Mitzi Gaynor

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.

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

Peter Shelley
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 172
Bibliographic Info: 27 photos, appendix, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2025
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9452-8
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5374-7
Imprint: McFarland

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

“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