Bill Shirley

William Jesse Shirley was born on July 6, 1921, in Indianapolis, Indiana, and died on August 27, 1989. An American actor and tenor/lyric baritone singer, he later became a Broadway theatre producer. He is perhaps best known as the speaking and singing voice of Prince Phillip in Walt Disney's 1959 animated film Sleeping Beauty and for dubbing Jeremy Brett's singing voice in the 1964 film adaptation of My Fair Lady.

Shirley's musical gifts were recognized early. His mother, Inez Shirley, a professional pianist, first noticed his talent around age five when he began singing along to her piano playing. She connected him with the founder of the Ogden Chorale, whose members were struck by the child's vocal ability and expressive presence. He became a boy soprano and singing and acting prodigy in Indianapolis, performing as a soloist with the Ogden Chorale at Christmas and Easter on the steps of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument. He also sang at funerals from a young age and participated in the Meglin Kiddies, the Children's Civic Theater, and the Irvington Playhouse.

At age eleven, Shirley traveled with his family to California, where L. E. Behymer arranged an introduction to Sid Grauman. Following that meeting, Shirley appeared in films produced by 20th Century Fox, Columbia, and Paramount Studios. Among his earliest screen appearances were The Phantom President (1932) and As the Devil Commands (1933), in which he sang Christmas carols. He attended George W. Julian Elementary School and later Shortridge High School in Indianapolis, where he served on the student council alongside classmates including Madelyn Pugh and Kurt Vonnegut Jr., graduating in 1939.

In 1940, Shirley and his mother relocated to Hollywood, where he studied voice and music at the Herbert Wall School of Music under the instruction of Andrés de Segurola, who accepted him as a pupil for no fewer than six months. In early 1941, through a mutual acquaintance at Republic Studios, he was introduced to studio president Herbert Yates, for whom he sang and was immediately signed to a seven-year contract. His Republic roles were generally small or supporting. In Flying Tigers, he played Dale, a young pilot mortally wounded on his first mission — a role that was extended by four pages after directors were impressed by his performance. Other Republic appearances included Rookies on Parade (1941), Sailors on Leave (1941), Hi Neighbor (1942), and Ice-Capades Revue (1942).

On August 3, 1942, Shirley enlisted in the Army, serving in recruitment and induction, the Signal Corps Training Film division in Los Angeles, and the Quartermaster Corps and radio branch of the Special Service division at Fort Warren, Wyoming. During his service he appeared in a Behymer Artists' Bureau production of Rigoletto, where critics described him as a potential find for the Metropolitan Opera.

Following his discharge, Shirley built a career across radio, stage, nightclubs, summer stock, and television. His nightclub engagements included a six-week run at Monte Proser's Copacabana in early 1947, appearances at the Latin Quarter in New York, the Mocambo in Los Angeles, and the Tropicana and Riviera in Las Vegas. On radio, he found work at station KFI on Ladies Day and The Packard Hour. In 1949, he played Dutch Miller in The Railroad Hour's presentation of Best Foot Forward and appeared in an episode of Ronald Colman's Favorite Story. In 1947, he was part of the musical Look Ma, I'm Dancin'!, playing Shauny O'Shay during the tryout, though his role was substantially cut and he left the show before it opened; recordings featuring his vocals were made during that period to guard against a potential musicians' strike.

Through producer George Jessel, Darryl Zanuck heard Shirley sing at a late 1948 ceremony at the Mocambo and signed him as a ghost singer for 20th Century Fox. He dubbed vocals for Oh, You Beautiful Doll (1949), providing Mark Stevens's singing voice, and for Dancing in the Dark (1949), before being released by the studio. In 1949, he starred alongside Gale Robbins in the short-lived Broadway revue A La Carte. The following year, in 1950, he appeared on Broadway in Pardon Our French. That same year, he and Robbins appeared together as themselves on an episode of the Ed Wynn Show.

In 1952, Shirley received his only leading film role, portraying Stephen Foster in I Dream of Jeanie, though actor Ray Middleton received top billing. The same year he played Bruce Martingale, a tavern singer, in Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd. In late 1952, he joined a Hollywood USO troupe to entertain soldiers in Korea, during which he contracted a throat infection serious enough that doctors considered surgery; he recovered by April 1953 and took on the role of Johann Strauss Jr. in Edwin Lester's production of The Great Waltz. He performed frequently with USO troupes, appearing alongside stars including Debbie Reynolds and Keenan Wynn. In November 1955, he appeared on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts and won first place. In July 1958, he returned to Indianapolis to play Curly in a Starlight Musicals production of Oklahoma!, performing alongside Grace Olsen and Will B. Able.