Singer, dancer and actress Mitzi Gaynor died earlier today at the age of 93. Her team made a statement regarding the news on social media. She died in Los Angleles, California with the cause of death being natural causes.
Mitzi Gaynor was born Francesca Marlene de Czanyi von Gerber in 1931 in Chicago, Illinois. She grew up in an artistic household with her father being a musician and her mother performing as a dancer. Initially, she trained in her mother's footsteps and aspired to become a professional ballerina.
At the age of 11, she followed her dance teacher to Los Angeles. From there, she joined a troupe of USO dancers at age 13 and made her Broadway debut in Gypsy Lady. She was able to convince Edwin Lester that she was actually 16 years old and managed to land a role in the musical Song Without Words. Other onstage credits at this time included Roberta, Song of Norway and Naughty Marietta.
When appearing in a production called The Great Waltz in 1949, she was noticed by 20th Century Fox and was offered a contract. When she first came to Hollywood, she was known as Frances Gerber before changing her first name to Mitzi. However, Fox didn't approve of her last name and she then changed it to Gaynor.
She made her film debut with 20th Century Fox in 1950. She appeared as a Civil War-era entertainer in My Blue Heaven opposite Betty Grable. A number of other films followed including 1954's There's No Business Like Show Business opposite Ethel Merman and Marilyn Monroe. Gaynor found even greater success in 1956's Anything Goes opposite Bill Crosby (She would later perform in a national tour of this production), 1957's The Joker is Wild opposite Frank Sinatra and 1957's Les Girls opposite Gene Kelly.
By far her greatest success came in 1958 when she starred as leading lady Nellie Forbush in the film adaptation of the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical South Pacific. Beating out the likes of Elizabeth Taylor and Doris Day for the part, she helped anchor one of the highest-grossing films of the year and was nominated for a Golden Globe for her efforts.
However, despite South Pacific's success, Gaynor only went onto appear in a few mor films: 1959's Happy Anniversary opposite David Niven and Patty Duke, 1960's Suprise Package opposite Yul Brynner and finally 1963's For the Love of Money opposite Kirk Douglas. She Hollywood movie musicals she had come to know were fading into obscurity and she was only in her early 30s at the time.
This was not the end of her career though. Instead she began to focus on television. She made appearances on a number of variety shows including The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and The Ed Sullivan Show. On the latter, she received top billing above the Beatles who were making only their second appearance on the show. One of the members, Paul McCartney, ended up asking Gaynor for an autograph.
Usually on these shows, Gaynor showcased her newly found Vegas act. She partnered with her husband and mangar Jack Bean, dressed in glittery costumes and four inch heels, and was often accompanied by attractive male dancers. She began performing in Las Vegas in 1961 and eventually found residency in singing, dancing and telling jokes at the Flamingo Hotel.
By 1968, Gaynor was reportedly receiving $45,000 a week performing in her Vegas shows. She then appeared in her first television special, Mitzi, for NBC. In total, she appeared in nine television specials during the late 1960s as well as the 1970s. She received 17 Emmy nominations and won 6.
Additionally, Gaynor was a frequent performer at the Academy Awards, recorded albums, toured nightclubs in the U.S. and Canada and became a well-known collaboratoe with designer Bob Mackie.
Mitzi Gaynor was married to her husband Jack Bean from 1954 until his death in 2006. Donations can be made to either the Entertainment Community Fund or The Great American Songbook Foundation in her memory.
It wasn't Bill Crosby......Bing Crosby is the correct. Two totally different people. I can remember when you read an article, anywhere., it was proofread. No one cares to actually take pride in their spelling and grammar.
Arthur Zook
37m ago
I remember her being a guest star on The Lucy Show and she was great. They're together again. Diane
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