Tribute: Marni Nixon

Posted on July 26, 2016 at 9:52 am

We mourn the loss of singer Marni Nixon, whose provided the voice for musical numbers in films from “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” to “West Side Story.”

She sang for Deborah Kerr in “The King and I.”

She sang for Audrey Hepburn in “My Fair Lady.”

She sang the operatic flourishes at the beginning of Marilyn Monroe’s “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend.”

And she sang for Natalie Wood in “West Side Story.”

She appeared on screen and did her own singing as a nun in “The Sound of Music.” Here she sings some of the songs from the film as a guide for the singers who would be dubbing the international editions.

The New York Times reported that Hollywood tried to keep her participation in the films quiet.

Ms. Kerr was nominated for an Academy Award in 1956 for her role as Anna in “The King and I”; the film’s soundtrack album sold hundreds of thousands of copies. For singing Anna’s part on that album, Ms. Nixon recalled, she received a total of $420.

“You always had to sign a contract that nothing would be revealed,” Ms. Nixon told the ABC News program “Nightline” in 2007. “Twentieth Century Fox, when I did ‘The King and I,’ threatened me.” She continued, “They said, if anybody ever knows that you did any part of the dubbing for Deborah Kerr, we’ll see to it that you don’t work in town again.”

Ms. Nixon had an extensive career in theater and concert performances but is best remembered for the films the producers did not want anyone to know she sang in. May her memory be a blessing.

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Tribute

Rodgers and Hammerstein Musicals Get New Releases from Fox

Posted on April 10, 2014 at 3:37 pm

r and h collectionFox Home Entertainment is releasing the Rodgers & Hammerstein Blu-ray Collection on May 6. This Amazon-exclusive collection will feature six of the 15-time Academy Award-winning movie musicals by the EGOT and Pulitzer Award-winning team of Rodgers & Hammerstein, including Best Picture winner The Sound of Music, Oklahoma!, The King and I, South Pacific, State Fair, and Carousel.

The set features brand new 4K digital restorations of The King and I and Carousel, the only two films made in CinemaScope55, and Oklahoma! meticulously restored in 4K from 8K scans of 65mm Todd-AO film elements in its original road show version at the unusual original frame rate of 30 frames per second.

Bonus materials include a Sing-A-Long version of The King and I for die-hard musical theatre lovers and more than an hour of behind-the-scenes features for Oklahoma!

Fox will release Oklahoma! and The King and I in stand-alone Blu-ray and DVD combo packs October 7 in commemoration of their 60th anniversaries in 2015 and 2016.

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Classic Movie Mom’s Top Picks for Families Musical Rediscovered Classic

The King and I

Posted on December 13, 2002 at 5:16 am

Don’t waste your time on this animated version — rent the classic version with Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr instead. Some of the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein songs remain, but second-rate animation and massive plot changes (mostly of the dumbing-down variety) remove most of the value.

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