London-based stage/TV/film actor Stirling brings up the house lights to detail the entire life of the performer he has known since 1986. Having previously written about Andrews for the Evening Standard
and other publications, he highlights recollections of her associates, in addition to his extensive archival research, plowing through some six decades of reportage and interviews in magazines, newspapers and books. Stirling grabs the reader's attention on the opening pages with a description of Andrews's 1997 Mount Sinai Hospital throat surgery, a normal operation that went tragically wrong: “Her principal trademark, the voice of mountain spring purity, was gone, as astonishingly as it had first appeared.” Beginning with her childhood in London during the Blitz and youthful voice lessons, Stirling traces her career from post-WWII performances on BBC Radio and the London stage to her 1954 arrival in America with The Boy Friend
. After acclaim for My Fair Lady
and Camelot
came the caravan of TV and movie roles that continue until the present day with voice work in the Shrek series and last year's Enchanted
. The book successfully documents and details the professional and personal peaks of her life. With Andrews's memoir, Home
, to be published in April, devoted fans are sure to turn to both. 8-page b&w photo insert not seen by PW
. (Apr.)
