The actress Mitzy Gaynorprotagonist of several musicals classic hollywooddied this Thursday at the age of 93, according to Reuters. Her most popular role was as war nurse Nellie Forbush in ‘South Pacific’, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe and which caused the song ‘I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair’ to be associated with with her the rest of her life.
Born Francesca Marlene de Czanyi von Gerber in 1931, daughter of a Hungarian cellist and a dancer, she participated during her youth in films and series with greater or lesser success, sharing the screen with some legends of the time: ‘The Girls’ (1957), with Gene Kelly; ‘The Mask of Pain’ (1957), with Frank Sinatra; ‘Three Heiresses’ (1963), with Kirk Douglas; etc That last one put an end to his filmography, when he was only 32 years old. Since then, he participated until his death in some television serials, as well as several ‘shows’ in Las Vegas.
He retired from the Hollywood spotlight in 1963 with great sadness, that of not having managed to take off his career despite having participated in several successes. Four years earlier, in 1959, he was about to sign the contract that would have radically changed the course of her career: ‘With skirts it’s crazy’by Billy Wilder. The role, in the end, went to Marilyn Monroe, catapulting the blonde bombshell into the category of myth.
“I had more talent, but I wasn’t sexy”
That film, co-starring Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis, has been considered by the American Film Institute and the BBC as the best comedy of all time. Gaynor was considered for the role of the naive and sensual ukulele player Kane Kowalczyk, but appeared Hurricane Marilynwith whom he had filmed two films, ‘We are not married’ (1952) and ‘Luces de candilejas’ (1954).
«We wanted a girl, anyone, because it was not a very important role. We were thinking about Mitzi Gaynor, but they told us that Marilyn was interested in the character. And then we had no choice but to love her. We turned to everyone to have Marilyn… and we had her,” Billy Wilder, director of the film, confessed years later to Cameron Crowe in an interview book. «I had more talent, I could do more things. But it wasn’t sexy.”Gaynor stated in 2013 in a report by The Hollywood Reporter, aware of how different things would have been.
#Mitzi #Gaynor #classic #Hollywood #legend #Marilyn #dies #talented #wasnt #sexy
