Ellen Greene is now 75 years old.

She can still perform her famous Audrey voice from "Little Shop of Horrors."

She said she did not plan the breathy, squeaky, lispy New York accent.

It just came out at the audition and stayed.

She called the role her defining one.

Greene played the tragicomic shopgirl off-Broadway in 1982.

She also played her in Frank Oz's 1986 film with Rick Moranis.

She will tour the country for 40th anniversary screenings.

The tour starts in Seattle on Aug. 18 and ends in Atlanta on Nov. 13.

She has promised to sing "Somewhere That's Green."

She first heard that ballad while waiting on the unemployment line.

She felt an Audrey inside her then.

The film's production was difficult.

John Landis and then Martin Scorsese were briefly attached to direct before Oz took over.

Producer David Geffen wanted a bigger name, like Cyndi Lauper, for the role.

Test audiences loved Greene's Audrey so much that they rejected an ending where she dies.

Greene said she loved that death scene, but Oz directed her more like a heroine.

She thinks the film's version of a key line felt more real and touching.

Greene also remembered Howard Ashman, the lyricist who died in 1991.

He was her close friend and gave her a share of the play's profits because she created Audrey.

She said everyone loves "Little Shop" because they put so much love into it.

That keeps Ashman's memory alive.