Marni Nixon

Marni Nixon

Born: February 22, 1930
Died: July 24, 2016
in Altadena, California, USA
"Loverly" soprano Marni Nixon has ensured herself a proper place in film history although most moviegoers would not recognize her if they passed her on the street. But if you heard her, that might be a horse of a different color. Marni is one of those unsung heroes (or should I say "much sung" heroes) whose incredible talents were given short shrift at the time. For those who think film superstars such as Deborah Kerr, Natalie Wood, and Audrey Hepburn possessed not only powerhouse dramatic talents but amazing singing voices as well...think again. Kerr's Anna in The King and I (1956), Natalie's Maria in West Side Story (1961), and Audrey's Eliza in My Fair Lady (1964) were all dubbed by the amazing Marni Nixon, and nowhere in the credits will you find that fact. Born Marni McEathron in Altadena, California, she was a former child actress and soloist with the Roger Wagner Chorale in the beginning. Trained in opera, yet possessing a versatile voice for pop music and easy standards as well, she not only sang for Arnold Schönberg and Igor Stravinsky but also recorded light songs. Marni made her Broadway musical debut in 1954 in a show that lasted two months but nothing came from it. In 1955, the singer contracted to dub Deborah Kerr in The King and I (1956) was killed in a car accident in Europe and a replacement was needed. Marni was hired...and the rest is history. Much impressed, the studios brought her in to "ghost" Ms. Kerr's voice once again in the classic tearjerker An Affair to Remember (1957). From there she went on to make Natalie Wood and Audrey Hepburn sound incredibly good with such classic songs as "Tonight" and "Wouldn't It Be Loverly."

She finally appeared on screen in a musical in The Sound of Music (1965) starring Julie Andrews, who physically resembles Marni. The role is a small one, however, and she is only given a couple of solo lines in "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?" as a singing nun. Marni's vocal career in films dissolved by the mid 1960s, but she continued on with concerts and in symphony halls, while billing herself as "The Voice of Hollywood" in one-woman cabaret shows. Throughout the years, she has played on the legit stage, including the lead roles in "The King and I" and "The Sound of Music," and in her matronly years has been seen as Fraulein Schneider in "Cabaret," and in the musicals "Follies" and "70 Girls 70." Her last filmed singing voice was as the grandmother in the animated feature Mulan (1998) in the 1990s. Married three times, twice to musicians; one of her husbands, Ernest Gold, by whom she had three children, was a film composer and is best known for his Academy Award-winning epic Exodus (1960).

Marni Nixon died July 24, 2016 (age 86), in New York City, New York, USA

Movies for Marni Nixon...

Title: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Character: Edna Dumas
Released: September 20, 1999
Type: TV
In the criminal justice system, sexually-based offenses are considered especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories.
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Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 1
Title: Hollywood Screen Tests: Take 1
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1999
Type: Movie
Even big stars need to stand in front of the director and audition for their roles, and some of the best screen tests are from the early years of legends. See some of Hollywood's top names and greatest talents in their very first appearances on celluloid. From Dustin Hoffman's 1966 stock and personality tests to Raquel Welch and James Coburn cavorting for Our Man Flint, from The Three Stooges to Rock Hudson, see stars trying to get on film.
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Mulan
Title: Mulan
Character: Grandmother Fa (singing voice)
Released: June 18, 1998
Type: Movie
To save her father from certain death in the army, a young woman secretly enlists in his place and becomes one of China's greatest heroines in the process.
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I Think I Do
Title: I Think I Do
Character: Aunt Alice
Released: June 20, 1997
Type: Movie
The marriage of mutual friends reunites former college roommates Bob and Brendan, who tried to ignore the sexual tension that always flowed between them. Brendan finally comes out to Bob at the reception, but is it a case of too little, too late?
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More Loverly Than Ever: The Making of 'My Fair Lady'
Title: More Loverly Than Ever: The Making of 'My Fair Lady'
Character: Self
Released: December 30, 1995
Type: Movie
This 30th anniversary documentary treats film fans to a behind-the-scenes look at the making of "My Fair Lady," the classic musical about a poor young girl transformed into a woman of society through the tutoring of Prof. Henry Higgins. Includes footage of the filming process, as well as discussion by modern film critics about the impact movie had on later films.
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Taking My Turn
Title: Taking My Turn
Character: Edna
Released: May 5, 1985
Type: Movie
A filmed record of an off-Broadway musical, this tells the story of four friends and the problems they run into when they realize they are getting old.
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Title: The Mothers-in-Law
Character: Marni Nixon
Released: September 10, 1967
Type: TV
The Mothers-in-Law is an American sitcom starring Eve Arden and Kaye Ballard as two matriarchs who were friends and next-door neighbors whose children's elopement rendered them in-laws. The show aired on NBC from September 1967 to April 1969. Produced by Desi Arnaz, the series was created by Bob Carroll, Jr., and Madelyn Davis.
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Jack and the Beanstalk
Title: Jack and the Beanstalk
Character: Princess Serena (singing voice)
Released: February 26, 1967
Type: Movie
A retelling of the popular fairy tale that mixes live action and animation.
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The Sound of Music
Title: The Sound of Music
Character: Sister Sophia
Released: March 29, 1965
Type: Movie
In the years before the Second World War, a tomboyish postulant at an Austrian abbey is hired as a governess in the home of a widowed naval captain with seven children, and brings a new love of life and music into the home.
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Mary Poppins
Title: Mary Poppins
Character: Geese (voice) (uncredited)
Released: December 17, 1964
Type: Movie
Mr Banks is looking for a nanny for his two mischievous children and comes across Mary Poppins, an angelic nanny. She not only brings a change in their lives but also spreads happiness.
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My Fair Lady
Title: My Fair Lady
Character: Eliza Doolittle (singing voice) (uncredited)
Released: October 21, 1964
Type: Movie
A snobbish phonetics professor agrees to a wager that he can take a flower girl and make her presentable in high society.
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Title: The Hollywood Palace
Character: Self - Singer
Released: January 4, 1964
Type: TV
The Hollywood Palace is an hour-long American television variety show that was broadcast weekly on ABC from January 4, 1964 to February 7, 1970. Originally titled The Saturday Night Hollywood Palace, it began as a mid-season replacement for The Jerry Lewis Show, another variety show which had lasted only three months. It was staged in Hollywood at the former Hollywood Playhouse on Vine Street, which was renamed The Hollywood Palace during the show's duration and is today known as Avalon Hollywood. A little-known starlet named Raquel Welch was cast during the first season as the "Billboard Girl", who placed the names of the acts on a placard.
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Title: The Danny Kaye Show
Character: Self
Released: September 25, 1963
Type: TV
The Danny Kaye Show is an American variety show hosted by Danny Kaye that aired on CBS from 1963 to 1967 on Wednesday nights. Directed by Robert Scheerer, the show premiered in black-and-white, but later switched to color broadcasts. At the time, Kaye was at the height of his popularity, having starred in a string of successful films in the 1940s and '50's, made successful personal appearances at such venues as the London Palladium, and appeared many times on television. His most recent films had been considered disappointing, but the television specials he starred in were triumphant, leading to this series. Prior to his television and film career, Kaye had made a name for himself with his own radio show, and numerous other guest appearances on other shows.
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West Side Story
Title: West Side Story
Character: Maria (Singing Voice) (uncredited)
Released: December 13, 1961
Type: Movie
In the slums of the upper West Side of Manhattan, New York, a gang of Polish-American teenagers called the Jets compete with a rival gang of recently immigrated Puerto Ricans, the Sharks, to "own" the neighborhood streets. Tensions are high between the gangs but two romantics, one from each gang, fall in love leading to tragedy.
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An Affair to Remember
Title: An Affair to Remember
Character: Terry McKay (singing voice) (uncredited)
Released: July 11, 1957
Type: Movie
A couple falls in love and agrees to meet in six months at the Empire State Building - but will it happen?
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The King and I
Title: The King and I
Character: Anna Leonowens (singing voice) (uncredited)
Released: June 29, 1956
Type: Movie
Widowed Welsh mother Anna Loenowens becomes a governess and English tutor to the wives and many children of the stubborn King Mongkut of Siam. Anna and the King have a clash of personalities as she works to teach the royal family about the English language, customs and etiquette, and rushes to prepare a party for a group of European diplomats who must change their opinions about the King.
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Title: The Oscars
Character: Self
Released: March 19, 1953
Type: TV
An annual American awards ceremony honoring cinematic achievements in the film industry. The various category winners are awarded a copy of a statuette, officially the Academy Award of Merit, that is better known by its nickname Oscar.
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Alice in Wonderland
Title: Alice in Wonderland
Character: Singing Flowers (voice) (uncredited)
Released: July 28, 1951
Type: Movie
On a golden afternoon, young Alice follows a White Rabbit, who disappears down a nearby rabbit hole. Quickly following him, she tumbles into the burrow - and enters the merry, topsy-turvy world of Wonderland! Memorable songs and whimsical escapades highlight Alice's journey, which culminates in a madcap encounter with the Queen of Hearts - and her army of playing cards!