Mitzi Gaynor: Her Life and Career

by Peter Shelley

Overview

Mitzi Gaynor (b. September 4, 1931) is an American actress, singer, dancer and writer. As a child dancer, she performed in the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera Association before being discovered by 20th Century-Fox for the movies. She was in a number of Fox movies and won the coveted role of Nellie Forbush in the film version of South Pacific (1958). In the 1960s, she played in Las Vegas to great success. She followed with a string of television specials while simultaneously performing on stage. In the 2000s, she toured her one-woman show entitled Razzle Dazzle: My Life Behind the Sequins. This is the first biography of Gaynor and features an appendix of her work.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476694528
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date:	02/07/2025
Pages:	172
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.34(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Peter Shelley is a playwright, screenwriter and author of several film books. He lives in Gosford, Australia.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction 1
1. Beginning 7
2. 20th Century–Fox 21
3. Jollyanna 39
4. Marriage 54
5. South Pacific 73
6. Las Vegas 89
7. Mitzi 101
8. Mitzi … The First Time 109
9. Life After Television 126
10. Razzle Dazzle! My Life Behind the Sequins 138
11. Death 149
Appendix of Work 151
Bibliography 155
Index 165

Editorial Reviews

Shelley, prolific biographer...has pulled together a good deal of content on Gaynor, and its collection into a single resource gives this title value. ...much space is given to summaries of Gaynor’s film, television, and revue performances”—Library Journal

From the Publisher