In the early 1960s, a young stage actress was passed over for a movie role she had basically made famous. That actress was Julie Andrews, and the role was Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady. Jack Warner, the big-shot producer at Warner Bros., didn't think she was "bankable" enough for the big screen. He wanted a household name. He chose Audrey Hepburn instead.
Honestly, it was a devastating blow at the time. But if Jack Warner hadn't said "no," we might never have seen the version of Mary Poppins that defined an entire generation of cinema.
The Nanny Who Almost Wasn't
When people ask who played the original Mary Poppins, the name Julie Andrews is the only one that really matters, even if she wasn't the first person Walt Disney considered. Walt had his eye on her after seeing her perform in Camelot on Broadway. He was so convinced she was the one that he flew to New York just to pitch her the part.
There was a tiny problem, though. She was three months pregnant.
You’ve got to admire Walt’s persistence here. Instead of moving on to someone like Bette Davis or Angela Lansbury (both of whom were briefly on the radar), he simply said, "We'll wait." He delayed the entire multi-million dollar production just so Andrews could have her daughter, Emma, and recover before heading to California to start filming.
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It’s kinda wild to think about how different the movie would have been with someone else. Mary Poppins is a weird character if you really look at her—she’s vain, stern, and borderline terrifying at times—but Andrews brought this "practically perfect" warmth that made the medicine go down.
What the Author Really Thought
If you’ve seen the movie Saving Mr. Banks, you know that P.L. Travers, the woman who wrote the original books, was... difficult. That’s putting it lightly. She spent twenty years telling Walt Disney to buzz off before finally relenting because she needed the money.
But here’s what most people get wrong: Travers didn't actually like Julie Andrews as Mary Poppins at first.
She thought Andrews was "too pretty." In the books, Mary Poppins is much more abrasive. She’s sharp-featured and definitely doesn't burst into song about spoonfuls of sugar. Travers wanted someone more "homely" and severe.
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During the world premiere in 1964, Travers famously cried. In the Hollywood version of the story, she’s crying because she’s moved by the tribute to her father. In real life? She was reportedly crying because she hated what Disney had done to her creation. She loathed the animation. She hated the songs. She even tried to demand that the animated penguin sequence be cut after the movie was already finished.
Walt’s response was basically: "The ship has sailed, Pamela."
The Ultimate Revenge
The 1965 Academy Awards were basically a high-stakes drama. Julie Andrews was nominated for Best Actress for Mary Poppins. Audrey Hepburn, who had taken the role Andrews wanted in My Fair Lady, wasn't even nominated (largely because it came out that her singing voice had been dubbed by Marni Nixon).
When Andrews won the Golden Globe that year, she delivered what might be the sassiest acceptance speech in history. She thanked Jack Warner for not casting her, because without that rejection, she wouldn't have been free to play the "practically perfect" nanny.
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Then she went on to win the Oscar.
A Few Things You Might Not Know
The production of the 1964 classic was full of weird little details that sound fake but are 100% true:
- Dick Van Dyke played two roles. Everyone knows him as Bert, the chimney sweep with the questionable accent. But he also played Mr. Dawes Sr., the ancient, decrepit bank director. He actually had to pay Walt Disney for the privilege of playing the second part because he wanted to do it so badly.
- The "Sugar" inspiration. The song "A Spoonful of Sugar" wasn't inspired by candy. Robert Sherman’s son had just received the polio vaccine, which was administered on a sugar cube. That’s where the idea came from.
- Not a single frame was filmed in London. Despite the foggy streets and Big Ben in the background, the entire movie was shot on soundstages in Burbank, California. Every rooftop Bert danced on was a set.
- The "Bird Woman" was a favorite. The song "Feed the Birds" was Walt Disney’s personal favorite. He used to call the Sherman brothers into his office on Friday afternoons and ask them to play it for him just so he could watch the sunset.
Why Julie Andrews Still Matters
There have been other Mary Poppins. Emily Blunt did a fantastic job in the 2018 sequel, and there have been countless stage productions. But when we talk about the original, we are talking about a specific moment in 1964 where a stage actress became a global icon.
Andrews didn't just play a nanny; she created a blueprint for the "magical mentor" that every Disney movie since has tried to replicate. She managed to be both a strict disciplinarian and a source of pure wonder, which is a harder acting job than it looks.
What to Do Next
If you're looking to dive deeper into the history of this role, there are a few things worth checking out:
- Watch "Saving Mr. Banks": While it's a bit "Disney-fied," it gives a great look at the friction between P.L. Travers and the studio.
- Read the original 1934 book: It’s a shock to the system if you grew up with the movie. The book version of Mary is much darker and more mysterious.
- Listen to the "Camelot" soundtrack: This is what convinced Walt Disney that Julie Andrews was his star. You can hear exactly what he heard—the clarity, the diction, and that undeniable "star" quality.