My Fair Lady graces the silver screen just in time for the post-Valentine's afterglow
in honor of its 55th anniversary.
Prior to its glamourous film adaption, My Fair Lady was a hit on Broadway.
Julie Andrews played the coveted role of cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle.
While up and coming Andrews wanted to play the lead on the screen adaptation,
producer Jack L. Warner didn't want an unknown,
and cast the timelessly beautiful Audrey Hepburn.
Hepburn was a well-known, Oscar-winning actress who lent an easy elegance to the role of Eliza. The one downfall... Hepburn was not a singer.
Warner Brothers studio decided to use Marni Nixon's singing voice for the vocals.
Nixon's other credits include dubbing for actress Deborah Kerr in both The King and I (1956) and An Affair to Remember (1957).
Mixing up a few quotes from My Fair Lady;
"don't sit there like a bilious pigeon, but get your bloomin' arse moving"
and go watch this timeless musical!
Interesting Film Trivia:
In 2006 My Fair Lady was raked #6 in AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals of All Time.
When Rex Harrison accepted the Oscar for Best Actor for his role as Professor Higgins he thanked his "two fair ladies" referring to Julie Andrews and Audrey Hepburn. (Harrison played the professor on Broadway and on the big screen).
When Audrey Hepburn entered the set wearing Eliza's ball gown for the first time she looked so beautiful the cast and crew stared at her in silence for a few moments, then broke out in cheers.
During production, on November 22, 1963 Audrey Hepburn announced the assassination of President Kennedy to a shocked and devastated crew.
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