Julie Brown
{{short description|American actress and television personality (born 1958)}}
{{distinguish|Downtown Julie Brown}}
{{Other people}}
{{BLP sources|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Julie Brown
| image = Official Julie Brown portrait.jpg
| image_size = 200
| caption = Brown in 2012
| birth_name = Julie Ann Brown
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1958|8|31}}
| birth_place = Van Nuys, California, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| occupation = {{flatlist|
- Actress
- comedian
- musician
- writer
- director}}
| years_active = 1980–present
| spouse = {{plainlist|
- {{marriage|Terrence E. McNally|1983|1989|reason=divorced}}
- {{marriage|Ken Rethen|1993|2007|end=divorced}}
}}
| children = 1
}}
Julie Ann Brown (born August 31, 1958){{cite web |work=AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/julie-brown-mn0000263520 |title=Julie Brown |author=David Jeffries |accessdate=September 1, 2018}} is an American actress, comedian, musician, writer, and director.{{Cite web |title=Julie Brown |url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/232798-Julie-Brown |access-date=2022-03-05 |website=Discogs |language=en}}
Early life
Brown was born in Van Nuys, California, the daughter of Celia Jane (née McCann) and Leonard Francis Brown.{{cite magazine |magazine=Variety |pages=193–194 |date=1985 |volume=48 |title=Telling Tales}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-11-15-tv-650-story.html|title=Just Say Lampoon : Julie Brown's cult-like comedy spares no one|date=Nov 15, 1992|website=Los Angeles Times|access-date=Sep 20, 2019}} Her father worked at NBC in the advertising scheduling department and her mother was a secretary at the same studio complex.{{Cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/latimes/obituary.aspx?n=leonard-f-brown&pid=1991987|title=Leonard Brown Obituary - Los Angeles, CA | Los Angeles Times|website=Legacy.com|access-date=Sep 20, 2019}} Both of Brown's grandfathers had worked in the film business. Her great-grandfather was character actor Frank O'Connor.
She attended a Catholic elementary school as a child, and later Van Nuys High School. After attending Los Angeles Valley College, she enrolled in the American Conservatory Theater.{{Cite web|url=https://people.com/archive/val-gal-get-your-gun-julie-brown-blasts-her-way-onto-mtv-vol-23-no-20/|title=Val Gal Get Your Gun—Julie Brown Blasts Her Way Onto MTV|website=PEOPLE.com|access-date=Sep 20, 2019}}
Career
Brown began her career performing in nightclubs.{{cite web|title=Julie Brown|publisher=The Improv|url=http://improv.com/comedian.cfm?id=7551|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018203119/http://improv.com/comedian.cfm?id=7551|archive-date=2016-10-18}} She was a contestant on the game show Whew! (as Annie Brown).{{YouTube | id=OPzhwQSsl7M | title=Whew - Game Show - Annie & John}} She started working on television with a guest spot on the sitcom Happy Days. She also appeared in the 1981 cult film Bloody Birthday. Following a small role in the Clint Eastwood comedy film Any Which Way You Can, comedian Lily Tomlin gave her a part in her 1981 film The Incredible Shrinking Woman. She made subsequent appearances on Laverne & Shirley, Buffalo Bill, The Jeffersons, and Newhart.
In 1984, Brown released her first EP, a five-song album called Goddess in Progress.{{cite web|work=The Los Angeles Times|title=Valley Girl Is Only One Shade of Julie Brown|date=February 8, 1990|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-02-08-ca-387-story.html}} The album, parodies of popular '80s music combined with her valley-girl personality. The songs "'Cause I'm a Blonde" and "The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun" received international radio airplay.{{Cite book|last=Bronson|first=Harold|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=brRSDwAAQBAJ|title=The Rhino Records Story: Revenge of the Music Nerds|date=October 2013|publisher=SelectBooks, Inc.|isbn=978-1-59079-135-6|language=en}}
In 1987, Brown released her first full-length album, Trapped in the Body of a White Girl.{{cite web |work=People |date=November 2, 1987 |title=Picks and Pans Review: Trapped in the Body of a White Girl Vol. 28 No. 18 |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20097470,00.html}} The album's music videos received airplay on MTV.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}} In 1989, she created and starred in the MTV comedy and music-video show Just Say Julie. She played the role of a demanding, controlling, and pessimistic glamour-puss from the valley, making fun of popular music acts, while at the same time introducing their music videos.{{Citation needed|date=April 2025}}
In 1989, CBS commissioned a pilot titled Julie Brown: The Show, featuring Brown as the hostess of a talk show. She would interview actual celebrity guests, interspersed with scripted scenarios. The pilot was aired, but the show was not picked up.
Brown's film career began in 1988 with the release of the film Earth Girls Are Easy, written, produced by, and featuring Brown,{{cite web|title=Earth Girls Are Easy (1989) Review/Film; On Shaving, Furry Aliens Turn Into Valley Guys|first=Caryn|last=James|date=May 12, 1989|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=950DEFD6163DF931A25756C0A96F948260}} it was based loosely on a song by the same name from her debut EP. The film also starred Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, and then-unknown comedians Jim Carrey and Damon Wayans. In 1990, she appeared in the film The Spirit of '76.
Image:Julie Brown 2 by David Shankbone.jpg in New York City]]
In 1991, NBC commissioned a half-hour comedy pilot titled The Julie Show. Created by Brown, Charlie Coffey, and director and executive producer David Mirkin, it followed actress Julie Robbins (Brown), who goes to great lengths to land an interview with teen singer Kiki (Kim Walker) in the hopes of getting hired as a tabloid-TV celebrity journalist. Developed under the working title The Julie Brown Show, it starred Marian Mercer as Julie's mother, June; DeLane Matthews as Debra Deacon, a reporter on the fictional series Inside Scoop; Susan Messing as Julie's roommate Cheryl; and Kevin O'Rourke as Inside Scoop producer Tony Barnow. Brown also served as producer and performed the theme song.Lovece, Frank. The Television Yearbook 1990-91 (Perigee Books / Putnam Publishing, 1991), p. 267
In 1992, Brown starred on the Fox sketch comedy show The Edge. The same year, she released the Showtime television film Medusa: Dare to Be Truthful, a satire about Madonna and her backstage documentary, Truth or Dare. She followed with another satire, Attack of the 5 Ft. 2 In. Women, which lampooned the violence of ice skater Tonya Harding toward rival Nancy Kerrigan, as well as that of widely publicized mutilator Lorena Bobbitt.{{Citation|last1=Brown|first1=Julie|title=Attack of the 5 Ft. 2 Women|date=1994-08-21|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109167/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_45|last2=Wenk|first2=Richard|access-date=2016-10-11}}
Brown has contributed voices to various cartoons, including Animaniacs as the voice of Minerva Mink, Aladdin as Saleen, and as the original voice of Zatanna in the Batman: The Animated Series cartoon. She guest-starred on Tiny Toon Adventures as Julie Bruin, a cartoon bear version of herself, in which she guest-starred in her own segment "Just Say Julie Bruin", a reference to her music video show.
Brown appeared as Coach Millie Stoeger in the 1995 film Clueless, reprising the role on ABC's 1996–1999 spin-off television series, for which she also served as a writer, producer, and director. In 1998, Brown appeared in the parody film Plump Fiction. In 2000, she created the series Strip Mall for Comedy Central network.
Since 2004, Brown has been a commentator for E! network specials, including 101 Reasons the '90s Ruled, 101 Most Starlicious Makeovers, 101 Most Awesome Moments in Entertainment, and 50 Most Outrageous TV Moments. In 2005, Brown purchased the rights to her Trapped album from the record label and reissued it herself.{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}} She also self-released a single, "I Want to Be Gay". The single was originally released on Compact Disc only in a cardboard sleeve and made available exclusively through her website, or through eBay (via her own sales representative). It later became available for digital download. In 2007, she also purchased the rights to her 1984 E.P. Goddess in Progress and re-released it as a full-length record with compiled unreleased tracks.{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}} Later that year, she began touring with her one-woman show, Smell the Glamour.{{Citation needed|date=December 2008}}
In 2008, Brown co-wrote and appeared as Dee La Duke in the Disney Channel film Camp Rock. The same year, she joined the cast of the Canadian television series Paradise Falls and began releasing one-track digital singles. In 2011, she released an album called Smell the Glamour, which features satires of Lady Gaga and Kesha, and updated versions of her Medusa songs.
Beginning in 2010, Brown began a recurring role as Paula Norwood, a neighbor and friend of the Heck family, on the ABC sitcom The Middle. From 2010 to 2015, she was a writer for Melissa & Joey, and played a gym teacher in one episode of the show. In 2012, she appeared with Downtown Julie Brown as a guest judge on RuPaul's Drag Race.
Personal life
In 1983, Brown married writer and actor Terrence E. McNally. They co-produced her first single, "I Like 'Em Big and Stupid". They divorced after six years. In 1994, Brown married Ken Rathjen, and together they have one son. She said in 2007 that she had recently divorced for the second time.[http://www.sfbaytimes.com/?sec=article&article_id=6954 Balls Out Ball Raises Big Butts Bucks for Rugby Club] on YouTube
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" style="margin-right: 0;" |
| scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Role ! scope="col" | Notes |
|---|
| 1980
| scope="row" | Any Which Way You Can | Candy | |
| rowspan="2" | 1981
| scope="row" | The Incredible Shrinking Woman | TV Commercial Actress | |
| scope="row" | Bloody Birthday
| Beverly Brody | |
| 1984
|Dark Seduction |Tammy | |
| 1985
| scope="row" | Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment | Chloe | |
| 1988
| scope="row" | Earth Girls Are Easy | Candy Pink | |
| 1990
| scope="row" | The Spirit of '76 | Ms. Liberty | |
| rowspan="2" | 1991
| scope="row" | Timebomb | Waitress at Al's Diner | Uncredited |
| scope="row" | Shakes the Clown
| Judy | |
| rowspan="2" | 1992
| scope="row" | Nervous Ticks | Nancy Rudman | |
| scope="row" | The Opposite Sex and How to Live with Them
| Zoe | |
| rowspan="3" | 1995
| scope="row" | A Goofy Movie | Lisa |
| scope="row" | Clueless
| Ms. Stoeger | |
| Out There
|Joleen McGillicuddy | |
| 1997
| scope="row" | Plump Fiction | Mimi Hungry | |
| 1999
| scope="row" | Wakko's Wish | Minerva Mink |
| 2000
| scope="row" | Daybreak | Connie Spheres | |
| rowspan="2" | 2002
| scope="row" | The Trip | Receptionist | |
| scope="row" | Like Mike
| New Age Mother | |
| 2006
| scope="row" | Fat Rose and Squeaky | Squeaky | |
| 2007
| scope="row" | Boxboarders! | Anny Neptune | |
| 2015
| scope="row" | Mothers of the Bride | Peg | |
| 2016
| scope="row" | Christmas with the Andersons | Aunt Katie | |
=Television=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" |
| scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title ! scope="col" | Role ! scope="col" | Notes |
|---|
| 1980
| scope="row" | Happy Days | Suzy Simmonds | Episode: "Ah! Wilderness" |
| 1982
| scope="row" | Laverne & Shirley | Secretary, Patti | 2 episodes |
| rowspan="3" |1983
| scope="row" | Scarecrow and Mrs. King | Barbie | Episode: "If Thoughts Could Kill" |
| scope="row" | The Jeffersons
| Cherry | Episode: "Who's the Fairist" |
| scope="row" | We Got It Made
| Didi West | Episode: "Sexiest Bachelor" |
| 1985–88
| scope="row" | Yogi's Treasure Hunt | Coinnie Kindly | Voice, episode: "Yogi Bear on the Air" |
| 1986–88
| scope="row" | Newhart | Buffy Denver | 2 episodes |
| rowspan="3" | 1990
| scope="row" | Quantum Leap | Bunny O'Hare/Thelma Lou Dickey | Episode: "Maybe Baby (March 11, 1963)" |
| scope="row" | Get a Life
| Connie Bristol | Episode: "Terror on the Hell Loop 2000" |
| scope="row" | Monsters
| Wendy | Episode: "Small Blessings" |
| 1991
| scope="row" | Tiny Toon Adventures | Julie Bruin |
| rowspan="2" | 1992–93
| scope="row" | Batman: The Animated Series | Lily, Zatanna |
| scope="row" | The Edge
| Various | Main role; 19 episodes |
| 1993
| scope="row" | The Addams Family | Camp Counselor D.I. Holler | Voice, episode: "Camp Addams" |
| 1994–95
| scope="row" | Aladdin | Saleen | Voice, 2 episodes |
| 1995
| scope="row" | Band of Gold | Liz | 2 episodes |
| rowspan="2" | 1996
| scope="row" | Tracey Takes On... | Mrs. Lynn Heiner | Episode: "Family" |
| scope="row" | Quack Pack
| Nelly the dragon | Voice, episode: "Leader of the Quack" |
| 1993–97
| scope="row" | Animaniacs | Minerva Mink |
| 1997
| scope="row" | Murphy Brown | Secretary #88 | Episode: "From the Terrace" |
| 1998
| scope="row" | Pinky and the Brain | Danette Spoonabello, Minerva Mink |
| 1999
| scope="row" | Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child | Lottie Bologna | Voice, episode: "The Three Little Pigs" |
| 1996–99
| scope="row" | Clueless | Coach Millie Deimer | 15 episodes |
| 1999–00
| scope="row" | The New Woody Woodpecker Show | Judge, Customer | Voice, 4 episodes |
| 2000–01
| scope="row" | Strip Mall | Tammi Tyler | Main role; 22 episodes |
| 2000
|The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries |Veterinarian #2 |
| 2001
|Mom |
| 2002
| scope="row" | Family Affair | Ms. Felicity Robbins | Episode: "No Small Parts" |
| 2005
| scope="row" | Six Feet Under | Sissy Pasquese | Episode: "Time Flies" |
| rowspan="3" | 2008
| scope="row" | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Connie Dellaquilla | Episode: "Bull" |
| scope="row" | Paradise Falls
| Mimi Van Lux | 5 episodes |
| scope="row" | Wizards of Waverly Place
| Miss Anna Marinovich | Episode: "Art Museum Piece" |
| 2011
| scope="row" | Big Time Rush | Rona | Episode: "Big Time Contest" |
| 2012
| scope="row" | Melissa & Joey | Coach Dalman | Episode: "Mother of All Problems" |
| 2010–17
| scope="row" | The Middle | Paula Norwood | 13 episodes |
| rowspan="2" | 2014
| scope="row" | From Here on OUT | Gina | Episode: "The OUT Cover-(Up)" |
| scope="row" | TMI Hollywood
| Various | Episode: "Getting Down with Brown" |
| 2019
| scope="row" | Spirit Riding Free | Mrs. Dawn Hungerford |
=Television film=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" |
| scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Role ! scope="col" | Notes |
|---|
| scope="row" | Jane Doe
| 1983 | Reporter | |
| scope="row" | Carol Leifer: Gaudy, Bawdy & Blue
| 1992 | Rhona | |
| scope="row" | Attack of the 5 Ft. 2 In. Women
| 1994 | Tonya Hardly/Lenora Babbitt | |
| scope="row" | Out There
| 1995 | Joleen | |
| scope="row" | Alien Avengers II
| 1998 | Rhonda | |
| scope="row" | Camp Rock
| 2008 | Dee La Duke |
| scope="row" | The Wish List
| 2010 | Wedding Planner | |
| scope="row" | My Santa
| 2013 | Susie | |
| scope="row" | Gusty Frog
| 2013 | Frankie's Mom | |
=Other work=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable" |
| scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Year ! scope="col" | Notes |
|---|
| scope="row" | Olivia Newton-John: Hollywood Nights
| 1980 | Writer; television special |
| scope="row" | Earth Girls are Easy
| 1988 | Writer |
| scope="row" | Just Say Julie
| 1989 | Writer; co-producer |
| scope="row" | Quantum Leap
| 1990 | Writer — "Maybe Baby (March 11, 1963)" |
| scope="row" | The Julie Show
| 1991 | Creator; writer; producer |
| scope="row" | Medusa: Dare to Be Truthful
| 1992 | Director; writer; executive producer |
| scope="row" | The Edge
| 1992–93 | Writer — 20 episodes; producer — 20 episodes |
| scope="row" | Attack of the 5 Ft. 2 In. Women
| 1994 | Director; writer |
| scope="row" | Rude Awakening
| 1998 | Writer — "An Embarrassment of Ritch's" |
| scope="row" | Clueless
| 1996–99 | Director — 1 episode; writer — 8 episodes; producer — 24 episodes; co-producer — 36 episodes |
| scope="row" | Strip Mall
| 2000 | Executive producer |
| scope="row" | The Big House
| 2004 | Writer — episode: "A Friend in Need"; consulting producer |
| scope="row" | Camp Rock
| 2008 | Writer |
| scope="row" | Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam
| 2010 | Based on characters |
| scope="row" | Melissa & Joey
| 2011 | Writer — episode: "Do As I Say, Not As I Did" |
| scope="row" | Gusty Frog
| 2013 | Writer; television film |
Discography
- Goddess in Progress (1984)
- Trapped in the Body of a White Girl (1987)
- Smell the Glamour (2010)
Singles
- "I Like 'Em Big and Stupid" (w. B-side "The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun")
- "Trapped in the Body of a White Girl"
- "Girl Fight Tonight!"
- "I Want to Be Gay" (sometimes titled "I Wanna be Gay")
- "The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun"
- "The Art of Being Fabulous"
- "Another Drunk Chick" (a parody of the Kesha song "Tik Tok")
- "Big Clown Pants" (a parody of the Lady Gaga song "Bad Romance")
References
{{wikiquote}}
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Spoken Wikipedia|En-Julie Brown-article.oga|date=2006-05-02}}
- {{Commons category-inline}}
- {{official website|http://www.juliebrown.com}}
- {{YouTube|u=JulieBrownTV|Juile Brown}}
- {{YouTube|u=Kielan2154|Julie Brown}}
- {{IMDb name|id=0113935|name=Julie Brown}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Julie}}
Category:Actresses from Los Angeles
Category:American comedy musicians
Category:American women singers
Category:American film actresses
Category:American voice actresses
Category:American sketch comedians
Category:American television actresses
Category:American television directors
Category:American women television directors
Category:People from Van Nuys, Los Angeles
Category:Van Nuys High School alumni
Category:American video jockeys
Category:American women comedians
Category:American women screenwriters
Category:American women television writers
Category:Television writers from California
Category:Comedians from Los Angeles
Category:Songwriters from California
Category:American Conservatory Theater alumni
Category:20th-century American screenwriters
Category:20th-century American women writers
Category:21st-century American screenwriters
Category:21st-century American women writers
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:21st-century American actresses