Mitzi Gaynor, Star of ‘South Pacific,’ Dies at 93
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Mitzi Gaynor arrives at The Paley Center For Media Los Angeles Benefit Gala in Los Angeles on Nov 12, 2014. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP Photo)
By The Associated Press
10/18/2024Updated: 10/18/2024

LOS ANGELES—Mitzi Gaynor, the effervescent dancer and actor who starred as Nellie Forbush in the 1958 film “South Pacific” and appeared in other musicals with Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Gene Kelly, has died. She was 93.

Gaynor, among the last survivors of the so-called golden age of the Hollywood musical, died of natural causes in Los Angeles on Thursday morning, her long-time managers Rene Reyes and Shane Rosamonda confirmed in a statement to The Associated Press.

“As we celebrate her legacy, we offer our thanks to her friends and fans and the countless audiences she entertained throughout her long life,” Reyes and Rosamonda said in a joint statement. “Your love, support and appreciation meant so very much to her and was a sustaining gift in her life.”

Her entertainment career spanned eight decades across film, television, and the stage, and appeared in several notable films including “We’re Not Married!” and “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” but she is best remembered for her turn in “South Pacific.”

The screen version of “South Pacific” received three Academy Award nominations and won for best sound, while Gaynor was a best actress nominee for a Golden Globe.

The role of the love-sick nurse Nellie, created on Broadway by Mary Martin, had been eagerly sought by Hollywood stars. Sinatra helped Gaynor land it.

She was starring with him in “The Joker Is Wild,” when she had a one-day opportunity to audition for lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II. It was the same day she was scheduled for her biggest scene with Sinatra. When she explained her plight, he told her, “Don’t worry, I’ll change the schedule.”

Hammerstein was impressed with Gaynor, who had already won the approval of director Josh Logan and composer Richard Rodgers. She was cast opposite Rossano Brazzi, about whom she sang “I’m in Love with a Wonderful Guy.”

“South Pacific” was not the turning point in her career that Gaynor had hoped it would be, and she shifted her focus from film to television, making early appearances on Donald O’Connor’s variety series “Here Comes Donald,” and on CBS’ “The Jack Benny Hour.” In October of 1959, she was the only women to guest star alongside Sinatra, Crosby, Dean Martin, and Jimmy Durante on ABC’s “The Frank Sinatra Timex Show” special.

Mitzi Gaynor appears in Los Angeles on Oct. 10, 1962. (Don Brinn/AP Photo)

Mitzi Gaynor appears in Los Angeles on Oct. 10, 1962. (Don Brinn/AP Photo)

Later in her career, Gaynor reinvented herself as a performing entertainer. Working with her husband and manager Jack Bean, she starred in her own musical revue that was a big draw in theaters throughout the United States, Canada, the UK, and Australia.

Gaynor became a mainstay in Las Vegas for several years, performing in weeks-long residencies for over a decade, notably at the Flamingo Hotel and the Riviera Hotel.

When touring with a full orchestra, a corps of dancers and backstage personnel became too unwieldy and expensive, Gaynor slimmed down the production, eventually making it a one-woman show. They continued touring every year until 2002 when Bean’s illness required a hiatus.

“I love touring; I’ve been doing it much of my life,” Gaynor said in a 2003 interview. “We go back to the same places; it’s like visiting friends. After the show, people come backstage to the dressing room, and we renew friendships. We send out almost 3,000 Christmas cards every year.”

“Off stage, she was a vibrant and extraordinary woman, a caring and loyal friend, and a warm, gracious, very funny and altogether glorious human being. And she could cook, too!” the statement from Rosamonda and Reyes said, referencing a song from the musical “On the Town” that Gaynor sang in one of her revue shows.

Gaynor also starred in several television variety specials, including “Mitzi...Zings Into Springs” and “Mitzi...Roarin’ in the 20’s.” Many of the specials received nominations for Emmy Awards, with wins for choreography, lighting, art design, and costume design, the last of which was awarded to Gaynor’s longtime collaborator, Bob Mackie. The specials were the subject of the 2008 documentary “Mitzi Gaynor: Razzle Dazzle! The Special Years.”

Born Francesca Marlene de Czanyi von Gerber (Mitzi is diminutive for Marlene) in Chicago on Sept. 4, 1931, she was a part of a musically inclined family and started singing and dancing at a young age.

Gaynor and Bean married in 1954 and in 1960 bought a spacious house in Beverly Hills that became their home until his death in 2006. They rarely appeared at Hollywood events, preferring to entertain a few close friends. The couple had no children.

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