Petula Clark

[philly]

I can add to the list of Dames of the performing arts.

ACTRESSES

GENEVIEVE WARD,MADGE KENDAL,MAGGIE TEYTE,DORIS FITTON,PAT EVISON,BERYL BAINBRIDGE,NGAIO MARSH(former actress turned author)REBECCA WEST(former actress turned journalist)

OPERA SINGERS

EMMA ALBANI,EVA TURNER ,JANET BAKER ,GWYNETH JONES,JOAN HAMMOND,ISOBEL BAILLIE,MALVINA MAJOR,ELISABETH SCHWARZKOPF,MARGARET PRICE,JOSEPHINE BARSTOW,FELICITY LOTT,ANNE EVANS,EMMA KIRKBY,ANN MURRAY

BALLET

ADELINE GENEE,NINETTE DE VALOIS,,PEGGY VAN PRAAGH,ANTIONETTE SIBLEY,SALLY POWELL

MUSICIANS

MYRA HESS,THEA KING,GILLIAN WEIR,EVELYN GLENNIE,THE DUCHESS OF ATHOLL

[cornershop15]

One of the best photographs I've seen of the wonderful Petula, circa 1970. No further details, unfortunately:


Yet more incredible pictures here (13 pages no less), mostly in chronological order:

Petula Clark at Rex Features

Guests include David Frost, Jim Dale, Paul Jones, Sacha Distel and Tommy Cooper.

[Moor Larkin]

[CENTER]One of the best photographs I've seen of the wonderful Petula, circa 1970. No further details, unfortunately

None required. I still get goosebumps going down town with her.

[TimR]

We watched Finian's Rainbow last week, and what a pleasure it was to watch Petula Clark. The plot of that film is bonkers and some of the scenes are a lot to sit through, like the deaf girl who dancers answers to questions; it also has Tommy Steele as a big, manic leprechaun - typecasting, except for the height.

But she is wonderful - in excellent voice throughout, singing some very good songs. She can act - not always true of popular singers - and she is attractive and appealing as well. I went through the film afterward to watch her songs again. Coppola's direction of the sequences with her also works well.

As good as Shani Wallis was in Oliver! , I would like to have seen Petula Clark as Nancy in that. It would be nice to have a performance of her in a great film and she would have done a terrific job on the songs.

[Ray]

As good as Shani Wallis was in Oliver! , I would like to have seen Petula Clark as Nancy in that. It would be nice to have a performance of her in a great film and she would have done a terrific job on the songs.

I agree Tim, I also think that she would have been great as Maria in The Sound of Music.I never saw her in the stage version, but I am sure that she was great. She should have had th film career that Julie Andrews had.

[Brief Encounter]

I agree Tim, I also think that she would have been great as Maria in The Sound of Music.I never saw her in the stage version, but I am sure that she was great. She should have had th film career that Julie Andrews had.

I agree Ray. She was certainly good enough. Still, at least she's had a great singing career to fall back on!

Incidentally, the real Maria said that Petula's interpretation of her was the one she wanted to remember. And the show broke box-office records. I believe it was filled to 110% capacity most of the time!

[Ray]

Theo, I get very annoyed with myself when I look back at the shows that I missed, and I had no excuse, I was living in London at the time. Right back to 1958 when every morning I walked past a theatre which had Vivien Leigh and Ann Todd in Duel of Angels, to Margaret Lockwood in Lady Frederick, An Ideal Husband, and Motherdear.

[TimR]

I agree Tim, I also think that she would have been great as Maria in The Sound of Music.I never saw her in the stage version, but I am sure that she was great. She should have had th film career that Julie Andrews had.

I agree Ray. She was certainly good enough. Still, at least she's had a great singing career to fall back on!

Incidentally, the real Maria said that Petula's interpretation of her was the one she wanted to remember. And the show broke box-office records. I believe it was filled to 110% capacity most of the time!

I didn't know she was in The Sound of Music on stage. I can imagine her doing a very fine job. It's not my favorite - maybe because I have seen it so many times, and the family still watches it every Christmas day and I have overdosed on it, like It's a Wonderful Life.

But I would like to have seen Petula Clark in the role. There is a hint of steel in her that I like as well as everything else.

Ray, I agree that she could have been a big film name like Julie Andrews if she had the right roles. As a singer she was (I think) as popular here as in Britain back in the day.