LOS ANGELES — Mitzi Gaynor, the avid dancer and actor who played Nellie Forbush in the 1958 film “South Pacific” and appeared in musicals by Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly, has died. did. She was 93 years old.
Gaynor, one of the last survivors of the so-called Golden Age of Hollywood musicals, died Thursday morning of natural causes in Los Angeles, her longtime managers Rene Reyes and Shane Rosamonda confirmed in a statement to The Associated Press. Ta.
“As we honor her legacy, we would like to express our gratitude to her friends, fans, and the countless audiences she entertained throughout her long life,” Reyes and Rosamonda said in a joint statement. “Your love, support and appreciation meant so much to her and was a gift that would last her entire life.”
Her entertainment career spanned eight decades across film, television, and stage, and she appeared in several notable films, including We’re Not Married! Although she has appeared in films such as “There’s No Business Like Show Business” and “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” she is best known for her role in “South Pacific.”
The film version of South Pacific was nominated for three Academy Awards, winning Best Sound, and Gaynor was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress.
The role of love-sick nurse Nellie, created on Broadway by Mary Martin, was coveted by Hollywood stars. Sinatra helped Gainer land.
She had the chance to audition for lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II one day while co-starring with him in “Joker is Wild.” That day was scheduled to be her biggest collaboration with Sinatra. When she explained her predicament, he said, “Don’t worry, we’ll reschedule.”
Hammerstein was impressed with Gaynor, who had already received the approval of director Josh Rogan and composer Richard Rodgers. She appeared opposite Lozano Brazzi and sang “In Love with a Wonderful Man” about him.
Gaynor’s career spanned film, television, and Las Vegas
Although South Pacific did not become the turning point in her career that Gaynor had hoped, she shifted her focus from film to television, appearing on the Donald O’Connor variety series Here Comes Donald and on CBS. He made an early appearance on a TV show. “Jack Benny Hour” In October 1959, she became the only woman to guest star on ABC’s “Frank Sinatra Timex Show” special alongside Sinatra, Crosby, Dean Martin, and Jimmy Durante.
Later in his career, Gaynor reinvented himself as a performance entertainer. Together with her husband and manager, Jack Bean, she starred in her own musical revues, which garnered significant attention in theaters in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
She became the highest paid female entertainer in Las Vegas and the first woman to win the Las Vegas Governor’s Trophy for “Star Entertainer of the Year” in 1970.
When touring with a full orchestra, the corps of dancers and backstage personnel became too cumbersome and expensive, so Gaynor slimmed down the production, eventually creating a one-woman show. They continued to tour annually until 2002, when Bean’s illness necessitated a hiatus.
“I love touring. I’ve been doing that most of my life,” Gaynor said in a 2003 interview. “We go back to the same place. It’s like visiting friends. After the show, people come backstage to renew friendships. We send out about 3,000 Christmas cards each year. We are shipping.”
“Off the stage, she was a vibrant, extraordinary woman, a caring and loyal friend, warm, kind, very funny, and an absolutely wonderful human being. And she could cook. ” Rosamonda and Reyes said in a statement, referring to a song from the musical “On the Town” that Gaynor sang on one of the revue shows.
Gaynor also appeared on several television variety specials, including “Mitzi…Zings Into Springs” and “Mitzi…Roarin’ in the 20s.” Many of the specials were nominated for Emmy Awards, winning for choreography, lighting, art design, and costume design, the last of which went to Gaynor’s longtime collaborator Bob Mackie. The special was the subject of the 2008 documentary Mitzi Gaynor: Razzle Dazzle! Special Years.
She started singing and dancing at an early age
Born Francesca Marlene de Zany von Gerber (Mizzi refers to Marlene) in Chicago on September 4, 1931, she came from a musically inclined family and began singing and dancing at an early age. Ta.
In a 2003 interview with The Associated Press, Gaynor said he clearly remembers his stage debut. She took ballet and tap lessons, and by the age of seven was scheduled to perform tap at a dance school recital. I neglected to use the toilet and when I headed to the audience, a puddle formed on the stage.
“I ran off stage kicking and screaming,” she recalls. “But I got a big round of applause. So I dried off and put on lipstick. After the girl next to me danced the hula with a baton and slipped on the wet floor, I went outside and said, ‘No more. It’s okay,” I said. Can I do it? ” and cheers went up! ”
Gaynor and Bean married in 1954 and purchased a spacious house in Beverly Hills in 1960, which remained their home until Gaynor’s death in 2006. The two rarely appeared at Hollywood events, preferring to entertain only a few close friends. The couple had no children.