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Early life
Born Gayle Peck in Santa Rosa, California, 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.
[edit] Marriages
In July 1947 she married actor 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 streetwise acting technique (much
parodied by impersonators). This unlikely pairing arose from their mutual love
for jazz music.[1] They had two daughters, Stacy and Lisa Webb. London and Webb divorced in
November 1954. Daughter Stacy Webb was killed in a traffic accident in 1996.
In 1954, having become somewhat reclusive after her divorce from Webb, she
met jazz composer and musician Bobby Troup at a club on La Brea Avenue in Los
Angeles.[2] They married on
December 31, 1959, and remained married until his death in February 1999.
Together, they had one daughter, Kelly Troup and twin sons, Jody and Reese
Troup.[3] Kelly Troup died in
March 2002.
[edit] Later life
She suffered a stroke in 1995, and was in poor health because of her
long-term cigarette habit until her death on October 18, 2000, in Encino, California, at age 74,
survived by four of her five children. London was interred next to Troup in Forest Lawn - Hollywood
Hills Cemetery, Los Angeles. Her star on the Hollywood
Walk of Fame is at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles.
[edit] Career
[edit] Singing
London began singing in public in her teens before appearing in a film. She
was discovered by talent
agent Sue Carol (wife of
actor 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.[4] Billboard named her the most popular female vocalist for 1955, 1956, and 1957. She was the
subject of a 1957 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."
Julie London's debut recordings were for the Bethlehem Records label. While shopping for a
record deal, she recorded 4 tracks that would later be included on the
compilation albums Bethlehem's Girlfriends in 1955. Bobby Troup backed
London on the dates, and London recorded the standards Don't Worry
About Me, Motherless Child, A Foggy Day, and You're Blasé.
London's most famous single, "Cry Me a River", was written by her high-school classmate Arthur
Hamilton and produced by Troup.[5] The recording became
a million-seller after its release in December 1955 and also sold on re-issue in
April 1983 from the attention brought by a Mari Wilson cover. London performed the song in the film
The
Girl Can't Help ItPassion of
Mind (2000) and V for Vendetta (2006). (1956), and her recording gained later attention in
the films
Other popular singles include "Hot Toddy," "Daddy" and "Desafinado."
Recordings such as "Go Slow" epitomized her career style: her voice is slow,
smoky, and sensual.
The song "Yummy
Yummy Yummy" was featured on the HBO television series Six Feet Under and appears on
its soundtrack
album. Her rendition of "The Good Life" was featured in a 2008
British Airways dancing aquatic television advertisement for its new Terminal 5 at London
Heathrow Airport, London, United Kingdom.
Her last recording was "My Funny Valentine" for the soundtrack of
the Burt Reynolds film Sharky's Machine (1981).[1]
[edit] Film
Primarily remembered as a singer, London also made more than 20 films. One of
her strongest performances came in Man of the West (1958), starring Gary Cooper and directed by Anthony Mann, in which her
character, the film's only woman, is abused and humiliated by an outlawgang.
[edit] Television
She performed on many television variety series and also in dramatic roles,
including guest appearances on Rawhide (1960) and The Big Valleyexecutive producer for the series Emergency!, and in 1972 he
hired both his ex-wife and her husband Troup for key roles. London played nurse
Dixie
McCall), while Troup was emergency-room physician Dr. Joe Early. She and her co-stars Kevin Tighe, Randolph Mantooth,
and Robert
Fuller also appeared in an episode of the Webb-produced series Adam-12, reprising their roles.
London and Troup appeared as panelists on the game show Tattletales (1968). Her ex-husband Webb was several times in the 1970's.