1926 must have been a good year to be born.  There was Tony Bennett, and Chuck Berry, Stan Freberg, and Marilyn Monroe.  Don Rickles came along, as did Mel Brooks and Leslie Nielsen.  But for fans of a slower, smoother nature, most importantly, it was the year Gayle Peck was born.  Who is Gayle Peck, one might ask?  The answer should be given in as sultry a tone as possible: Julie London

Born in northern California, Julie London was a natural musician.  After all, her parents were a vaudeville duo, entertaining audiences with song-and-dance routines that no doubt had an effect on the young girl.  At 14, her parents packed up and headed to Los Angeles with their young daughter.  Within a few years, she was discovered by the wife of Alan Ladd, touching off a career in music, television and film that would last decades and would impact future generations of actors and actresses. 

She began her film career in 1944's Nabonga, starring alongside Buster Crabbe (known to many for his many film roles as Billy the Kid), and a giant gorilla.  Her career blossomed, and she became a lusty pin-up for many a GI during World War II.  After starring in a handful of films, London married Jack Webb (Sgt. Joe Friday of Dragnet fame.)  London's deep, sultry sex appeal contrasted greatly with Webb's straight man, so much so that many wondered how it was they even came together - though it was likely their mutual love for jazz.  Their pairing gave them two daughters, but it was over by 1953.

In the 1950s, after meeting musician Bobby Troup, whom she eventually married in 1959, London embarked on a singing career that would touch generations, putting her film career on the sidelines.  In 1955, her debut album, "Julie Is Her Name," was released.  It went to #2 on the American charts, and gave us one of her most beloved songs, the sad, slightly creepy, and yet strangely seductive, "Cry Me A River."  The song was featured in the film, The Girl Can't Help It, which also featured Ms. London haunting Miller's apartment as the spirit of a love lost, following him from room to room while singing her hit song. 

Julie London's music could be compared to that of Ella Fitzgerald or Peggy Lee, but London usually played to a different perception.  The quality of her voice was often used not only to interpret a song, but to downright change the meaning of it.  Even when re-making a song, London never did so to compete with the other versions, but to define it for herself, creating something almost new - perhaps that was the art of Julie London.  Taking hits from other artists like Rosemary Clooney and her rendition of "Come On-A My House" as well as hits she was known for, like her husband's "Daddy," London was able to infuse even the most ambiguous and, perhaps, innocent of tunes with pure sex appeal. 

Though she is known to fans of jazz and song for her voice, to many, she was known best as Nurse Dixie McCall from the hit television show, Emergency!  In a strange twist on the usual divorce scenario, both she and Bobby were hired by her ex-husband, Jack Webb, who was the executive producer.  London's role on Emergency! ran from 1972 to 1977.  In a reprisal of their roles, much of the cast of Emergency! were featured in an episode of Adam-12. For television viewers of the late 1970s, Julie London was also known for her appearances with her husband on the hit TV game show, Tattletales, which featured famous husbands and wives answering questions, separately of course, about intimate aspects of their married lives, from their marriage, favorite foods, and even their sex lives. 

When all is said and done, a Julie London would, in today's world of attention deficit entertainment, be a rarity.  Though she passed away in October of 2000, she left the world with a legacy, including over 40 albums (some released posthumously) and a great number of works in television and film, that would put any would-be starlet in her place.  Few get to enjoy the sort of success in wonderful music that has lasted a lifetime and beyond.  How fortunate for us that we're able to continue basking in her glory.