Notable Hollywood Ghost Singers

Marni Nixon!

Martha Tilton!

Annette Warren!

Anita Ellis!

How many of these were there? It’s a fascinating subject but I’m lost after Marni Nixon. Thank you for providing those other names to investigate

Please explain what this term means

guessing when a pretty actress can't sing, they overdub some competent singer behind them?

^this

Example?

How many of these were there? It’s a fascinating subject but I’m lost after Marni Nixon. Thank you for providing those other names to investigate

apparently very common in Indian/Pakistani cinema...

which make sense since they do so much dubbing anyway, even to this day

Everyone knows Marni Nixon surely?

That’s why I asked for Hollywood in the title since those singers are more well-known and have been stars in their own right. (xp)

Bill Shirley! Who overdubbed pretty boy actor Jeremy Brett in My Fair Lady - even though Jeremy Brett actually could sing.

Example?

Marni Nixon, Martha Tilton, Annette Warren...

Example?

Gilda

Anita Ellis dubbed the singing voice of Rita Hayworth in all songs.

Bill Shirley! Who overdubbed pretty boy actor Jeremy Brett in My Fair Lady - even though Jeremy Brett actually could sing.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/sep/29/christopher-plummer-the-sound-of-music-hollywood-ghost-singers

I don’t recognize any of those names

Marni Nixon singing for Natalie Wood in West Side Story is probably the most canonical and famous example.

I don’t recognize any of those names

often the person being dubbed could actually sing but the studio execs deemed their singing not professional enough or slick enough or loud enough or something.

yeah wikipedia points out that Hayworth credibly sang in some of Gilda, but Ellis was dubbed over everything because their voices didn't match.

The mini-mise en abyme of Debbie Reynolds being dubbed in Singin’ in the Rain is something I half-remembered. There’s also a companion story about Jean Hagen dubbing her own self.

_often the person being dubbed could actually sing but the studio execs deemed their singing not professional enough or slick enough or loud enough or something._

yeah wikipedia points out that Hayworth credibly sang in some of Gilda, but Ellis was dubbed over everything because their voices didn't match.

Much like

TIL about The Two Bettys of this thread: Betty Noyes and Betty Wand

All of these people seem to have pretty interesting Wikipedia pages.

_Example?_

_Gilda_
_Anita Ellis dubbed the singing voice of Rita Hayworth in all songs._

See also:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aqtbc1lIK0U

Martha Tilton for Barbara Stanwyck on "Drum Boogie" in Ball of Fire:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcRlcdbDpTk

Martha Tilton singing with Benny Goodman's band on the 1939 number one hit "And the Angels Sing," written by ZIggy Elman and Johnny Mercer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hKwEf-rSZs

tl;dr (yet) article on Marni Nixon:
https://musicaltheatrereview.com/the-voice-of-them-all-a-tribute-to-marni-nixon/

Long interview with one of her husbands, composer Ernest Gold, father of Andrew, about his own career, which I never knew anything about:
https://cinescores.dudaone.com/a-conversation-with-ernest-gold

Annette Warren, whose existence I was unaware of until I started this thread, is still alive. 102 years old!

Ava Gardner herself singing "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" from Show Boat:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFev0w7VgK8

(or so it says)

Assuming this is the version dubbed by Annette Warren:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGOyycNqiWA

Kind of hard to tell apart tbh. The dubbed version is fuller, but Ava's performance (from an LP) is really very good. Unless these are just both the same version.

There's also this version of the clip: https://www.tcm.com/video/434141/show-boat-1951-movie-clip-cant-help-lovin-dat-man

The comments in that first Show Boat video have some good info and mention a few of these singers and add another name:

Carol Richards!

Cyd Charisse singing for herself on "It's a Chemical Romance" from Silk Stockings:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iyyd2uD9F5Q
Comments have a bunch of new names, including an Easter Egg for Josefa!

The Carol Richards version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfpPO1oetXQ

India Adams!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0p_nm9Xyg6s

There's a Marni Nixon interview linked in the Guardian piece above... Regarding her work on West Side Story:

She never received credit for any of her work on the film, although she did get royalties for the soundtrack.

"It was kind of unheard of at that point," she says. "But I stuck to my guns."

Credit also goes to composer Leonard Bernstein, who gave up a quarter-percentage of his royalties so Nixon could be compensated for what turned out to be the best-selling album of the 1960s, and the one with the longest run at No 1 on the Billboard album charts – 54 weeks.

Brain exploding a bit. May need to take a break.
Almost forget that Lenny did that,

Posted that India Adams video without looking first but It turns out to be pretty interesting.

Another name is
Marion Doenges
Although her credits are sparser and in less well-known films.

Thank you all for accompanying me down this rabbit hole.

Martha Mears, sung "White Christmas" for Marjorie Reynolds in Holiday Inn

Jo Ann Greer, sung Rita Hayworth's parts in Pal Joey

Trudy Stevens, sung Kim Novak's parts in Pal Joey

Thanks! Was getting confused about Jo Ann Greer tbh, and couldn’t be bothered to drill down to find her biggest splash.

Reminds me that one of Carol Richards’s big credits under her own name was with Der Bingle on “Silver Bells”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBFHUyVAch4

Trudy Stevens also dubbed Vera-Ellen’s singing voice in White Christmas upon the recommendation of her friend Rosemary Clooney.

Paint Your Wagon

Eastwood and Marvin did their own singing, while Seberg's songs were dubbed by Anita Gordon

Clearing up another mystery, here’s Cyd Charisse again, being dubbed by one of Josefa’s favorite artists, as discussed before on the relevant thread:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcjEZuXQyDw

Vikki Carr!

Cyd is no longer with us, but her dubber in The Silencers is.

idk if this is available anywhere at the moment, but a really good documentary on the subject:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03bxrxj

This looks promising:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtw60GJB0Oc

That whole channel is devoted to this topic, and I already posted an Ava Gardner video from it.

Okay, starting to watch but will need to sleep soon

Watched past Singin’ in the Rain to confirm what has already been said here about it.

Got some other names for singers who dubbed RIta Hayworth.

Martha Mears!

Nan Wynn!

Long Martha Mears video from our friend at Lost Vocals:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQxUrn8kRKk

Here's part one of a shorter overview of the whole thing from the same guy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXm5C7mkCJk

Which links to this master list:
https://www.janettedavis.net/Dubbers/dubberslist.php

Trudy Stevens also went by Trudy Erwin, which I believe was her real name.

Long list worth it if only for this: Betty Noyes, Dorothy Compton and Marjorie Briggs for Munchkin Tri

Pretty good overview here of many we have discussed along with some new names:
https://www.classicmoviehub.com/blog/musical-interlude-the-singing-voices-behind-the-stars/

This thread should also mention the notorious Andy Williams dubbing Lauren Bacall in The Big Sleep rumor that has been debunked. Howard Hawks apparently changed his mind and did not use those recordings.

It's wild that, according to that blog piece, Betty Wand sang for both Leslie Caron in Gigi and Shelley Winters in The Poseidon Adventure, but the latter is funny because what did Shelley Winters sing in that film... they must be referring to the group rendition of "Auld Lang Syne."

I feel gullible that I fell for the fake French accent in the first one.

Trudy Erwin Stevens singing "The WIsh That I Wish Tonight"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKqLBFxFVhI

Which seems to have originated in Christmas in Connecticut?

Can't quite tell if Trudy Stevens and Trudy Erwin are the same person. Something made me think that they were.

Okay, the real name of Trudy Stevens was Gertrude Ewan. She also sang under her married name Trudy Stabile.

Trudy Stevens also went by Trudy Erwin, which I believe was her real name.

Trudy Stevens also dubbed Vera-Ellen’s singing voice in _White Christmas_ upon the recommendation of her friend Rosemary Clooney.

Reminds me that one of Carol Richards’s big credits under her own name was with Der Bingle on “Silver Bells”

Carol Richards dubbed Cyd Charisse's singing in Brigadoon

Kind of a mix-and-match bingo card: one Bing Crosby duet, check! One Cyd Charisse overdub, check!

Okay, the real name of Trudy Stevens was Gertrude Ewan. She also sang under her married name Trudy Stabile.