The actor and singer Mitzi Gaynor, celebrated for her role in the 1958 film musical South Pacific, began her career as an ingenue—the charming young female character often found in classic comedies, who typically doesn’t evolve into adulthood on screen. Throughout her lengthy performance career, Gaynor maintained her bubbly ingenue persona, continuing to captivate audiences even when she made her Manhattan cabaret debut at Feinstein’s in 2010 at the age of 78.
Gaynor, who passed away at 93, was undeniably talented. Her speaking voice had a cute quality, but she possessed enough vocal power to be convincingly cast alongside Ethel Merman in There’s No Business Like Show Business (1954). She was also a capable dancer, taking center stage in Jack Cole-choreographed numbers in The I Don’t Care Girl (1953) and performing with the skilled Donald O’Connor in Anything Goes (1956). However, as she noted with some regret in later years, she never quite achieved a sexy image.
Costume designers like Renié and Orry-Kelly showcased her petite, leggy frame in eye-catching outfits, yet her image remained more innocent compared to co-stars like Gwen Verdon or Marilyn Monroe. Her notable dance sequence, “Gone About That Gal,” alongside Gene Kelly in Les Girls (1957)—where she played a bar waitress and he portrayed a biker—hinted at potential sensuality, as did her serious portrayal of Frank Sinatra’s wife in The Joker Is Wild (1957).
While filming Joker, Oscar Hammerstein II, the lyricist for Richard Rodgers, requested to hear her sing. Sinatra arranged for her to audition for the role of Nellie Forbush, a nurse grappling with her own prejudices and wartime realities in South Pacific.
Initially, Gaynor was not the preferred choice; most had hoped for Mary Martin, who originated the role on Broadway in 1949. At that time, Martin was in her mid-40s, and the director Joshua Logan offered the role to Doris Day, who turned it down. Mike Todd, who had a financial stake in the film, preferred his wife Elizabeth Taylor, but Rodgers vetoed that choice.
Gaynor underwent a second screen test, delivering a compelling performance as an optimistic Nellie, leading to the film’s massive box-office success and three Oscar nominations. She emulated Martin’s movements without imitating her eccentricity and portrayed the character as a sweet, naive girl in her 20s from Little Rock, Arkansas, grappling with love and loss while radiating a newfound edge of struggle.
Gaynor’s journey in showbiz began in childhood, growing up in Chicago as Marlene, known affectionately as Mitzi—a whimsical nickname that stuck. The daughter of cellist Henry de Czanyi von Gerber and dancer Pauline (née Fisher), her parents divorced, prompting mother and daughter to move to California. With her mother’s unwavering support, Mitzi danced with the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera ballet at 13 and soon secured a contract with Twentieth Century Fox, debuting alongside Betty Grable in My Blue Heaven (1950).
By 20, she starred in Golden Girl (1951), a semi-biographical portrayal of stage sweetheart Lotta Crabtree. Although she quickly became a leading lady, Fox dropped her contract, and she struggled with depression until talent agent Jack Bean, whom she married in 1954, helped revive her career and confidence.
Bean organized multiple film projects, which led her to decline a Broadway offer to play Lola in Damn Yankees, a role that ultimately went to Verdon, who fit the part’s suggestive style.
Throughout her life, Gaynor had one minor Broadway role in Gypsy Lady (1946) and made only three films after South Pacific, with the last being For Love Or Money (1963). Unlike Day, she found it difficult to transition into romantic comedies.
Despite this, Bean secured lucrative engagements for her. Gaynor adopted the successful format of female stars surrounded by male dancers, becoming a prominent figure on the Las Vegas stage for over a decade. Television shows also sought her out, as she came packaged with choreography and costumes. She collaborated with designer Bob Mackie, who outfitted her in stunning ensembles starting in 1966.
Her routine for the 1967 Academy Awards led to a series of well-received television specials, some earning Emmy awards. When that venue dwindled around 1980, she followed in Crabtree’s footsteps, taking her act on the road for extensive tours across various venues. In the 1980s, Gaynor remarked, “Only two people do this kind of show anymore – the other is Liberace.”
Back in Beverly Hills, she maintained her dancer’s regimen for as long as possible. Jack Bean passed away in 2006.
Mitzi Gaynor, actor, singer, and dancer, was born on September 4, 1931, and died on October 17, 2024.
