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N Entries
  Noel Neill
  Kurt Neumann
  John Newland
  Julie Newmar
  Nichelle Nichols
  Jack Nicholson
  Leonard Nimoy
 
NEWMAR, JULIE
(Julia Newmeyer 1935– ). American actress.

SCIENCE FICTION, FANTASY, AND HORROR FILM CREDITS
Acted in: L'il Abner (Melvin Frank 1959); "Of Late I Think of Cliffordville" (1963), episode of The Twilight Zone; My Living Doll (tv series) (1964-65); "The Purr-Fect Crime/Better Luck Next Time," "Hot Off the Griddle/The Cat and the Fiddle," "The Greatest Mother of Them All/Ma Parker," "The Cat's Meow/The Bat's Kow Tow," "The Sandman Cometh/The Catwoman Goeth [A Stitch in Time]" (1966), "That Darn Catwoman/Scat, Darn Catwoman," "Catwoman Goes to College/Batman Displays His Knowledge" (1967), two-part episodes of Batman; "Monkees Get Out More Dirt" (1967), episode of The Monkees; "Friday's Child" (1967), episode of Star Trek; "The Laser Blazer" (1968), episode of Get Smart; The Maltese Bippy (Norman Panama 1969); "Love and the Vampire" (1970), episode of Love, American Style; "The Eight Year Itch Witch" (1971), episode of Bewitched; "Black Magic" (1977), episode of The Bionic Woman; episode of Jason of Star Command (1979); "Flight of the War Witch" (1980), two-part episode of Buck Rogers in the Twenty-Fifth Century; "The Triangle" (1982), episode of The Powers of Matthew Star; "King of Burlesque" (1983), episode of Fantasy Island; Hysterical (Chris Bearde 1983); Evils of the Night (Mardi Rustam 1983); Deep Space (Fred Olen Ray 1987); Robo-Chic (Ed Hansen 1989); Ghosts Can't Do It (John Derek 1989).
 
In the history of science fiction film, pin-up girls come and go, glamorous decorations included for the presumed delight of adolescent males in the audience and never expected to display any acting ability. But Julie Newmar always commanded attention; more than an arresting beauty, she seemed to have genuine comedic talents and even an intelligence that the undemanding roles she was usually offered could not entirely conceal.

After a cameo as Stupefyin' Jones in the musical L'il Abner, Newmar made for an intriguing Devil in an episode of The Twilight Zone before playing an experimental robot in the short-lived situation comedy My Living Doll. While not unreasonably derided as an abysmal failure, that series might someday be worth digging out of the vaults, because the actress proved slightly better than her lame material; and one reason for the celebrated tension between Newmar and co-star Bob Cummings—which soon led to his abrupt departure just prior to cancellation—may have been that this Hollywood veteran unhappily realized he was being regularly upstaged by the deadpan delivery of this striking novice. But any doubts about her skills were decisively erased by her masterful performances as Catwoman in the Adam WEST Batman series. Better than any other guest villain (except, perhaps, Victor BUONO), Newmar knew precisely how much to overplay her role, and she threw herself into the part with such triumphant energy and panache that she became a dominating presence in the series' second season. When she unaccountably abandoned the role to co-star with Gregory PECK in the western MacKenna's Gold (1969), Eartha Kitt in the third season, like Lee MERIWETHER in the film Batman (1966), could not begin to match Newmar's sexy chutzpah.

As she neared the age when Hollywood begins casting actresses as mothers, Newmar had convincingly demonstrated, in an episode of Star Trek set on a primitive planet that incongruously presented her as the widow of a tribal leader and mother of his heir, that conveying saintly maternal warmth was not going to be her strong suit. Her subsequent decline into minor roles in silly television series and unworthy films was therefore predictable; only an appearance as an alien warrior in an episode of Buck Rogers in the Twenty-Fifth Century briefly recalled her glory days. Today, however, when the other pretty faces of her era have long been forgotten, she has left enough of an impression to serve as the titular focus of the campy movie To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995), still fondly remembered by the adolescent males who enjoyed watching her in her prime.

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