1. Sally "Petula" Clark was born on 15 November 1932 and is a British singer, actress, and songwriter.
56 Facts About Petula Clark
1. 2.
Petula Clark started her professional career as a child performer and has had the longest career of any British entertainer, spanning more than 85 years.
3.
In late 1964, Petula Clark's success extended to the United States with a five-year run of career-defining, often upbeat singles, many written or co-written by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent.
4.
Between January 1965 and April 1968, Petula Clark charted with nine US top 20 hits in the US, where she was called "the First Lady of the British Invasion".
5.
Petula Clark enjoyed success in the musical film Finian's Rainbow, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination for best actress in a musical, and in the stage musicals The Sound of Music, Sunset Boulevard and Mary Poppins, for which she received BAFTA nominations.
6.
Petula Clark was born Sally Clark on 15 November 1932 in Ewell, Surrey, England to Doris and Leslie Noah Clark.
7.
Petula Clark's mother had Welsh ancestry and her father was English.
8.
Petula Clark grew up in Abercanaid, near Merthyr Tydfil in Wales.
9.
Petula Clark recalls living just outside London during the Blitz, watching the dogfights in the air and running to air-raid shelters with her sister.
10.
Petula Clark volunteered, and they liked her voice so much in the control room that they recorded her.
11.
Petula Clark's father introduced her to theatre in 1944 when he took her to see Flora Robson in a production of Mary Stuart.
12.
From a chance beginning at the age of seven, Petula Clark appeared on radio, in film, in print, on television and on recordings.
13.
In October 1942 the nine-year-old Petula Clark made her radio debut while attending a BBC broadcast with her father.
14.
Petula Clark was trying to send a message to an uncle who was stationed overseas, but the broadcast was delayed by an air raid.
15.
Petula Clark then repeated her performance for the broadcast audience, launching a series of some 500 appearances in programmes designed to entertain the troops.
16.
Petula Clark became known as "Britain's Shirley Temple", and was considered a mascot by the British Army, some of whose troops plastered her photos on their tanks for good luck as they advanced into battle.
17.
Petula Clark worked with Anthony Newley in Vice Versa and Alec Guinness in The Card.
18.
Petula Clark recorded her first release that year, "Put Your Shoes On, Lucy", for EMI, and further recordings with vocalist Benny Lee on Decca.
19.
In 1957 Petula Clark was invited to appear at the Paris Olympia, where, despite her misgivings and a bad cold, she was received with acclaim.
20.
Petula Clark was attracted immediately, and when she was told that she would be working with him if she signed with the Vogue label she agreed.
21.
Petula Clark is one of only a handful of performers to be given a song by Brel.
22.
Petula Clark was the subject of This Is Your Life in February 1964, April 1975 and March 1996, becoming the only person to receive the television tribute three times.
23.
Petula Clark starred in the BBC television series This Is Petula Clark, which aired from mid-1966 to early 1968.
24.
Petula Clark revived her film career in the late 1960s, starring in two big musical films.
25.
Petula Clark didn't have us, exactly, but he had a darned good try.
26.
Petula Clark went to see Lennon for advice on dealing with this.
27.
Petula Clark subsequently ended up on the recording of Give Peace a Chance.
28.
Petula Clark continued touring during the 1970s, performing in clubs in the US and Europe.
29.
Petula Clark hosted the television series The Sound of Petula, and through the 1970s, made numerous guest appearances on variety, comedy, and game-show television programmes.
30.
Petula Clark appeared as a special guest star in an episode of The Muppet Show in 1977.
31.
Petula Clark recorded new material regularly throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, and in 1992 released "Oxygen", a single produced by Andy Richards and written by Nik Kershaw.
32.
In 1998 Petula Clark was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.
33.
In both 1998 and 2002 Petula Clark toured extensively throughout the UK.
34.
Petula Clark was the host of the March 2007 PBS fundraising special My Music: The British Beat, an overview of the musical British invasion of the United States during the 1960s, followed by a number of concert dates throughout the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
35.
Petula Clark can be heard on the soundtrack of the 2007 independent film Downtown: A Street Tale.
36.
Petula Clark was presented with the 2007 Film and TV Music Award for Best Use of a Song in a Television Programme for "Downtown" in the ABC series Lost.
37.
Petula Clark completed a concert tour of England and Wales in summer 2008, followed by concerts in Switzerland and the Philippines.
38.
Additionally, her 1969 NBC special Portrait of Petula Clark, already released on DVD for Region 2 viewers, is being produced for Region 1.
39.
At the Montreux Jazz Festival on 14 July 2008 Petula Clark joined with Paolo Nutini to perform "Goin' to Chicago Blues" in celebration of Quincy Jones' 75th birthday.
40.
Petula Clark was patron of 2011 Dinard British Film Festival.
41.
In November 2011, at age 78, Petula Clark performed at the Casino de Paris, a Parisian music hall.
42.
Petula Clark entertained for more than 90 minutes and introduced five new songs, one of which she had recently written with friend Charles Aznavour.
43.
Petula Clark appeared in the video for the song, which they recorded in Galway, and she in Paris.
44.
In February 2012 Petula Clark completed her first New York City show since 1975.
45.
Petula Clark's show featured a parody of "Downtown", an idea that came from her musical director Grant Sturiale.
46.
Petula Clark appeared as a guest on Radio 4's The Reunion in August 2012.
47.
Petula Clark remade her famous "Downtown", and performed a cover of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy".
48.
Petula Clark performed a new song called "Cut Copy Me", which had a 14-week run in the Belgium chart.
49.
Petula Clark released a new English-language album, From Now On, in October 2016, and completed a tour of the UK to promote it.
50.
Petula Clark made a cameo appearance in the 2017 London Heathrow Airport Christmas television commercial, accompanied by her song, "I Couldn't Live without Your Love".
51.
Petula Clark embarked on a tour of the US in November 2017.
52.
Petula Clark appeared in Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends concert which aired on the BBC in January 2023.
53.
In 1955 Petula Clark became linked romantically with Joe "Mr Piano" Henderson.
54.
In October 1957, Petula Clark was invited to appear at the Paris Olympia for Europe's premier live radio show, Musicorama.
55.
Petula Clark has expressed regret about not being closer to her children when they were younger, as her busy schedule kept her away.
56.
Petula Clark has a holiday chalet in the French Alps, where she likes to ski, and a pied-a-terre in London's Chelsea.