Julie Budd (born May 4, 1954) is an American recording artist and actress.

Early life and education

Budd was born Edith Erdman in Brooklyn, New York, the second of three daughters of Joan and Saul Erdman, a bottling company executive. She attended the Roy H. Mann Jr. High School in Brooklyn until 1969, when she transferred to a private academy in Manhattan.

Singing

Budd began her singing career at the age of 12 when, after winning amateur night at a resort camp, she was spotted by producer Herb Bernstein, who became her manager and arranger. After signing a contract for personal management, he also had her record a demo, and arranged for a three-year contract with

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

records. Budd also became a regular on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

summer series ''Showcase '68''. She appeared on the ''

Merv Griffin Show ''The Merv Griffin Show'' is an American television talk show starring Merv Griffin. The series had runs on two different networks on NBC (1962–1963) and CBS (1969–1972) but is most known for its run on first-run syndication from 1965 to 19 ...

'', ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...

'', ''

The Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has been broadcast on NBC since 1954. The program has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2 ...

'', ''

The Carol Burnett Show ''The Carol Burnett Show'' is an American variety/sketch comedy television show that originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 279 episodes, and again with nine episodes in fall 1991. It starred Carol Burnett, Harv ...

'' and '' The Jim Nabors Hour''. At the time, her style drew frequent comparisons to

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

(to the point where she was mistakenly assumed to be Streisand's sister). Appearing at Caesars Palace at the age of 16, Budd became the youngest opening act for

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

. She also became a frequent performer on the

Las Vegas Strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of the Las Vegas city limits ...

, supporting Sinatra,

Liberace Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer and actor. He was born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish Americans, Polish origin and enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, ...

George Burns George Burns (born Nathan Birnbaum; January 20, 1896March 9, 1996) was an American comedian, actor, writer, and singer, and one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, radio, film, and television. His arched eyeb ...

, and

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...

. She performed the title song for the 1972 film ''

Living Free ''Living Free'' is a 1972 British drama film, written by Millard Kaufman and directed by Jack Couffer. It starred Nigel Davenport, Susan Hampshire and Geoffrey Keen. This film is a sequel to '' Born Free'' (1966), which was based on the 19 ...

'', which played over the opening credits. Budd continues to perform mainly in the New York City area and Las Vegas. She released the albums ''Pure Imagination'' (1997) and ''If You Could See Me Now'' (2000), and to commemorate Sinatra's centenary on December 12, 2015, she has released an album, ''Remembering Mr. Sinatra''. She also teaches master classes in singing.

Concerts and symphonies

Budd has performed at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

and the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

. She has also performed concerts and one-woman shows at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...

and the

Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center The Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center (TAPAC, ) or The Golda Center for Performing Arts () is a performing arts center at King Saul Boulevard in Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred t ...

. She has worked with symphony orchestras including Baltimore Symphony, National Symphony,

Pittsburgh Symphony The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (PSO) is an American orchestra based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The orchestra is resident at Heinz Hall, located in Pittsburgh's Cultural District. Since 2008, the orchestra's music director is Manfred Ho ...

, Austin Symphony, Alabama Symphony, Philadelphia Symphony,

Dallas Symphony The Dallas Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Dallas, Texas. Its principal performing venue is the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center in the Arts District of downtown Dallas. History The orchestra traces its origins to a ...

and the

Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The orchestra performs primarily at the Bradley Symphony Center in Allen-Bradley Hall. The orchestra also serves as the orchestra for Floren ...

Acting

Budd is associated with the

Circle Repertory Company The Circle Repertory Company, originally named the Circle Theater Company, was a theatre company in New York City that ran from 1969 to 1996. It was founded on July 14, 1969, in Manhattan, in a second floor loft at Broadway and 83rd Street by di ...

and

Playwrights Horizons Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit American Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work. ...

of New York City. She starred in the 1981

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

film ''

The Devil and Max Devlin ''The Devil and Max Devlin'' is a 1981 American fantasy–comedy film produced by Walt Disney Productions, directed by Steven Hilliard Stern and starring Elliott Gould, Bill Cosby and Susan Anspach. The film was considered to be controversial ...

'' as a 19-year-old high school dropout and aspiring singer. Budd has stated that "having the opportunity to work for the Disney Company was a life changer for me. At Disney they always do it right".

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Budd, Julie 1954 births Living people 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century American women singers American film actresses American women jazz singers American women pop singers Jewish American musicians Jewish women singers Jews from New York (state) MGM Records artists RCA Records artists Singers from Brooklyn