Mitzi Gaynor, ‘South Pacific’ star, dies aged 93

Los Angeles
Associated Press
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Mitzi Gaynor, the sultry dancer and actress who played Nellie Forbush in the 1958 film “South Pacific” and appeared in other musicals with Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly, has died. She was 93.

Gaynor, one of the last survivors of the so-called golden age of Hollywood musicals, died of natural causes Thursday morning in Los Angeles, her longtime managers Rene Reyes and Shane Rosamonda confirmed in a statement to The Associated Press.

“As we celebrate her legacy, we thank her friends and fans and the countless viewers she entertained throughout her long life,” Reyes and Rosamonda said in a joint statement. “Their love, support and appreciation meant a lot to her and was a lasting gift in her life.”

Her entertainment career spanned eight decades in film, television and the stage, but she is best known for her role in South Pacific.

The screen version of “South Pacific” received three Oscar nominations and won for best sound, while Gaynor was nominated for a Golden Globe for best actress.

Later in her career, Gaynor reinvented herself as a performing entertainer. Under the direction of her husband and manager Jack Bean, she starred in her own musical revue and earned top money in Las Vegas, Florida and in theaters and halls in the USA and Canada as well as in England and Australia.

Born on September 4, 1931 in Chicago, Francesca Marlene de Czanyi von Gerber (Mitzi is the diminutive of Marlene) came from a music-loving family and began singing and dancing at a young age.

Gaynor and Bean married in 1954 and bought a spacious house in the middle of Beverly Hills in 1960, which was their home until his death in 2006. They rarely appeared at Hollywood events, preferring to entertain a few close friends. The couple had no children.