Julie Budd

Budd was born Edith Erdman^[1] in Brooklyn, New York,^[2] the second of three daughters of Joan and Saul Erdman,^[3] a bottling company executive.^[4] She attended the Roy H. Mann Jr. High School in Brooklyn until 1969, when she transferred to a private academy in Manhattan.^[5]

Budd began her singing career at the age of 12 when, after winning amateur night at a resort camp, she was spotted by producer Herb Bernstein, who became her manager and arranger.^[6][7] After signing a contract for personal management, he also had her record a demo, and arranged for a three-year contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer records.^[8] Budd also became a regular on the NBC summer series Showcase '68.^[1] She appeared on the Merv Griffin Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show, The Carol Burnett Show and The Jim Nabors Hour.^[9][10][11] At the time, her style drew frequent comparisons to Barbra Streisand (to the point where she was mistakenly assumed to be Streisand's sister).^[12][13][14]

Appearing at Caesars Palace at the age of 16, Budd became the youngest opening act for Frank Sinatra.^[6] She also became a frequent performer on the Las Vegas Strip, supporting Sinatra, Liberace, George Burns, and Bob Hope.^[15] She performed the title song for the 1972 film Living Free, which played over the opening credits.^[16]

Budd continues to perform mainly in the New York City area and Las Vegas. She released the albums Pure Imagination (1997) and If You Could See Me Now (2000),^[15] and to commemorate Sinatra's centenary on December 12, 2015, she has released an album, Remembering Mr. Sinatra.^[17] She also teaches master classes in singing.^[9]

Budd has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and the Kennedy Center.^[18] She has also performed concerts and one-woman shows at the London Palladium and the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center. ^[19] She has worked with symphony orchestras including Baltimore Symphony, National Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Austin Symphony, Alabama Symphony, Philadelphia Symphony, Dallas Symphony and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.^[20]

Budd is associated with the Circle Repertory Company and Playwrights Horizons of New York City.^[15] She starred in the 1981 Walt Disney film The Devil and Max Devlin as a 19-year-old high school dropout and aspiring singer.^[21][22] Budd has stated that "having the opportunity to work for the Disney Company was a life changer for me. At Disney they always do it right".^[1]