She starred in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, had to stoop when she danced with Fred Astaire, then became world-famous \u2013 and a gay icon \u2013 in the original Batman series. But her life behind the scenes has been just as interesting …<\/p>\n
Julie Newmar is showing me her secret garden: an oasis of greenery around her house in Brentwood, Los Angeles, that is crammed with trees, flowers, sculptures and labyrinthine paths. It feels like a little piece of old-school Hollywood, untouched by the world outside. \u201cHere, try one,\u201d Newmar says as she leans over from her mobility scooter and picks me a blueberry from a bush. \u201cIsn\u2019t that nice?\u201d It\u2019s a well-maintained jungle of begonias, jasmine, geraniums, fruit trees, and above all, roses. She has 90 varieties, she says, including one named after her. \u201cThat one\u2019s Marilyn Monroe,\u201d she says, pointing out a creamy pink one. \u201cDoesn\u2019t it look like her flesh?\u201d Monroe\u2019s former house is just up the road, she mentions. Newmar has lived here for decades with her son, John, who has Down\u2019s syndrome. They spend a lot of time out here.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say my life is about beauty,\u201d Newmar says. \u201cI want to be a beautiful old woman; beauty in the garden; beauty in your behaviour, in your treatment of others. Because we all know that life\u2019s a circle. All this stuff comes back. And in my 90s now, one has evolved. Big things happen now and they\u2019re more in the metaphysical, they\u2019re in the \u2018what can I do for others?\u2019 Because I\u2019ve already done it for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
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