Girls, imagine my upset, yesterday morning, to find out that actress Julie Harris had passed away, at the age of 87!!!!!!!!!! I am telling you, it is the end of an era. Aide from the Divine Lois Smith, who appeared, like Julie, in the 1955 Elia Kazan version of "East Of Eden," which made James Dean a star, who of this calibre is around anymore???????? My great regret is I never got to see Julie on stage. Not that I had plenty of opportunities; I just felt I would get around to it, sometime, because, until illness overtook her, Julie was one actress who always worked.
True, I have seen her on film--"The Member Of The Wedding," "East Of Eden,"
and my favorite of all, Robert Wise's 1963 film version of Shirley Jackson's novel, "The Haunting Of Hill House," simply retitled "The Haunting."
Too bad Shirley had not written "We Have Always Lived In The Castle" years sooner. On the basis of their work in "The Haunting." Julie and Claire would have been perfect as the Blackwood Sisters--Julie as Merricat, Claire as Constance.
It is the end of a theatrical era, darlings!!!!!!!! I just hope TCM, or even the Film Forum, run a couple of Julie's more memorable films, so those too young can get idea of how brilliant she actually was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And how many of you, out there, know that, before Jill Haworth or Liza Minnelli, Julie was actually the very first actress to portray Sally Bowles? She did it both on stage and screen in "Cabaret's" non-musical source, the John Van Druten play, "I Am A Camera." And there are many who, to this day, say that Julie remains the greatest of Sallys!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, Broadway had better damn well dim its lights one night this week, in honor of Julie! Because I want to be there!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Julie Harris will never be forgotten!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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