Biography of Singer Marni Nixon
The Voice of Hollywood Musicals - Ghostess with the Mostess
Nov 28, 2007
Margaret Nixon McEathron was born into a musical family on 22nd February 1930 in Altadena, Southern California. She was known as 'Marni' because her sisters couldn't pronounce Margaret. She started violin lessons at the age of four, but her singing talent soon became apparent, and it wasn't long before she had a singing act with her sisters.
During her childhood, Nixon was an extra in numerous films, and as a teenager she joined the Roger Wagner Chorale. She made her solo debut at the Hollywood Bowl when she was 17, appearing in "Carmina Burana" conducted by Leopold Stokowski.
Marni Nixon — The Voice of Hollywood
Nixon had perfect pitch and a stunning voice. Her talents were soon in demand, not as an actress in front of the camera, but as a singer behind the scenes. In 1949 Nixon dubbed the voice of the child actress Margaret O'Brien in The Secret Garden. (Ghosting, or dubbing in, actors' singing voices is common in the film industry.)
This was the start of an incredible career as the voice behind the voices of some of the world's most well-known actress. Even Marilyn Monroe needed help in the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953). Nixon dubbed in a single phrase – "These rocks don't lose their shape" – when Monroe sang "Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend".
The King and I
Nixon's first major dubbing assignment came in 1956 when she dubbed the singing voice of Deborah Kerr in The King and I. Nixon and Kerr collaborated on every aspect from interpretation to phrasing. Each song took a week to perfect!
Hollywood then, as now, had to fill cinemas. The only way to fill a cinema was with famous actors and actresses. Twentieth Century Fox made Nixon sign a contract agreeing not to reveal her true role, and for a long time audiences believed they were listening to Kerr singing.
West Side Story
In the 1960s, Natalie Wood was hired to play Maria in West Side Story (1961). The producers disliked Wood's singing voice, but didn't actually tell her. Wood thought Nixon was just enhancing the high notes. When she found Nixon was ghosting every song she was absolutely furious!
My Fair Lady
Julie Andrews portrayed Eliza Doolittle in New York and London for four years and seemed the natural choice for George Cukor's film version of My Fair Lady (1964). However, Audrey Hepburn got the part and Nixon helped with difficult phrases. During the filming of My Fair Lady, journalists discovered the dubbing deception. Rumours in the film industry claimed Hepburn missed out on an Academy Award because of this revelation.
The Sound of Music
Now that Nixon's ghostly existence was no longer secret, she was free to develop her own acting career. In 1964 she played Sister Sophia in The Sound of Music. She feared friction between herself and Julie Andrews but needn't have worried. Andrews congratulated her on her work, and when Nixon played Eliza in a revival of My Fair Lady, Andrews gave friendly support and advice.
Over the years Nixon, a breast cancer survivor, has kept busy acting and singing. In her one-woman show, The Voice of Hollywood, she tells her story through songs and film clips. In 1998 she provided a singing voice to enhance June Foray's portrayal of Grandmother Fa in Disney's The Legend of Mulan. In March 2007 she played Mrs. Higgins in the New York Philharmonic's concert revival of My Fair Lady. Ironically, Professor Higgins' mother is one of the few characters without a song.
Nixon's biography, I Could have Sung All Night: My Story (a collaboration with Stephen Cole) appeared in 2006. The book, published by Billboard Books, makes fascinating reading. Nixon has not become as famous as the actresses she dubbed, but she hopes her book will tell the real story.
Source:
- I Could Have Sung all Night: My Story by Marni Nixon and Stephen Cole, Billboard, New York 2006 ISBN 0823083659
 |
