Bill Shirley

At 68 years old, Bill Shirley has this physical status:

William Jesse "Bill" Shirley (July 6, 1921 – August 27, 1989) was an American actor and lyric baritone baritone singer who later became a Broadway theatre designer.

In Walt Disney's 1959 animated film version of My Fair Lady, he is perhaps best known as the speaking and singing voice of Prince Phillip in Walt Disney's 1959 animated masterpiece Sleeping Beauty and for dubbing Jeremy Brett's singing voice.

Early years

William Jesse Shirley was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on July 6, 1921. Luther James Shirley Shirley, John Shirley Shirley, was the funeral director for Shirley Brothers Mortuaries. Inez Shirley (née Baldwin), his mother, was a well-known professional pianist. Inez first noticed her son's potential when he was five years old, when she began singing along with what she was playing on the piano one day. She referred him to the Ogden Chorale's founder, who was captured by the child's vocal ability, expressive eyes, and "unusual appearance" for a boy of his age. Billy became well-known locally as a boy soprano and acting prodigy from then onward. He was a popular boy soloist with the Ogden Chorale, who performed on the steps of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monuments at Christmas and Easter. He appeared with the Meglin Kiddies and was a founding member of the Children's Civic Theatre and the Irvington Playhouse.

He and his family moved to California at the age of eleven and was introduced to L. E. Behymer, who arranged for his introduction to Sid Grauman. Billy sang, and the "boy with the golden voice" appeared in films by twentieth century Fox, Columbia, and Paramount Studios shortly after. Buddy, a Boston terrier, was the family's dog. Billy spent time in California soliciting letters from home, demanding information about his pet.

In rare or impossible films, such as The Phantom President (1932) and As The Devil Commands (1933), some of the boy's first acting appearances were in rare or difficult to find films. In As The Devil Commands, he performed Christmas carols. According to some news, the latter film's name, Acquitted, refers to a 1929 Columbia film.

Bill attended George W. Julian Elementary School in his grade school days and attended Shortridge High School in adolescence. Among other things, he became a member of the school council alongside such notable figures as Madelyn Pugh and Kurt Vonnegut Jr.; he graduated in 1939. Bill and his mother, who were 19 years old at the Herbert Wall School of Music in Hollywood, studied voice and music. Shirley will be enrolled as a student for no less than six months, according to his singing coach, Andrés de Segurola. Mrs. Shirley lived in Hollywood for sixteen years, and the two families travelled to Indiana to visit family and friends often.

He was a 1940 graduate of the Edward Clark Academy, a Hollywood theater school.

Shirley was introduced to Republic Studios president Herbert Yates by a mutual friend who worked at the studio in early 1941 and remembered that Shirley used to perform as a child. Shirley performed in a few numbers for Yates and was quick to commit to a seven-year contract.

Shirley's appearances in the Republic films were rarely significant or supporting. He was a small but yet significant part of the Flying Tigers as a young pilot who was mortally wounded during his first mission. He appeared in other rare and mainly B-list films, including Doctors Don't Tell (1941), Rookies On Parade (1942), Ice-Capades Revue (1942), and Sailors on Leave (1941).

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Career

After his Army service, he worked in radio and on Broadway. He regularly performed on stage, in summer stock, and on television. He appeared in nightclubs, including a six-week engagement at Monte Proser's famous Copacabana in early 1947, the Latin Quarter in New York, the Mocambo in Los Angeles, and the Tropicana and Riviera in Las Vegas.

He found work for radio station KFI on two shows called "Ladies Day" and "The Packard Hour". In 1949, he played Dutch Miller on "The Railroad Hour"'s presentation of Best Foot Forward, and played the role of the gondolier on episode of Ronald Colman's "Favorite Story" presentation of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Assignation". In 1947, he had a part in the musical "Look Ma I'm Dancin'!" as "Shauny O'Shay". During the tryout his part was cut severely, prompting him to leave the show. However, recordings of the production's soundtrack are still available that included Shirley's vocals, to avoid a potential musicians' strike. In late 1948, Darryl Zanuck received a Man-Of-The-Year award in a ceremony at the Mocambo. One scheduled singer was unable to appear, and asked Shirley to substitute for him.

Zanuck heard Bill sing and promptly put him under contract as a ghost singer for 20th Century-Fox. He dubbed vocals for films including Oh, You Beautiful Doll (1949) (Mark Stevens' singing voice) and Dancing In The Dark (1949), but was released by the studio for no known reason a few months later.

Although he had occasional vocal work, Shirley sometimes had difficulty furthering his career. For a while, Shirley performed often with singing actress Gale Robbins. In 1949, he starred with Robbins in the short-lived Broadway revue "A La Carte". He performed with her on an episode of Movietown Radio Theater (also known as Skippy Hollywood Theater) entitled "Show Business". In 1950, the pair performed as themselves on an episode of the Ed Wynn Show.

In 1952 he got his only leading role onscreen: as Stephen Foster in I Dream of Jeanie, although actor Ray Middleton received the top billing. The same year, he played Bruce Martingale, a singer at a local tavern, in Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd. In late 1952, he joined a Hollywood USO troupe to entertain soldiers in Korea for the holidays. During this time, he came down with a throat infection which "worried" his doctors enough to press him to cancel shows pending a "possible" operation. Whether he underwent surgery or not, by February he had recovered enough to be reported past danger, and by April, he had recovered sufficiently enough to take on the role of Johann Strauss, Jr., in Edwin Lester's production of "The Great Waltz". Rehearsals began the following month.

He frequently performed with USO troupes, appearing with stars such as Debbie Reynolds and Keenan Wynn.

In November 1955, he appeared on Arthur Godfrey's "Talent Scouts" show and won first place, although this still did not bring about much publicity or notice that was not localized to his home state.

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