Short answers, pulled from the story.
Petula Clark is a British singer, actress, and songwriter born on the 15th of November 1932 in Ewell, Surrey. She is known for her signature song "Downtown", which reached number one in the United States in January 1965 and sold three million copies there, and for an estimated career total of 100 million records sold worldwide.
"The Little Shoemaker", released in 1954, was Clark's first major UK hit and reached number one in Australia. Her earlier recordings from 1949 onward had established her on the charts, but "The Little Shoemaker" was the song that broke her internationally.
Composer Tony Hatch played Clark an incomplete melody at her Paris home in 1964, which had been inspired by his first visit to New York City. She agreed to record it as "Downtown" on the condition his lyrics matched the melody. Warner Bros. executive Joe Smith heard it in London and acquired the US rights; it reached number one in January 1965.
Clark won two Grammy Awards: Best Rock and Roll Recording of 1964 for "Downtown", and Best Contemporary Vocal Performance - Female of 1965 for "I Know a Place". In 2004, her recording of "Downtown" was also inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
During the taping of an NBC special in 1968, Clark touched Harry Belafonte's arm while they sang a duet. The Chrysler Corporation representative, fearing racial backlash from Southern viewers, demanded the moment be cut. Clark and her husband, executive producer Claude Wolff, refused and destroyed the alternative takes. The programme aired on the 8th of April 1968 to high ratings and a Primetime Emmy nomination.
Clark has performed the role of Norma Desmond in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Sunset Boulevard more than 2,500 times, more than any other actress. She appeared in both the West End and American touring productions from 1995 to 2000, and reprised the role in Cork, Ireland in 2004.