She discussed being identified by Poppins’ sugar-sweet, benign persona in a 1976 interview.
The actress Julie Andrews looks up, trying to think of the right way to answer the question that reporter Sue Lawley seems determined to pose to her: does she feel like she is been pigeonholed by the image that the public associates her with her early success as Mary Poppins?
When the 1964 Walt Disney musical debuted in Los Angeles this week, 60 years ago, it instantly made Andrews famous. The show was based on stories written by PL Travers. However, Mary Poppins was also responsible for the innocent, wholesome image that, even in those days.
The movie followed the tale of an amazing nanny who, in 1910, walks down from the skies of London, umbrella in hand, into the Banks family’s chaotic existence and takes care of their rowdy, although rather neglected, kids. Through a series of encounters, Mary Poppins restores the family’s connections and encourages them to find joy in the little things in life, all with a dash of magic and common sense.