Marni Nixon

Oh

... hire, uh, like Marnie Nixon to sing somebody's voice, and you're like, "That's Marnie Nixon.

That's not you, Natalie Wood." So-

Yeah

I was just talking about this with somebody the other day.

It's, it's the best dubbing job, I think, of Marni Nixon's-

Mm-hmm

... where it's seamless.

It, it, without effort, it just glides into from the speaking voice to the singing voice, and it's, it's exquisite, I think.

And Deborah Kerr is, you know, just note perfect in this role.

role.I, I will say I also think the Marni Nixon's work on, with Natalie Wood is, um-

Yeah

She was dubbed.

Dubbed by Marnie Nixon.

And the casting logic is stated almost too perfectly, because Alan J. Lerner told Julie Andrews, who had originated Eliza on Broadway, that she was being passed over because they wanted a name.

That's the quote.

Rex Harrison reprised his role from the stage as Henry Higgins, but Julie Andrews, who performed as Eliza Doolittle on Broadway and was nominated for a Tony Award, was replaced by Audrey Hepburn, who was a bigger name, though her vocals changed.

needed to be dubbed by marnie nixon it was the most expensive american film ever made at that point costing 17 million dollars or an approximate 180 million dollars in today's money But it was a massive hit and made $72 million at the box office.

It won eight Academy Awards for Best Sound, Best Score, Best Costume Design, Best Cinematography, Best Actor for Rex Harrison, Best Director for George Cukor, and Best Picture.

Also getting nominated for Best Film Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress.

Exactly.

One of the most famous examples, of course, is Marnie Nixon, the great Hollywood ghost singer.

She supplied singing for major stars, including Deborah Kerr in The King and I and Natalie Wood in West Side Story.

I mean, all this was before Bond ever hit a screen.

And she actually later sang for Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, but that was 1964, so a couple of years after that.

You've got to love Marnie Nixon.

My daughter took voice lessons from her.

She was a great teacher and an even better lady.

And I also thought it was interesting that one of the nuns was actually played by the person that dubbed Audrey Hepburn.

I saw that, Marnie Nixon.

I did notice that.

which nun

he's like one of the like guys you know with the diamonds and number and all that because i mean people forget that he was a dance i guess like a dancer first and um also larry kurt the original tony in west side story was another one of the uh suitors in the number And a lot of people were like, what was that Marilyn Monroe singing in the beginning? I'm like, no, she doesn't have an operatic voice.

If I go look, Marnie Nixon, who was known for dubbing Deborah Kerr in The King and I, Natalie Wood in West Side Story, and Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, did that in the beginning because she, you know, was known for like, oh, wait, this person can say, let's bring in Marnie Nixon.

She's got this.

She's got this.

I don't think she does the,

no, no, no, no, no. Yeah, that's her.

That's Marnie Nixon.

Yeah.

It's how well the dubbing is done.

I think Marnie Nixon's dubbing of Deborah Carr and the King and I is about as perfect as you could get because it so matches Deborah Carr's voice.

And it is so...

It's so perfect in terms of the cadence of her voice.

If you didn't know she wasn't being dubbed, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

Now, it's much more jarring with Audrey Hepburn and My Fair Lady.

And this is Marnie Nixon, too.

And I love Audrey Hepburn.