06 Did Audrey Hepburn do the singing in MY FAIR LADY? Did Andy Williams dub Lauren Bacall's singing voice in TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT? How come Julie Andrews did not reprise her Broadway performance of Eliza Doolitle?
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This article is from the rec.arts.movies.past-films FAQ, by Evelyn C. Leeper evelynleeper@geocities.com with numerous contributions by others.
06 Did Audrey Hepburn do the singing in MY FAIR LADY? Did Andy Williams dub Lauren Bacall's singing voice in TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT? How come Julie Andrews did not reprise her Broadway performance of Eliza Doolitle?
Hepburn's singing was dubbed by Marni Nixon, who also did the singing
for Natalie Wood in WEST SIDE STORY and Deborah Kerr in THE KING AND I.
(Nixon also appeared in person as Sister Sophia in THE SOUND OF MUSIC.)
Bob Morris (morris@sce.carlton.ca) says, however, "Have recently spoken
with Robert Harris re Audrey Hepburn in MY FAIR LADY. She does indeed
sing snippets here and there, which will probably be identified in
deluxe laserdisc. ...apparently Hepburn made attempt to "prove" that
she could do all the singing, but without convincing producers.
Nonetheless, Harris has pieced together a couple of "complete" MFL songs
from Audrey Hepburn which will appear as extras on deluxe laserdisc."
However, Hepburn sang "Moon River" in BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S. She also
sings some of the lead lines in MY FAIR LADY. (Yuzuru Hiraga,
hiraga@Csli.Stanford.EDU)
On the 30th anniversary restored laserdisk edition, Hepburn can be
heard singing "Wouldn't It be Luvverly" and "Show Me" on alternate
tracks.
Although the legend about Andy Williams and Lauren Bacall is so deeply
entrenched that you'll find it repeated even in some film reference
books, it's not true. Director Howard Hawks, when asked about this,
explained that he had indeed planned to have Andy Williams sing for
Bacall, but after hearing Bacall sing during the rehearsals for the
scene he abandoned that plan and ended up using Bacall's own voice.
(Source: Hawks on Hawks by Joseph McBride [Berkeley, University of
California Press, 1982] p.130.) (Jon Corelis, jon@lindy.stanford.edu)
Andrews was not considered popular enough (by Jack L. Warner) to be cast
in the movie of MY FAIR LADY.
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