Musicans For Life – Julie Brown – National AIDS Network Public Service Message – July 1992

Julie Ann Brown (born August 31, 1958) is an American actress, comedian, screen/television writer, singer-songwriter, and television director. Brown is known for her work in the 1980s, when she often played a quintessential valley girl character. Much of her comedy has revolved around the mocking of famous people (with a strong and frequently revisited focus on Madonna).

Julie Brown began her career performing in nightclubs. She was a contestant on the game show Whew! (as Annie Brown). She started working on television with a guest spot on the sitcom Happy Days. She also appeared in the 1981 cult film Bloody Birthday. After a small role in the Clint Eastwood comedy film Any Which Way You Can, comedian Lily Tomlin saw Brown at a comedy club and gave her her first big break, a part in her 1981 film The Incredible Shrinking Woman. Tomlin and Brown eventually became close friends. A string of guest-starring appearances in a variety of television shows followed, including: Laverne & Shirley, Buffalo Bill, The Jeffersons, and Newhart. Brown also appeared in short films such as “Five Minutes, Miss Brown”.

In 1984, she released her first EP, a five-song album called Goddess in Progress.[10] The album, parodies of popular ’80s music combined with her valley-girl personality, was quickly discovered by the Dr. Demento Show. The songs “‘Cause I’m a Blonde” and “The Homecoming Queen’s Got a Gun” were given radio airplay around the world.[11] The latter was a spoof on stereotypical 1950s’ teen tragedy songs, with cheerleaders’ heads and pompoms being blown to pieces.

In 1987, Brown released her first full-length album, Trapped in the Body of a White Girl. The album highlighted her comedic talent and valley girl personality. The album’s highlights were “I Like ’em Big and Stupid” and she reprised “The Homecoming Queen’s Got a Gun” (the album was reissued on CD in 2010 by Collector’s Choice Music on its Noble Rot label). Music videos were recorded and received heavy airplay on MTV. In 1989, Brown starred in that cable network’s 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 (she was also known as “Miss Julie Brown” at the time to differentiate her from Downtown Julie Brown, who was on the network at the same time).

Brown’s film career began in 1988 with the release of the film Earth Girls Are Easy, written, produced by, and featuring Brown,[14] it was based loosely on a song by the same name from her debut EP. The film also starred Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis. Brown cast then-unknown comedians Jim Carrey and Damon Wayans. In 1990, Brown had a brief part in the film The Spirit of ’76, as an intellectual stripper.

NBC commissioned a half-hour pilot, ultimately unsold and airing Sunday, July 28, 1991, at 7 p.m. Eastern Time, titled The Julie Show. Created by Brown, Charlie Coffey, and director and executive producer David Mirkin, it was a comedy about actress Julie Robbins (Brown), who in this initial story, goes to great lengths to land an interview with teen singer Kiki (played by Kim Walker) in the hopes of getting hired as a tabloid-TV celebrity journalist. Developed under the working title The Julie Brown Show, it also 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 was also a producer, with John Ziffren, and performed and co-wrote the theme song. Walker, Don Sparks, Robin Angers, and Deborah Driggs were guest performers in this production from Mirkinvision and New World Television.

Another pilot was filmed for CBS in 1989 called, Julie Brown: The Show, and featured a similar theme, in which Brown was the hostess of a talk show and she would interview actual celebrity guests, interspersed with scripted scenarios. The pilot was aired, but the show was not picked up; years later, it leaked onto the Internet.

In 1992, Brown starred in her own Fox sketch comedy show, The Edge; two of its regulars, Jennifer Aniston and Wayne Knight, later became sitcom stars, while Tom Kenny went on to voice SpongeBob SquarePants. That same year, she released the Showtime television film Medusa: Dare to Be Truthful, a satire about Madonna and her backstage documentary, Truth or Dare.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_Brown

Video preservation by DDVF.com for educational purposes. Original airdate was July 1992.