Julie Andrews: I almost died filming 'Mary Poppins'

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Julie Andrews reflects on success of 'The Sound of Music'

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Julie Andrews nearly met a grim ending while making the beloved fantasy musical.

During an interview on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" televised Monday night, the 81-year-old actress revealed she was almost killed while filming the iconic scenes for Disney’s 1964 hit “Mary Poppins.” She told the 52-year-old host how the stunts for the family film were risky to create.

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“These were all practical effects, you were on wires and stuff?” asked Colbert.

“Yes,” said Andrews. “There was a very dangerous day right at the end of filming when I was in this excruciatingly painful harness. And I was hanging around up there for the longest time with the umbrella. I thought I felt the wire leave and drop about six inches. I was nervous and very tired.”

“So, I called down and I said, ‘Excuse me, when you do let me down, could you let me down really gently, because I felt myself slip and I just don’t feel too safe up here.’”

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However, Andrews’ fears came to life as she was being lowered to safety.

“I plummeted to the stage,” explained Andrews. “I did. And there was an awful silence for a minute and I did let fly with a few Anglo-Saxon four-letter words, I have to admit.”

Andrews also joked that the stunts happened at the end of filming because if anything went wrong she was easily dispensable with the film completed.

The scare may have been worth it for the veteran star, who won an Oscar for the movie. “Mary Poppins” is being set for a reboot with Emily Blunt taking on the leading role, but Andrews won’t be involved with that filming.

Andrews will star in a new Netflix series, “Julie’s Greenroom,” which premieres March 17.