Hollywood Ghost Voices
Don’t you just love Audrey Hepburn singing “I Could Have Danced All Night,” in My Fair Lady (1964)? Or Christopher Plummer’s rendition of “Edelweiss,” in The Sound of Music (1965)? Well, too bad, because neither one of those actors actually sung the songs, or any of the other songs in those movies. Shocking, right?
Whenever Hollywood makes a Movie-musical, animated or live-action, if the filmmakers cast an actor in one of the major roles, and if the actor can’t sing the part, or if their singing voice just isn’t conspicuously good, then the creative team has to hire another actor who can sing the part, and the latter’s voice is dubbed in for the former’s. The filmmakers have to make a completely flawless transition onscreen between the two different voices. You might be surprised to know how many actors who have been in the greatest movie-musicals of all time have had their singing voices dubbed in by other actors.
Marni Nixon is an actress who is best known throughout the world for “ghosting” the singing voices of many Hollywood leading ladies who starred in movie-musicals. Her singing voice was dubbed in for Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady (1964), Natalie Wood in West Side Story (1961), and Deborah Kerr in The King and I (1956). Although Betty Wand’s singing voice was dubbed in for Rita Moreno’s singing voice in West Side Story (1961), Marni Nixon’s singing voice was also dubbed in for Rita Moreno during the “Tonight,” sequence in the movie, and she dubbed in for Deborah Kerr again in An Affair to Remember (1957). You can also hear her singing voice in a number of Walt Disney films. She is the main title soloist in Cinderella (1950). She voiced the singing flowers in Alice in Wonderland (1951), and she portrayed the singing geese in the “Jolly Holliday” sequence in Mary Poppins (1964). And, her singing voice was dubbed in for June Foray’s singing voice for the role of Grandmother Fa in Mulan (1998). In addition to all of this, Marni Nixon can also be seen live in The Sound of Music (1965) as Sister Sophia.
Bill Lee was another actor who also lent his singing voice to blockbuster movie-musicals, including Disney. His singing voice was dubbed in for Christopher Plummer in The Sound of Music (1965), Russ Tamblyn in Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), and John Kerr in South Pacific (1958). For Disney, he was one of the Card Painters in Alice in Wonderland (1951), he did the pirates in Peter Pan (1953), one of the dogs in Lady and the Tramp (1955), and he was the ram in the “Jolly Holliday,” sequence in Mary Poppins (1964). His most popular role for Disney, however, was the singing voice of Roger in 101 Dalmatians (1961). He also made a brief live appearance as one of the village people in Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1965), that starred Lesley Ann Warren in the title role. He played the father of one of the girls swooning over Prince Charming in the “The Prince is Giving a Ball Sequence.” One could easily characterize Marni Nixon and Bill Lee as the king and queen of “Hollywood Ghost Voices.”
I can understand how one might find it disappointing that some movie stars didn’t sing for themselves, but in my point of view, that doesn’t necessarily make the movies any less- entertaining. That has no impact on how the story is told. It’s just a substitution for the performance of the live actor that is still equally enjoyable. If none of these people had lent their singing voices to these movies they wouldn’t be the treasured classics that they are. They all have terrific voices and their renditions of the songs from these musicals are absolutely unforgettable! We should never be judgmental of anyone who can’t sing, including movie stars, because not everyone shares the exact same talent as one another, and the fact that they can’t sing doesn’t mean that they’re not good actors. Occasionally, our favorite actors and/or filmmakers will do something in a movie that will disappoint us, but we should never expect the people we love as an actor/singer to live up to literally everyone of our standards, just like we should never expect the people we love personally to live up to every one of our standards, because that isn’t how life works. So next time you watch My Fair Lady (1964) or South Pacific (1958) and you’re enjoying the live performances of Audrey Hepburn or John Kerr, remember you’re enjoying the voice-over performances Marni Nixon and Bill Lee too!
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