Julie London | |
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London in 1958
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Born |
Santa Rosa, California |
September 26, 1926
Died | October 18, 2000 Encino, California |
(aged 74)
Cause of death | Cardiac arrest |
Occupation | Singer, actress, pin-up model |
Years active | 1944–1979 |
Spouse(s) |
Jack Webb (m. 1947–54) (divorced) (2 children) Bobby Troup (m. 1959–99) (his death) (3 children) |
Musical career | |
Genres | Jazz, pop |
Labels | Bethlehem, Liberty, London, RCA |
Website | www |
Julie London (born Julie Peck,Gayle Peck or Nancy Peck (sources differ); September 26, 1926 – October 18, 2000) was an American singer, and film and television actress, whose career spanned five decades of television. She was noted for her smoky, sensual husky voice and languid demeanor. She released 32 albums of pop and jazz standards during the 1950s and 1960s, with her signature song being the classic "Cry Me a River", which she introduced in 1955. She had also appeared as a guest on several talk shows and as a panelist on numerous game shows.
London's 35-year acting career began in films in 1944, and included playing opposite Rock Hudson in The Fat Man (1951), Gary Cooper in Man of the West (1958) and Robert Mitchum in The Wonderful Country (1959). She achieved continuing success in the 1970s medical drama Emergency! (1972–79), co-starring her real-life husband, Bobby Troup, and produced by her ex-husband, Jack Webb, in which London played the female lead role of Nurse Dixie McCall, her last starring role.
An only child, London was born on September 26, 1926, in Santa Rosa, California, the daughter of Jack and Josephine Peck, who were a vaudeville song-and-dance team. In 1929, when she was 3 years old, her family moved to San Bernardino, California, where she made her début singing professionally on her parents' radio program. In 1941, when she was 14, the family moved to Hollywood, California. Shortly after that, she began appearing in films. She graduated from the Hollywood Professional School in 1945.