Julie Andrews reveals how she was offered cocaine at Hollywood house party because guests wanted to see 'how Mary Poppins would react'
In her new book 'Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years,' Julie Andrews has revealed that she and her husband, Blake Edwards, were offered cocaine at a house party of "a very powerful Hollywood agent" in 1971 but they refused to take it.
The 84-year-old actress revealed that unnamed hosts offered them the Class A drug because they wanted to see how a very famous movie character played by her would react under influence.
"When we arrived at the house, we were confronted by a classic 'scene' for those days, but one that I had yet to witness. A group of guests were (sic) doing lines of coke in the living room. During dinner, the coke was passed around as dessert. When it was offered to Blake and me, we both declined. The hosts began pushing me hard, curious to see how Mary Poppins would react," she said, Daily Mail reported.
Even though she tried to politely refuse the offer, she was put under peer pressure to try it. It was then that she said her husband came to her rescue. He told the partygoers, "She doesn't need any of that stuff. She's high enough on life as it is."
"Mercifully, they backed down. When we left, there were bodies on the floor, leaning against the wall, totally wasted," she added.
The 'Sound Of Music' actress said that she struggled to make sense of her friends' drug habits that were rampant in those days. "Back at home, I stood at my open kitchen window and looked out across the golf course, trying to make some sense of the surreal experience," she said.
Earlier this month, Julie opened up about her struggles to accept the fame that she was thrust into in the initial stages of her career. "l kept the Oscar in the attic for a very long time because I thought I'd been given it as a Welcome to Hollywood and I didn't feel worthy of it," she said.
"So much early success sent me into therapy and analysis. I learned you have to do it right and honor the films you are making. It's a huge gift, but a lot of obligation."