My Fair Lady, 1964... 8 Oscar wins for this musical classic..
When Audrey Hepburn (Eliza Dolittle.) was first informed that her voice wasn't strong enough and that she would have to be dubbed, she walked out. She returned the next day and, in a typically graceful Hepburn gesture, apologized to everybody for her "wicked behavior." She later admitted she would never have accepted the role of Eliza Dolittle if she had known that producer Jack L. Warner intended to have nearly all of her singing dubbed. After making this movie, Hepburn resolved not to appear in another movie musical unless she could do the singing on her own. Most of Audrey Hepburn's singing was dubbed by Marni Nixon, despite Hepburn's lengthy vocal preparation for the role. A dubber was required because Eliza Doolittle's songs were not transposed down to accommodate Hepburn's "low-mezzo voice" (as Nixon referred to it), the way Guenevere's songs were transposed down to accommodate Vanessa Redgrave's limited vocal range in Camelot (1967). Hepburn sang most of "Just You Wait," as well as the reprise to the song, showcasing her ability to sing perfectly at ease when the songs were set in a reasonable tessitura. Hepburn also sang one or two lines, elsewhere in the score, such as 'Sleep, sleep, I couldn't sleep tonight!' in "I Could Have Danced All Night." Thus, the claim that Nixon dubbed all of Hepburn's singing (as asserted by such people as syndicated columnist Hedda Hopper) is false.
When Audrey Hepburn entered the set for the first time in Eliza's gown for the ball, she was so beautiful the crew and the rest of the cast stood silently gaping at her, then broke out with applause and cheers.
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Originally Posted by Macca
