She was known is Hollywood as the ‘invisible voice’ and indeed ver voice was more recognizable than her face. Marnie Nixon, who died today at the age of 76, was the singing voice in some of Hollywood’s most famous musical films.
The singer, who was always uncredited for her vocal appearances, provided the singing voice of Audrey Hepburn and Natalie Wood in My Fair Lady and West Side Story. She also provided some of the top notes for Marilyn Monroe in the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. She was also the ghost singer in the musical version of The King and I.
Nixon was classically trained and was made to sign a contract that stipulated that she would never reveal that she was the person actually singing in the movies. The revelation was only made when the actresses, not Nixon, decided to speak out about the fact that it was not them singing in the movies. Her profound musical ability, coupled with the secrecy, lead her to be dubbed the ghostess with the mostest by the publication Time Magazine. The singer only had one on-screen role as one of the nuns in the Rogers and Hammerstein classic The Sound of Music.
The singer died of breast cancer. This was her third battle with the disease having successfully beating it twice before.