Mitzi Gaynor on Marilyn, Sinatra, and The Beatles

I expect every one of my crowd to make fun of my proud protestations of faith in romance first of all thank you very much for doing this we're very excited to have a chance to speak with you thank you the first sight sort of formal performance is is a correct that would have been at the civic Light Opera because it seems like that in a way is what led to the beginning of the movie career right Wow we came out here with my dancing teacher madam at TN they were going to put Mitzi in Z movies Mitzi was 11 when she came out here looking 30 and I learned boys sunbathing gossip and I can't tell you what else is Holly going Hollywood yeah right yeah and I I started to work with Aida Broadbent she was another dancing teacher and she put me in the DRC festival the Pasadena Playhouse and I got paid $15 I still have that chick was going to do a show called song without words which was the life and times of Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and they need the ballet that's us and I was a ballet dancer and I was 13 and she said to our boss she's really 16 well I wasn't I was 13 and I'm still paying for those years I always knew I was going to do it and every year I got another part a little bit bigger and bigger and bigger until finally Henry Costa and saucy seagull came to see a show I was in with 4th 3rd billing now from the ballet to 3rd billing in four years it's pretty damn good and they wanted me to do a screen test they had a part for me in a Betty Grable daddy I think she was a fox right oh my god oh you haven't no Betty Grable I love you so that was a lovely pair wasn't Betty Grable and Dan Dailey when they work together was really Amara was there but at the same time mr. Lester who was the boss of the civic Light Opera wanted me to audition for Cole Porter they were going to do a show called out of this world which was musical evident to adaptation of mfit Rhian 38 and so I auditioned for him which is a long story wouldn't have time followed he said what do you want to sing and I told him and he said what key and I told him I can't play it that's it Weah wrote it didn't you saying that too cold port you don't say things you go and I sang a cappella whatever that means and he said you got the job so I was either gonna and then I had a test at Fox which was a hoot because I had never been in front of microphone thanked and so whenever I spoke I spoke like to predict because they didn't have you know all the stuff that you can wear now when you're doing a stage play you had to speak up and sing up because there were the footlights and there was no other there was no recording there was nothing there was no amplification of this just your lungs and your you know your brains to get to through it and so every girl wants to be a boobie star you know that so oh and by the way the theater was gonna pay me 250 a week and I was going to be the on you with David Wain I was going to be the soubrette he was going to be the ingenue and the movie hop the movie Fox was going to pay a thousand dollars a week I told you I'm a Virgo did not so what would you do well go with the money right so you get to Fox seven-year contract right very soon I guess just curious what were your first impressions a of the place B of mr. zanuck who kind of presided over everything uh everybody scared to death of mr. zanuck I was because it didn't know him and I thought he was a Hungarian which of course as you know I am and it was a family I love family I got paid I went to work it was fun I mean hey one time I was doing three pictures at once that was the happiest girl in the world I never said I'm not they can't make me make me god she want to be in that one too and everybody was good to me and sweet to me and kind and fun and listen I had Betty graybles makeup man so what can I tell you that well and very early in the process I believe Mitzi Gerber became itse gainer and can you just explain how that came about I want to see George Jessel I was asked to see George Jessel he said somet sole heir I said yes she said you're Jewish I said no sir I'm a Catholic he said Gaia I said yes he said you owned the baby food the family I said no he said you sure you not Jewish I said no sir if you want me to be sure and he said how about gainer my first film I was 18 almost yeah was it we went into rehearsal when I was still 17 I I could sing and dance and I was on point and and so on I could do accents I could do I could do a lot of stuff and then of course I did no business like show business and the real 50s Marilyn I mean I hated her did you oh sure would you first of all I was going with Jack Dean at the time and so every time she'd seemed she'd see jacket in this dressing room right now he said hi Marilyn and of course you know my husband was marvelous but I mean she was preparing herself to be Marilyn Monroe when we did no business like show business I personally Scott I don't know if you've ever seen the film I think she took the picture I really do I'm not just talking about heat wave which was a wonderful number I mean she had an awful lot of talent I'm when I say I hated her I hated her because I could feel something one day I was I got home early from rehearsal there was a letter from Fox saying as of the completion of this picture your contract will be terminated I mean I was always the youngster the cutest the smartest and the best and I was got all the parts and stuff I can't get canned I'm 18 years old my life is ruined so Jack said baby you know do the best and so every day I got another page another something else to do and mr. Segal when it came time for the Academy nominations I don't know if you know this or not but he was going to put my name up for a supporting which he didn't of course but that was kind of exciting but was it your sense that when in 54 when they did briefly stop the contract and then you know obviously you came back but was that do you think it was to do with there at that point they were putting their chips on Marilyn or absolute wouldn't you well you were pretty good too yeah I was I was okay what I did right I had more talent I could do more things and I wasn't sexy and boobies and I even though my waist is smaller and my boobs got bigger and had better legs another than that but I mean so just I just can't wait to see what this is gonna turn out doing to see send her home no woman's mad no that's great and I some things that might have seemed disappointing such as I know you'd said at one time you were very disappoint you wanted to start Oklahoma you wanted to get sayonara but that's hankies yeah but they led to the fact that those didn't work out made it I know I couldn't do Damn Yankees because Jack had signed me that good night before the weekend before that just before we got married supposed to be my wedding present which he didn't tell me until we were sitting in George's office at you know during the matinee of dammy of pajama game it's on me tooth for picture deal at Paramount so we couldn't have done it so what if I am Lola was written for me that's what he said but if he'd done that maybe I mean Pacific yeah and if I had done that maybe you and I wouldn't be here right now you know what I mean so God does strange and wondrous things I have heard people rant and rave that we're done and we might as well be dead but I'm only a cockeyed up to this if you get to do that then you'll get to do this and if you get to do that then then you get to do that and so on and so forth and if you get to do this maybe so on so yes if I did sinr and worked with Josh and he liked me then maybe what about Donna so so he said I think she ought to meet dick Rogers the next day I saw dick Rogers and he said he wanted me to sing for Oscar and I thought my god if I had a chance can you imagine can you just in stop we were working on on Joker's wild and Jack called me and he said Oscar is coming into town on Thursday he wants you to sing for him I said I think I can he said what honey I said um because that's the scene when it's the day new mom where and I say Joey Louis I can't love you anymore I would see I'm married you but now it's over and it's a big sin it's supposed to be in the casino at the Sands Hotel and they've got all the extras coming in bloody Padma so he will talk it over with with um Charlie beater art director he said honey candy said that is I mean meanwhile if this isn't his dressing room dooby dooby doo doo Ruby do Frank says hey babe what's gone acid oh I'm all right what's up and I said he said I'll tell and he said Oscar Hammerstein is coming into town yeah and he wants me to sing for him for South Pacific and how did you know he said everybody knows and he said what are we going to do and he said well on Thursday we had this big he said can we shoot around mid sea and he said it's up to you Frank and Frank said well shoot around Johnny you go get the job that's very nice of him and and you then went and did your audition I guess in a way and and and how did you find out that it had worked out well after I did it and you know sometimes you know we do really good I'm crying now you know that I mean nobody knows those things about Frank I mean mr. Hammerstein came to me he said thank you Miss game you've been a wonderful sport next date dooby dooby doo so tell me what happened what did you do it was all right and I do this and I did this night and he said how did you do and I said I did Raqqah he said what did Oscar say and then of course I jumped up on the table and I did that and he said yeah what did Oscar say I said Navis ponder and it to kicked off my shoes I sang he said what did Oscar say and I said he said thank you miss Gaynor you've been a wonderful sport and Frank said are we supposed to be doing a movie here what's everybody standing around for I didn't know he thought well I blew it yeah and I'm starting late girls with Gene Kelly poor drone I simply adore and every day more is raining and we were top Jean and I were working on the motorcycle ballet and he called me I wasn't Lana turned his dressing room thank you and he said what's up and I said my ankles killing me and I said it's raining in it he said how's it going I said I can't wait to get home and and what do you want for dinner and this kind of stuff music I wonder what the weather be like in in August in Hawaii but daddy I was calling there what come he said why do you say that he said because you got the part you're leaving [Music] yes one waits so long for what is good and when it lasted camps one cannot risk to lose I guess a lot for a new-onset there in quiet was was it clear to you and from the beginning that this was going to be an unusually special project or did it when did you realize that did you have to see it no I think we knew it was when they started bringing the Tadeo cameras and had to put tea cozies on him because they made so much noise and also like attack attack baguette Becca and it was it was amazing and Josh tried to direct us with his hands in his pockets playing with this change and you could now Nelly move out a little bit to this Oh Rossano please Rossano Brazzi Smits again on it I have to tell you this first time I met either persona Bharati be the most the gorgeous the most handsome the most beautiful the most divine handsome actor in the whole world I said Mitzi Gaynor I know only of all the people in this movie only you and and I think ray Walston were the people whose voices actually are heard yeah in the movie so was that something people were consulted about or that just the way it is well see Rosanna wanted to do it yeah and psilocin Michigan Audie I sang in a son of time and with the Katharine Hepburn's and I dream of disharmony time of anything and as I say Roseanne eNOS ain't they I said my baby listen you're not an opera singer no I'm a Rossano I'm not a hospital singer I did I am I see mmm-hmm yes sir oh ma ma ma ma ma now Kersey we got Giorgio tot see to do it and Georgia was doing it with Mary Martin down it Andhra Sun would go with him its stand well Tasi was singing as he go bring it out and touches what just sweetheart do you think it out of here Mary for his sake sigh I'm the famous singer you're not but it was okay he loved it wise [Music] that's the movie that you'll be always most closely associated with I think the song perhaps would have to be I'm going to watch that yes I know isn't that fun and recording it well it was all set we'd rehearsed it the day before and everything was working and it was first thing in the morning we're all fresh and all ready to go and they dropped in you know about the needle on that thing but I'm pom pom pom pull the thing water cuz I got down dump but gonna wash that man right out of my gonna wash that man right out of I'm going to wash that man right out of my hair I'm gonna wash that man right out of my head gotta watch that ah soap in my eyes and send him on his way so now everybody's a makeup tape watch the eyelashes somebody else's don't let that stuff touch your hair it'll burn it uh Joshua said you did this on purpose some of you said alright we're losing the light next thing it's gonna rain and all this went on and I took off the eyelashes nice that one on the way out there's a highway out there's a um a little area called Li Hui and in Lihue they had the Lihue store and in the store and there was a bottle of baby shampoo just babies Johnson's baby shampoo and I remembered that so we had to cut get some DEET the man had to drive all the way back into Luke and we came back but I'm bum bum bum bum one taken that was it I think it ended up being the third highest grossing of the 50s biggest one in the UK until Goldfinger three Oscar nominations one when there and you get a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress everything is clicking and yet after 1960 you really did only one more movie and you've started to focus more on live performance I guess Vegas I couldn't do my fair lady I couldn't do Mary Poppins because I just right it wasn't right for me they knew it wasn't right I could have done them but it wouldn't have been the same then a man came to me by the name of Morris Landsberg and he said come to me gumbies me to Las Vegas and we will make you into something and that's how it all started and it was great and in fact that is what was your element of your act from Vegas is what you did on Ed Sullivan the second of the three consecutive weeks in which he had another guest that you were billed a book yes isn't that marbles they were so cute Bob Sydney was my choreographer and it was in Florida and the humidity was a thousand I mean it was just we were walking in pea soup it was just amazing and we were in this big huge room you know the ballroom and the air conditioner was working everything was fine and Bob Sydney said get that girl off the stage and I said Bob that's one of the Beatles he said I don't care get that girl off the stage it was Paul because he so and they were adorable they were so cute they really really and Paul came up to me said which you're like to get your autograph are you listening to me there aren't many people that would have the talent or the sort of appeal to a track for four from 1973 to 1978 every year the variety specials on CBS what is it that kept you doing those and still keeps you probably I guess if your first movie was 1950 we're talking 63 years later - they'll do it must be nuts you know but you enjoy it yeah I love it it's fun it's what I can do my husband was very sick for a long time and then he died and he didn't pass away he died and I didn't think I could ever work again we were so close and he was I met my two friends Renee and Shane who became my managers my boss my life takes two of them to be half a jack let's put it that way and they said Jack would be really mad at you if you weren't doing something and so they started me up all over again and and I'm with you now and and I couldn't be happier and I'm so grateful for this thank you but I'm going to watch that right out of my hair I'm gonna wash that man right out of my hair I'm gonna wash that man

Channel: The Hollywood Reporter

Views: 374,949

Keywords: Mitzi Gaynor, Frank Sinatra, The Beatles, movies, youtube, TCM Classic Film Festival, Film

Id: iURQyTVz2PQ

Length: 19min 27sec (1167 seconds)

Published: Mon Apr 29 2013