Wow, that was hugely impressive! Loved all the "voices" she was able to do, very much like a radio actress who changes her tone, etc.
I'd love to know her story.
Two big surprises ... I don't think I knew that Marjorie Reynolds was dubbed singing "White Christmas" with Bing Crosby.
I was surprised to see Patricia Morison dubbed! "Kate" herself. Then again, MGM dubbed Angela Lansbury in her early films, and other capable singers were routinely dubbed as well.
Thanks for putting this together! Do you know much of her backstory?
I suppose Marni gets so much of the attention based on the recognizability of the films (King and I, My Fair Lady, West Side Story).
Many of Martha Mears' dubbing jobs are fairly obscure ... even if they are very impressive.
Here's what Patricia Morison said about being dubbed:
"Patricia was surprised on filming day when she heard the voice on the soundstage. When she told them she sang, they said they were on a really tight budget and that was that. She was very good natured about it."
We love Patricia but the more I think about it, I have to question her story. Decisions about pre-recording songs are made weeks before filming. Then onscreen performers get a practice record and must listen to it many times, so they know the exact phrasing and pauses, etc. (whether or not it's their own voice). There's no way Patricia could have walked on set and just lip-synched to that track cold, without ever having heard it before. I think she was dubbed because the song called for a deeper voice than her operatic tones could supply.
As to Marni, she was sworn to secrecy for all her films and didn't reveal anything herself until the late '60s. But word leaked out, particularly when Deborah Kerr (who had not taken any vow of secrecy) admitted in an interview just before "The King and I" opened that Marni sang for her. Audrey's dubbing in MFL was pretty obvious and was widely reported before the film opened, costing her an Oscar nom.
Is anyone else in love with Guy Madison (at 7:35)?
You also have a clip of my dear (sadly departed) friend Andrea King from "Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid."
Andrea was dubbed in both that film and "My Wild Irish Rose," where she played Lillian Russell opposite Dennis Morgan.
With "Mermaid," it was a situation very much like Pat Morison (a good friend of Andrea's ever since they appeared on Broadway together as teens in "Growing Pains"). Andrea was told about the dubbing in advance, never given an opportunity to sing the Johnny Mercer song. She also knew they wanted a lower, more sultry voice to suit her character. Andrea was a soprano.
Her dubbing in "My Wild Irish Rose" was actually done for the actress originally cast in the part---Virginia Bruce, who was taken off the film during rehearsals. Andrea was brought in and took over the role with only two weeks before shooting began. There was no time or reason to re-record the songs. And in fact, the "ghost singer's" voice was a perfect match for Andrea's speaking voice. Most people who knew Andrea thought she did her own singing in that film. But she didn't.
Rossano Brazzi supposedly didn't know his singing voice was being dubbed in SOUTH PACIFIC until he went to a preview and saw Georgio Tozzi's name flash upon the screen in the credits before the film. Brzzi supposedly stormed out of the theater.
I think though she was the wrong choice for the Lucille Ball clips. Ball never had a sophisticated voice and Mears is very sophisticated in her singing.
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
Pal Joey you beat me to it with Marion Martin getting killed by the peeled orange with the knife = OUCH!
Can't believe how many of these I remember seeing on TV. Of course I had no idea at the time that they were dubbed as I probably didn't even know they used dubbers until Marni Nixon's story was told. I have to admit there were some surprising people who got dubbed especially since some of them could sing but obviously not good enough for TPTB. Most surprising of all was Marjorie Reynolds and like best12bars I had no idea that her "Holiday Inn" songs were dubbed.
That last clip with Martha singing is that the only song she does in the film or are there more?
Thanks for the montage marknyc; I bookmarked it to enjoy many times over!
I think my favorite dubbing story was SINGIN' IN THE RAIN. When Debbie Reynolds voice dubs for Jean Hagen's Lina Lamont, the voice that we hear is...Jean Hagen's actual voice. Apparently Debbie had too much twang in her voice to sound properly 'cultured.'
I've never heard of this woman before, but what a talent!
And also the fact that Debbie was dubbed by Betty Noyes when singing "Would You?". I've restored her own voice in this clip: https://vimeo.com/14201922
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joined:7/6/07
Posted: 6/28/12 at 07:51pm