Singer Marni Nixon on "To Tell the Truth" (December 7, 1964)

Singer Marni Nixon, who famously dubbed the singing voice for actresses in many musical films, appears as a contestant on "To Tell the Truth" in this segment from a 1964 episode with host Bud Collyer and panelists Tom Poston, Peggy Cass, Orson Bean, and Kitty Carlisle.
Her reputation as a famous "dubber" was well established by this time, though her face was not well known, so she could plausibly appear on this show and not be recognized by any of the panelists. Interestingly, though it was well known and widely reported that she had dubbed Audrey Hepburn's singing voice in "My Fair Lady", that still wasn't being officially acknowledged at this time. So Marni (and the impostors) had to deflect questions about that movie.

[@erzug]

Glad she got some of the recognition she so heartily deserved, even if it was on a game show.

[@mckavitt13]

But too little too late. Damn.

[@albertng8979]

I'm happy she finally received some recognition, at least, for her stellar performance ghosting for the many stars of that time. I am radio DJ and I will make sure she is mentioned whenever I air those super songs that are sung by Marni. Good job, Ms Nixon! RIP

[@bayibhyap7427]

Agreed, Albert. She deserves the recognition due to her. Her voice was superb and the world needs to know that it was her!

[@albertng8979]

Yap, thanks for your comment. Credit must be given where it's due. That's my motto :-)

[@bayibhyap7427]

@@albertng8979 Definitely!

[@mckavitt13]

When the real & beautiful Marni Nixon stood up, I got teary. Her sincerity & kindness shone through her lovely smile. She never really got the break she deserved. RIP my lovely 🌷

[@kirsteni.russell5903]

You can hear the real Marni Nixon in the quality of her speaking voice.

[@mckavitt13]

And, I insist, in her gorgeous singing voice. PLUS she was very pretty!! What was Hollywood's problem? 😕

[@mckavitt]

Kirsten I. Russell I so agree w you.

[@gacj2010]

She was attractive enough to be the actress in all these films..Shame on Hollywood

[@saiyongdawn7756]

Yeah, right. Hollywood went for certain looks. They could always find a good voiceover. Never understood it. Just them dubbing Natalie Wood make me not even want to watch WSS anymore. Fake fake fake.

[@mckavitt13]

gacj2010 I so agree w you! No excuses for Hollywood. Ugh.

[@douglassharpe55]

They all looked great! 1964!

[@mckavitt13]

@@douglassharpe55 Who all? No. 3 not so great, imo. And hardly credible... hence no votes. Marni LOOKS so glamorous.

[@gailc1948]

Just because Marnie could sing doesn't mean she could act or even wanted to.

[@madamerotten]

RIP, Marni Nixon. Your beautiful voice will always be a part of my life.

[@karenboromeo899]

When did she pass on?😔

[@Farrah300]

She was the mother of the late Andrew Gold, who had a couple of hits with "Thank You For Being A Friend", and "Lonely Boy".

[@roytee3127]

0:10 I love it how the panel reacts to her name - they all know who she is but don't know what she looks like. They get the clever twist.

[@Lehmann108]

Such a huge talent. She even stands like a singer with here spine straight!

[@BBBYpsi]

All 3 ladies were beautiful. Marni voice is simply astounding.

[@briane3657]

Marni eventually did most of the musicals on stage that she dubbed for the movie versions. She could tell great stories about Hollywood in the 40s and 50s, especially on NPR. Lovely woman, inside and out.

[@brendalane9221]

May she rest in peace. Wonderful talent in the art of dubbing for actresses who were not truly singers.

[@silverkitty2503]

lets face it a lot of them weren't truly actresses either!

[@MediaLover194]

If you look at recent interviews with Marni, she still looks the same.

[@christophermiranda2138]

Amazing singer and quite a beautiful lady. She could've been a huge star

[@charlenezacks8105]

Her son was Andrew Gold who had a song in 1978 "Oh What a Lonely Boy".

[@Bluejeans0701]

May Marni Nixon rest in peace. I hope that she will be a musical star as herself without having to dub any other actress when she is born again.

[@TheLizzie12]

Brilliant! Love it. I made a programme about Marni Nixon for BBC radio in the 1990s! I couldn't believe it when she revealed she had also ghosted for Ethel Waters, my all-time favourite singer...seriously! Ms Waters scared her to death by standing behind her in the recording booth when Marni recreated one of her early recordings 'I'm Coming Virginia' for the TV drama Route 66. They couldn't use the original in the programme for copyright reasons. In Route 66 Ethel listens to her younger self on an old record, but the voice that comes out is Marni's!

[@juanmonge8]

Wow! That is my favorite episode of Rout 66 ! Who knew! What an incredible range the beautiful Ms. Nixon had.

[@floris.927]

I was scared to near death reading the end of the third line and thinking ... how could she have ghosted for Ethel Merman?

[@qhsperson]

Marni Nixon had a standing offer from Rudolph Bing of the Met Opera to come and sing for him. When the movie roles dried up, she went to the Met and sang Suzuki in Madame Butterfly.

[@mckavitt13]

The Met paid well too... Why didn't she just take the leap... be recognised for the talent she was?

[@Yves_Ka]

Marni Nixon never sang at the Met

[@mckavitt13]

@@Yves_Ka Neither did Julie Andrews... but both had classical training & were invited, I believe. Marvellous singers, Julie the absolute best of her kind. No superlative can do her justice.

[@ghostfanX2]

RIP Ms Nixon. you will be missed!

[@stanochocki8984]

Many a film fan truly appreciate the stance the panel took to rightfully give Miss Nixon her due Respects. Even during the Oscar Telecast, unbeknownst to Jack Warner, a few of the 'telecasters' on live TV, let slip that she was the one who did Miss Hepburn's singing voice. & by then, most of America knew--When you have to DUB the Lead's singing voice in a Musical, THAT Alone should have told the Producer and Director to get the Original.

[@saiyongdawn7756]

stan ochocki The producers looked for hype. They wanted a certain look for their films. So what if the voice wasn't up to par. Just dub it.

[@mckavitt13]

@@saiyongdawn7756 But Julie Andrews was so glamourous & sang so fabulously. They were jerks... AND ended up insulting absolutely everyone.

[@saiyongdawn7756]

@@mckavitt13 Hollywood is a joke and is FAKE. Julie Andrews still did great in Hollywood and beyond. 😍

[@mckavitt13]

@@saiyongdawn7756 I agree 100%. Adore Julie Andrews. 😘

[@saiyongdawn7756]

@@mckavitt13 😍

[@trentaccid2177]

MARNI DID OF COURSE SING FOR AUDREY HEPBURN IN MY FAIR LADY AND DID ONE HELL OF A JOB.

[@user-il5oq5df6l]

"To Tell The Truth " was hosted by Bud Collyer during it's network run on CBS. This episode featured the classic panel lineup of Kitty Carlisle, Tom Poston, Orson Bean and Peggy Cass.

[@byrd56]

Marni Nixon 1930-2016

[@rrgomes]

I'm sorry to hear it.

[@marymitch316]

RIP Marni

[@mckavitt13]

I was so sad to learn it. Miserable for a week. 😢

[@studentoftheword6115]

They should of let her sing a few notes and then everyone would of been in shock and knew it was really her and everyone would of been astounded.

[@seikibrian8641]

* Should HAVE let her. * Would HAVE been in shock. (Or the contractions "should've" and "would've," which are where the erroneous "should of" and "would of" come from.)

[@tomggabin5838]

@@seikibrian8641 Must be a Trump illiterate. Americans can't be that uneducated.

[@joeterp5615]

@@tomggabin5838 Congratulations. You managed to insult a fellow poster, Trump, and Americans all in one short comment. Aren’t you a piece of work.

[@poetcomic1]

She was Sister Sophia trying to 'solve a problem like Maria'. I remembered her face.

[@dianavictoriaaljadeff5302]

Rest inPeace Marnik Nixon

[@bradwatson1048]

I met Marni a few times - she supported our musical theater company and regularly visited our dressing rooms on opening nights. She was banned from our room, however, for breaking a piece of crystal stemware. Lovely lady... a Seattle icon and multiple local Emmy winner for her children's show Boomerang. I was all set to see her in James Joyce's The Dead on Broadway, but she didn't appear that evening.

[@Theadambshapiro]

I love how scandalized Peggy Cass was at the thought that Marni (or anyone) would dub for Julie Andrews!

[@saiyongdawn7756]

Adam B. I would've felt the same way. Marni sang for Debbie Reynolds too though not in all Debbie's movies.

[@mckavitt13]

Especially since she sounded so much like Julie!!

[@8avexp]

Marni actually recorded most of the songs from Mary Poppins that Julie sang (not for the movie, of course). She made no attempt to imitate Julie's voice, either. Bill Lee did Dick Van Dyke's songs. I was in second grade when that movie came out and there were tons of Mary Poppins merchandise, not to mention that record.

[@elouise5593]

@@saiyongdawn7756 She only sang a few songs for Debbie in "Singin in the rain", and only a few in that movie. Most of it was Debbie, The rest of Debbie's movies were all Debbie's voice.

[@saiyongdawn7756]

@@elouise5593 I don't get why they dub in the first place. Just seem so unnatural.

[@edcampion3998]

i think she is beautiful

[@slownoman]

Arguably the most talented and least rewarded star in movie history

[@erzug]

She was cute, sort of in a Shelley Fabares (Donna Reed Show) kind of way.

[@mckavitt13]

erzug To me she sounded & looked most like Julie Andrews.

[@ncfeline1959]

She also looked a bit like Lesley Gore

[@ChurchChannel777]

"Good night, and God bless you." When's the last time you've heard that on TV in 2021 ?

[@SuperC888]

Red Skelton always signed off that way too

[@lindaeasley4336]

I read that some actresses had a diva attitude about Marni dubbing for them , like Natalie Wood . if I were them I would've welcomed somebody dubbing my voice to make me sound like I could sing

[@aresee8208]

I'm surprised that Kitty Carlisle didn't already know Marni Nixon considering Carlisle was an old Broadway and Hollywood singer herself.

[@theastewart6721]

She needs a lot more recognition than this.

[@vividwatch47]

Trivia: Marni Nixon went to Dorsey High School with film composer Jerry Goldsmith.

[@AaronBruceLadner]

Only One of these People is the Real Marni Nixon, and is the Only One Sworn... TO TELL THE TRUTH!

[@vanzofaust]

RIP

[@Yves_Ka]

No 1 is a bombshell

[@MyMy-zi7yv]

It didn't make any sense for movie goers to be deceived by Hollywood about things like this. We really should've known if Natalie, Deborah or Audrey was singing or not, as it wouldn't have made any difference anyway. Because a good movie is a good movie no matter how you dice it. SHAME on those moguls for hiding this woman's super talent! She might've gotten those Julie Andrew roles but never had the chance!

[@johnsain]

"God bless you"....can you imagine the horror of that being said on 'The Voice' or another game show today?

[@joeterp5615]

Yes, that stood out to me too. Different world we live in now. Sadly.

[@snowden67]

Marni Nixon returned to TTTT in the 1990 version. By then, Kitty saw her many times and disqualified herself. She asked the real Marni a softball question sbout Moss Hart.

[@JayTemple]

Betty White was on the panel for that. I wish she had asked, "Who wrote the theme song from 'The Golden Girls'?" The answer is Marni's son, Andrew Gold (whom she outlived).

[@mckavitt13]

@@JayTemple Oh dear. What did he die of? Must've been so hard on Marni. 😢

[@filipchung2121]

Marnie Nixon is a very beautiful and classy lady, and so are the two other women.

[@mariahjjada]

2:19 Nixon’s smile was so wide😊, I’m sure that was picked up on by Cass (like she basically said) and Poston

[@mickeybitsko1676]

She got a star on the blvd

[@erzug]

I'm guessing the woman in the middle. Just a hunch, of course. ;-)

[@bufb]

Believe she appeared in late version of this show too

[@robinlillian9471]

If they would/could have asked each one to sing, it would have been all over.

[@QBCNetwork]

Marnio Nixon teamed up with Bill Lee (another pinch singer) dud a children's Mary Poppins album.

[@DavidFMayerPhD]

A great talent who should have been the female LEAD, not just a dubber.

[@mckavitt13]

Couldn't agree more.

[@echeleteich3347]

And, she's performed on Broadway.

[@nelsonricardo3729]

Well, if her contract doesn't allow her to discuss it, she must have done it, otherwise there wouldn't be a contract.

[@seikibrian8641]

Except that she's an imposter and is lying.

[@BBBYpsi]

Actually it was Debrah Kerr that came out & told the truth about it. Hepburn was pissed because of the rumors of her being ghosted & until her death she believed that is why she did not win the oscar for my fair lady. Marni had such a incredible voice (4 octave range)

[@SuperC888]

@@BBBYpsi Julie Andrews was pissed that she didn't get a star in film version of my fair lady. She was in the original Broadway cast

[@BBBYpsi]

@@SuperC888 I believe that but that's a little bit off topic

[@nowvoyagerNE]

Orson, doing his typical stall technique.

[@juanmonge8]

There is an old episode of " The Simpsons", Where Homer is put in an insane asylum. There is a tall white man there who thinks that he is Michael Jackson. Harry Schearer tells the story that the actual Jackson could play the man, but when it came time to sing he had to stay mute. His singing voice was owned by Sony records.

[@mckavitt13]

Do you believe the stupidity, the cupidity of these TRUMPED up affairs? Shame on the lot of them. 😡

[@cheaserceaser]

How come women were so beautiful back then? Even in black and white?

[@GiftSparks]

Um- the panelist had to fake that they didn’t know who she was. I’m sorry-- Kitty Carlisle knew for certain who she was.

[@williamdunphy352]

Marni Nixon and her team ended up with $500, and a gift package from Easy Off.

[@SuperC888]

woohoo $167 each! Easy off lol

[@user-yx1uv6rx4u]

この番組を「NHK：それは私です」が真似したということが分って面白いですね。

[@SuperC888]

Andrew Gold’s mom!

[@kenbrown438]

OMG , Bud got his hair dyed !!!! Is Peggy wearing a wig !!!!???? Bud's dye job is getting a bit old !!!!

[@robinlillian9471]

Marni Nixon was a beautiful, professional singer, but it sounded a little artificial in My Fair Lady. The polished sound didn't fit an uneducated but kind flower girl. Not her fault. Studio execs were too elitist and greedy. They should have transposed the music for an alto and kept Audrey Hepburn's voice. She would have fit in with Rex Harrison (who talked his way through most of the songs and did a good job of it) much better.

[@bradwatson1048]

I never cared for My Fair Lady for a number of reasons. One was that Audrey had such an specific, recognizable speaking voice - it was melodic in a non-singing kind of way - and Marni's singing voice just didn't fit it. Deborah Kerr, on the other hand... that was the best actor-to-singer dub match ever.

[@saiyongdawn7756]

Why they use dubbers in the first place is beyond me. Stupid. Old Hollywood.

[@jackanthony976]

I agree. If Lauren Bacall was allowed to talk/sing and croak/sing her way through two Broadway musicals then yes, why use dubbers?

[@davidallen508]

Because those great composers deserved to have their songs sung by competent singers.Gene Kelly’s husky whisper butchered the magical songs in “Brigadoon” and using Vanessa Redgrave’s own singing voice totally ruined “Camelot”.In my humble opinion.

[@SuperC888]

Audrey insisted on doing her own singing of moon river in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Not a great voice but charming anyway.

[@saiyongdawn7756]

@@SuperC888 Didn't know this. Thanks. I actually have' BAT'.

[@marycasey8226]

They use dubbers because sometimes the actor can be perfect, but have a tin ear, or just not have the training and control to carry off a lead. I can sing, for instance, but never, not even in my prime, dream I could carry off a lead in a major motion picture. Jeremy Brett MFL is a great example. He had the looks, and a lovely light tenor, but it would have been totally wrong for On the Street Where You Live.