Booth Moore of All the Rage, one of our sister blogs, had lunch with Julie Newmar, the greatest on-screen Catwoman of them all, and the topic turned to Anne Hathaway, who was just cast as the feline outlaw in “The Dark Knight Rises.” Here’s a quick excerpt:
Julie Newmar as Catwoman (Los Angeles Times archives)
Newmar is as feisty as ever. “This looks like Calvin Klein from 1978, and it might be,” she said of her outfit, a tweedy navy and white jacket and pencil skirt. Her voice still purrs. Of course, we all wanted to know her take on Hathaway. “She’s going to be marvelous,” Newmar said, even as I questioned Hathaway’s sex appeal. Now Newmar, she understood sex appeal. She made her own Catwoman costume, and was especially keen to have the belt at her hips, instead of her waist, to highlight her hourglass figure, she said. (The costume is now in the Smithsonian Institute.)
In addition to being an actress on stage and screen, Newmar was also a fashion model and muse for designer Thierry Mugler. And honestly, where would Mugler have been if not for his Catwoman-like Latex and rubber suits and curve-hugging silhouette? Newmar walked the runway for him a couple of times in the 1990s, wearing waist-whittling corset dresses, and appeared in the Mugler-directed 1992 George Michael video “Too Funky.” (The Mugler label is now in the midst of a makeover, courtesy of Nicola Formichetti, the stylist-turned-creative director. He showed his first men’s Mugler collection in Paris last week.) Nowadays, Newmar keeps busy gardening, appearing at fan expos, and managing her real estate investments….
THERE’S MORE, READ THE REST
– Booth Moore
RECENT AND RELATED
Hathaway will be Catwoman, Tom Hardy is Bane
Nolan: Hollywood takes too many shortcuts
ESSAY: Nolan and his dark magic tricks
Chris Nolan: “It won’t be the Riddler”
“Inception” extras reveal stuff dreams are made of
ON THE SET: “Inception,” Hollywood’s dream heist
Nolan breaks silence on Superman film
Crossovers? Nolan: Batman doesn’t play well with others
Nolan on his favorite scene in “Dark Knight”
Comments
Print
Read Later
Once again, the epic side-boob.
Julie Newmar better than Eartha Kitt? I think no.
"To each his own, I've found my own, one and only you"…. A tie could be considered with Julie Newmar and Michelle Pfeiffer, yet, Eartha Kitt, has a flavor to be aquired, and when so, it is a 'new' tie, only not Michelle. some might tie Michelle Pfeiffer with Miss Hathaway, after she has done it…… flavors, flavors, and favorites and eye of the b hold err….
She took the wrong role. she should have been cast as wonderwoman.
Julie Newmar was the greatest Catwoman tied into the TV show, without a doubt. However, I must say Michelle Pfeiffer certainly set the standard in the cinema. Meow!
lee meriweather was better
Eartha Kitt brought more sass and sultriness to that purr than most. You could see Batman "rising" whenever she curled up near him!
Julie Newmar was THE Catwoman, while everyone else paled in comparison to her. Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman was terrific in the Batman Returns. We'll see how Ms. Hathaway does. She has big claws to fill to be sure.
miss hathaway on beverly hillbillies
wowowowowowowowow!
what, nobody likes Halle Berry's Catwoman,,,?
Or Lee Meriwether from 1966.