason is because it is such a delectable part and it will be done again and again because it is such fun and the audience enjoys it.  She’s half good and half bad character you see.

Sam:  I see.  That is a clever answer.

Julie:  It’s almost said in the one line when Batman says to Catwoman “What are we going to do with Robin?”  and Catwoman looks up at him and says quite innocently “Well we’ll kill him” meaning that they’d get him out of the way.  (Laughs)  There’s the fun.

Sam:  Now you are no stranger on the autograph show circuit.  How many shows do you do a year?

Julie:  I do two or three probably and I love it!  I love meeting the people.  Love having them to shake my hand and say hello and tell me whatever they want to tell me about their lives.  It’s a fabulously enriching experience for me.  I would pay them to be there.

Sam:  How do people usually react to you.

Julie:  It could probably be categorized as being the sweetest day of your life.  People come up to you all day and tell you how much they love you or what they remember from their own experience.

Sam:  Which I guess is what I did when I first got on the phone with you.

Julie:  Well isn’t that sweet?

Sam:  Well yes.  I guess it is.

There is one memory of Julie Newmar that stands out in my memory when I originally encountered her at my first autograph show fourteen years ago.  Easily the youngest person in line clutching onto an 8X10 glossy of Catwoman for Mrs. Newmar to sign, I engaged in conversation with a group of men who all confessed their love for Julie Newmar when they were growing up.  As we grew closer and closer to Mrs. Newmar, one of the men ahead of me in line came face to face with her and froze.  Totally star struck he could hardly utter a word.  Realizing this, Mrs. Newmar gently began to talk him out of his daze by softly asking him questions like what his name was, and what he did for a living.  I always remember her kindness to the confused and befuddled man, and how instead of making him feel foolish, Julie Newmar went that extra step to make a connection with him in order to make their brief encounter just that more meaningful.  To me that is the definition of sweet, proving that there is sweetness behind the dark smoky demeanor of Julie Newmar, making her one of the true class acts of the pop culture journey.