Entertainer Julie Andrews, best known for her performances in the films The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins, may never sing again.
The US magazine Parade quoted Andrews's husband, director Blake Edwards, as saying: "I don't think she'll sing again - it's an absolute tragedy." More than a year ago British-born Andrews (63) had surgery to remove non-cancerous nodules from her throat. "It's over a year, and if you heard it (the voice), you'd weep," Edwards said.
American opera diva Jessye Norman yesterday lost a libel action over a quip about her weight. Norman had objected to an anecdote recounted by Classic CD magazine in 1994, which said that when she once got trapped in swing doors on her way to a concert and was advised to release herself by turning sideways, she had replied: "Honey, I ain't got no sideways." The singer says she never made the remark, and that the words were a "degrading racist stereotype of a person of African-American heritage".
"I could have wished that Ms Norman had told the hoary old joke contained in the anecdote and the subject of this libel action, as it would have shown that in addition to possessing the remarkable vocal and dramatic talents that have made her world famous . . . she had an engaging sense of humour," Judge Peter Gibson said.