Marni Nixon

Sound of Cinema

Matthew looks back on the career and recordings of soprano Marni Nixon, a "ghost singer" who provided the vocals for several leading actresses often without audiences being aware. With the release this week of Steven Spielberg's new version of 'West Side Story', Matthew considers the 1961 film in which Nixon provided the singing voice of Natalie Wood, without receiving a credit. She was also the singing voice of Deborah Kerr in 'The King and I' and 'An Affair to Remember', and of Audrey Hepburn in 'My Fair Lady'. And she filled in a few of Marilyn Monroe's notes on 'Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend' from 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'. Although she was well known on the concert stage as a soprano, and even recorded works of Stravinsky conducted by the composer himself, she was largely unknown as a singer in films, and it was not until more recently that she was finally credited for her soundtrack recordings.