Julie London

albatros1 ( 2008-01-11 )

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Julie London (September 26, 1926–October 18, 2000) was an American singer and actress. Best known for her smoky, sensual voice, as a singer she was at her peak in the 1950s; her acting career lasted more than 35 years, ending with the role of nurse Dixie McCall, RN, on the TV show Emergency! (1972–1979). Born in Santa Rosa, California, as Gayle Peck. 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. She was married to 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. Their marriage lasted from July 1947 to November 1953. They had two daughters, one who was killed in a traffic accident in the 1990s and one who survived her. In 1954 she met jazz composer and musician Bobby Troup at a club on La Brea Blvd. They married on December 31, 1959 and remained married until his death in February 1999. Together, they had one daughter and twin sons. She suffered a stroke in 1995, and was in poor health until her death in Encino, California, at the age of 74, survived by four of her five children. On her death in October 2000, Julie London was interred in Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles.