Staying Fit
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Legendary actress Julie Andrews, 88, has retired from singing, but she keeps her voice alive as a writer. She’s cowritten more than 30 books with her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton, 61, cofounder of the Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, New York. Their latest collaboration, the children’s book Waiting in the Wings, out April 23, was inspired by a family of ducks that nested near the theater and paraded down to the water while the staff looked on. Andrews shares the joys of working with her daughter, her love of gardening and what she hopes she’s most remembered for.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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What’s it like to be writing with your daughter, Emma?
I find it very pleasant, and we do have different strengths. I do a lot of the openings and closings of chapters. She’s all about the structure. There’s a lot of mutual respect. And obviously, the more we write, the more we learn to trust each other. It is such a pleasure, and [with] every book, you learn something. We’re quite compatible.
Andrews co-wrote the children’s book “Waiting in the Wings” with her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton.
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What kind of books are on your to-read pile?
I have so many you can’t imagine. I mean, it’s maddening, because I’m always making room for one more book on my bedside. It’s anything that catches my fancy, but a great deal of it is either biographies or nature studies.
Do you have a favorite book?
My favorite — or certainly way up high on the list — is Act One by Moss Hart, which I find a wonderful biography. He was the director of My Fair Lady and Camelot. [It’s] fabulous, and [he’s] an adorable guy. I just wish he’d lived long enough to write the second one.
In regards to your remarkable career, did you have a favorite role?
No, I don’t think so. I’ll tell you why. Every one in its own way has either taught me something or I’ve learned something by doing it. If I could choose what I’d like to be remembered for, I’d love it if people would mostly think of me as a singer and giving pleasure and joy.
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