Marni Nixon was an American singer and actress, who, for Disney, was a vocalist for films, like Cinderella (1950) and Alice in Wonderland (1951), as well as appeared on several Disneyland Records LPs. She also provided the singing voice of the Geese in 1964's Mary Poppins and Grandmother Fa in 1998's Mulan.
Born in Altadena, California; Nixon began singing at an early age in choruses and studied opera. In 1947, she made her Hollywood Bowl solo debut in Carmina Burana with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under conductor Leopold Stokowski. She would later become a vocalist for films, such as Joan of Arc. Nixon, however, gained more work as a ghost singer where she dubbed various actresses, such as Margaret O'Brien (Big City and The Secret Garden (1949)), Jeanne Crain (Cheaper by the Dozen (1950)), Deborah Kerr (The King and I and An Affair to Remember), Ida Lupino (Jennifer), Sophia Loren (Boy on a Dolphin), Janet Leigh (Pepe), and Audrey Hepburn (My Fair Lady). She also did partial dubbings for people where she sang high notes for Marilyn Monroe in "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Natalie Wood for Gypsy (1962).
Nixon had dubbed for Wood a year earlier in the 1961 adaptation of Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story where she also dubbed Rita Moreno for the last portion of the "Tonight" quintet due to Moreno suffering from an illness during recording sessions. She asked the film's producers for, but did not receive, direct royalties from her work on the film, but Bernstein contractually gave her 1/4 of one percent of his personal royalties from it. After a court case, she received royalties from sales of the soundtrack album and spoke out for the rights of ghost singers.
Outside of dubbing, Nixon appeared occasionally on-screen in films, like Can-Can as a chorus girl and The Sound of Music as Sister Sophia. She would have a prolific stage career in shows, like The Girl in Pink Tights, Taking My Turn, Opal, The Sound the Music, Nine, Romeo and Juliet, The King and I, The Dead, Stephen Sondheim's Follies, 70 Girls 70, My Fair Lady, Cabaret, and Music in the Air, as well as operas, such as Ariadne auf Naxos, The Marriage of Figaro, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, La traviata, La Périchole, Mignon, and Ballymore.
Nixon taught music and voice at several universities, such as the California Institute of the Arts in Santa Clarita from 1969 to 1971. In 2011, she was the recipient of the George Peabody Award for Outstanding Contributions to American Music. Nixon died on July 24, 2016 from breast cancer.
Filmography[]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Cinderella | Chorus singer - uncredited | Soloist for the title song |
| 1951 | Alice in Wonderland | Chorus singer - uncredited | |
| 1964 | Mary Poppins | Geese - uncredited | |
| 1998 | Mulan | Grandmother Fa | Singing voice |
Roles[]
(Disneyland LP; Songs From Walt Disney's Mary Poppins)
