JULIE NEWMAR

Beauty, brains and a fantastic sense of humor: Julia Chalane 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 were 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. She has even been immortalized in a film titled To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar.