Marni Nixon - Stories from a Legend (1 Viewer)

[Joe Caps]

Marnie also sang one line for Shirley Jones in Carousel - "in If I Loved You" - and I always say two heads are better than one to figure it out.

 

[Chelsearicky]

The review of WSS by Bosley Crowther in the NYTimes (10/19/61) doesn't mention Nixon by name- "Although the singing voices are, for the most part, dubbed by unspecified vocal performers, the device is not noticeable and detracts not one whit from the beauty and eloquence of the songs." However on 2/6/62 the Times had the story "Plea for Credits by 'Ghost Singers' - Marni Nixon of Film Musicals Condemns Concealment" which notes that Nixon had "won an important victory" by "gaining the right to royalties" on the WSS album. No other voice ghosts are mentioned by name in the story.

Thank you for clarifying the memory for me.....I saw it in March '62 and, again, everyone knew it was Marni Nixon dubbling Natalie Wood.

 

[Garysb]

Interesting about the royalties. I believe the London Cast Recording of "My Fair Lady" (in stereo) was the last time theater performers got royalties from record sales. Sales were so huge it cost the record companies too much. After that performers got one week's salary for the recording, which usually took one day to record.

Here is a link to an NPR interview with Marni Nixon from 2001 that was rebroadcast after her death.

http://www.npr.org/2016/07/29/487863264/marni-nixon-obit-2001

 

[Bob_S.]

Most interesting is the difference in how the voice ghosts sound dubbing different characters especially Marni Nixon, Bill Lee, and Betty Wand. I believe the 'Sound of Music" children rather than their singing voices being replaced, there were additional voices used. Some of the voices are so close to what the actors sound like I would not know they were replaced by ghosts such as Barbara Stanwyck singing Drum Boogie in Ball of Fire

Wow! So many performances I didn't know were dubbed! One that they left out was John Cafferty singing for Michael Pare in "Eddie and the Crusiers", some of the best lip syncing I've ever seen. The singing voice is so close to Michael's I thought it was actually him for the longest time.

 

[John Maher_289910]

Marnie also sang one line for Shirley Jones in Carousel - "in If I Loved You" - and I always say two heads are better than one to figure it out.

And sounds nothing like her.

 

[Joe Caps]

listen closely and it DOES sound like her. I got to know Miss Nixon during my time in L.A.
A marvelous lady. very sweet and kind.

 

[Doug Otte]

I just bought an old mono 4-LP set of the complete works of Anton Webern. It was recorded between 1954-56. I was surprised to find that one of the two sopranos who sang on it was Marni Nixon.

 

[Charles Smith]

I have that box set, and it's been way too many years since I've listened to that or anything related. Didn't remember (or maybe I never knew back then) that she was on it. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[Doug Otte]

It's a very nice set. You can really sink into Webern's severe yet transcendental world. It's a shame his work is not more readily available today. I was introduced to him by hearing the Variations for Orchestra on a Viennese School (also including Schoenberg and Berg) SACD.

Back to singers and NIxon: I've often thought how difficult it must be to sing serial works, where the usual melodic and harmonic conventions can't be used.

 

[Garysb]

Here is another youtube video with more examples of dubbed actors.