Julie Peck was born on September 26, 1926 in Santa Rosa, California, to Jack and Josephine Peck, a song and dance team in vaudeville and radio. In 1929, the family moved to San Bernardino, where Julie's parents had a radio show, on which she occasionally appeared. In 1941, they moved to Los Angeles, where Julie left school and went to work as an elevator operator in a department store.
In Los Angeles, she met Jack Webb, then in the Marine Corps, and Sue Carol, an actor/agent and wife of actor Alan Ladd (father-in-law to Charlie's Angels Cheryl Ladd). Carol obtained a screen test for Julie, which started her on a movie career. Julie's roles during the first few years were bit parts.
She appeared in her first film, "Nabonga," in 1944, and began singing with the Matty Malnech Orchestra.
Julie London got her break in 1947 in the movie The Red House starring Edward G. Robinson and Lon MacAllister. She soon reached star status by playing leading roles in such movies as A Question Of Adultery, Task Force, and The Fat Man.
In 1947 she married Webb, who was just breaking into dramatic acting on radio. With marriage, she temporarily gave up her movie career to become a full-time wife and mother, and they had two daughters, Stacy and Lisa. In November, 1953, London and Webb divorced, and she received custody of the children. With the breakup of her marriage, Julie entered a brief period during which, she has said, she had a lack of self confidence.
In 1954 this changed when she met Bobby Troup, a jazz musician and songwriter. Under his guidance, she began a serious singing career in 1955. Her first singing engagement was the 881 Club in Los Angeles. In 1955 she cut her first album, Julie is Her Name. Included on this LP was her most successful hit: Cry Me A River which gave her the name Sexy Warbler. Over three million copies of the album and single were sold. The single remained on Billboard charts for 13 weeks, and the record for 20. Julie was voted one of the top female vocalists of 1955, 1956, and 1957. On New Year's Eve, 1959, she became Mrs. Bobby Troup.
Julie's vocal style has been described as being sultry, sexy, "come-hither", intimate, breathy, warm, smoky, haunting, husky, sullen, sad, suggestive and seductive. She self-described her voice in a LIFE magazine article in 1957, as "It's only a thimbleful of a voice, and I have to use it close to the microphone. But it is a kind of oversmoked voice, and it automatically sounds intimate." The majority of her album covers were graced by sultry, yet sophisticated pictures of Julie - the cover of her first album, Julie Is Her Name being, at the time, thought of as so sexy that it was described as "...generating enough voltage to light up a theater marquee". The album Calendar Girl is graced with 12 "cheesecake" photos of Miss London - one for each month of the year, with an additional large photo for the "thirteenth" month on the inside of the foldout cover.
London was voted one of the top female vocalists of 1955, 1956 and 1957.
At the same time as her singing career took off, Julie's movie career was also "resurrected". In 1956 she starred as an alcoholic singer in the film "The Great Man". From there, she went on to star, or co-star in more movies for United Artists and MGM, including: Man Of The West, Voice In The Mirror, The Wonderful Country, The George Raft Story, and The Third Voice. During the film Voice In The Mirror, Julie became a songwriter, composing the title song for the movie. She has also appeared on numerous television shows as both actress and singer.
In 1965, London began performing in the Tropicana's Blue Room building up a fan base. In 1970, Troup joined her in performing in the lounge until 1970.
In 1971, she began playing one of her best-known roles as Nurse Dixie McCall on the TV Show Emergency, (which also featured Bobby Troup, as Dr. Joe Early). After Emergency, Julie did one last film: Survival On Charter #220 before retiring from show business.
"She is not a Julie London fan. She honestly doesn't realize how good she is. She's never really been a performer, she doesn't have that need to go out and please an audience and receive accolades. She's always been withdrawn, very introverted. She hated those big shows. I couldn't wait to do them, and she was only glad when they were over." - Bobby Troup
During the late 50's and into the 60's, Julie did some international tours in such locales as Brazil and Japan. While in Japan, she recorded a Japanese-only television program with Bobby Troup and his band which can be found on video tape. Julie essentially quit recording when the Liberty label folded in 1968. Her last recording was in 1981, for the movie Sharky's Machine, in which she performed My Funny Valentine for the soundtrack.
In 1995, London suffered a stroke and had been in poor health since. On October 18 2000, she was taken from her San Fernando Valley home to a nearby hospital where she died at age 74. She was buried next to her husband at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills), Los Angeles, California.
London's film credits include Emergency! (1972) (aka Emergencia - Spanish title, aka Emergency One - syndication title); The Helicopter Spies (1968) (TV) as Laurie Sebastian; The George Raft Story (aka Spin of a Coin) (1961) as Sheila; The Third Voice (aka The 3rd Voice) (1960) as Corey Scott; Night of the Quarter Moon (aka Flesh and Flame) (1959) as Ginny Nelson; A Question of Adultery (aka Case of Mrs. Loring) (1959) as Mary Loring; The Wonderful Country (1959) as Helen Colton; Frances Langford Presents (1959) TV Series; Man of the West (1958) as Billie Ellis; Voice in the Mirror (1958) as Ellen Burton; Saddle the Wind (1958) as Joan Blake; Drango (1957) as Shelby Ransom; The Great Man (1956) as Carol Larson; The Girl Can't Help It (1956) as Herself; Crime Against Joe (1956) as 'Slacks' Bennett; The Fighting Chance (1955) as Janet Wales; The Fat Man (1951) as Pat Boyd; Return of the Frontiersman (1950) as Janie Martin; Task Force (1949) as Barbara McKinney; Tap Roots (1948) as Aven Dabney; The Red House (aka No Trespassing) (1947) as Tibby; A Night in Paradise (1946) as Palace Maiden; Diamond Horseshoe (Billy Rose's Diamond Horseshore) (1945) as Girl; On Stage Everybody (1945) as Vivian Carlton; Nabonga (aka The Girl and the Gorilla, aka Gorilla, aka Jungle Woman) (1944) as Doreen Stockwell
London's guest appearances include Notable TV guest appearances "Tattletales" (1974) playing "Herself" "Adam-12" (1968) playing "Nurse Dixie McCall" in episode: "Lost and Found" (episode # 5.4) 10/4/1972 "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" (1968) playing "Cameo Appearance, Herself?" in episode: "Episode #118" 9/18/1972 "Big Valley, The" (1965) playing "Julia Saxon" in episode: "They Called Her Delilah" (episode # 4.2) 9/30/1968 "I Spy" (1965) in episode: "Three Hours On a Sunday" (episode # 1.12) 12/8/1965 "Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The" (1962) playing "Barbara, the secretary" in episode: "Crimson Witness, The" (episode # 3.12) 1/4/1965 "Checkmate" (1960) in episode: "Goodbye Grief" (episode # 1.28) 4/15/1961 "Hong Kong" (1960) in episode: "Suitable For Framing" (episode # 1.14) 1/4/1961 "Rawhide" (1959) playing "Anne Danders" in episode: "Incident at Rojo Canyon" (episode # 3.1) 9/30/1960 "Laramie" (1959) in episode: "Queen of Diamonds" (episode # 2.1) 9/20/1960 "Adventures in Paradise" (1959) in episode: "Mission to Manila" (episode # 1.10) 11/30/1959 "Zane Grey Theater" (1956) in episode: "Time to Live, A" (episode # 1.27) 4/5/1957 "Bob Hope Show, The" (1952) playing "Herself" 11/11/1956
London's albums include Julie Is Her Name; Lonely Girl; Calendar Girl; About The Blues; Make Love To Me; Julie; London By Night; Swing Me An Old Song; Your Number Please; Julie at Home; Around Midnight; Send For Me; Whatever Julie Wants; Sophisticated Lady; Love Letters; Love On The Rocks; Latin In A Satin Mood; Julie's Golden Greats; The End of the World; The Wonderful World of Julie London; You Don't Have To Be A Baby To Cry; In Person At The Americana; Our Fair Lady; Feeling Good; All Through The Night; For The Night People; Nice Girls Don't Stay For Breakfast; The Incomparable Miss Julie London With Body & Soul; Easy Does It; Nummy, Nummy, Nummy; The Best Of Julie; By Myself; The Very Best of Julie London; Julie London; Tenderly Yours; Soft & Sweet; Gone With The Wind; Bethlehem's Girlfriends. London's last recording was in 1981 - My Funny Valentine from Sharkey's Machine.