Celebrity

Fans ‘deeply saddened’ following the passing of ‘true entertainer’ and South Pacific star Mitzi Gaynor

Matthew Hart
Oct 18, 2024
Fans were left "deeply saddened" by Gaynor's passing with many taking to social media to offer their tributes. Source: Herbert Dorfman/ Corbis via Getty Images.

US actress Mitzi Gaynor, who “brought magic to our screens” with roles such as Nellie Forbrush in the classic film South Pacific, has sadly passed away at the age of 93.

With a career that spanned an impressive eight decades across film, television and the stage, Gaynor was among the last survivors of the golden age of the Hollywood musical.

Her longtime managers Rene Reyes and Shane Rosamonda announced her passing, revealing that she died of natural causes in Los Angeles on Thursday, October 17.

“As we celebrate her legacy, we offer our thanks to her friends and fans and the countless audiences she entertained throughout her long life,” Reyes and Rosamonda said in a joint statement to the Associated Press.

“Your love, support and appreciation meant so very much to her and was a sustaining gift in her life.”

Born September 4, 1931, Gaynor began training as a ballerina from a young age before going on to sing and dance with the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera Company.

At just 17 years of age, Gaynor signed a seven-year contract with Twentieth Century-Fox where she made her film debut with My Blue Heaven in 1950 before appearing in Take Care of My Little Girl in 1951.

Gaynor went on to secure a starring role as Lotta Crabtree in the musical biopic Golden Girl in 1951. During her time with Fox she also starred in We’re Not Married! (1952), the musical Bloodhounds of Broadway (1952), The I Don’t Care Girl (1952), and Three Young Texans (1954).

Gaynor’s most popular film during this period was There’s No Business Like Show Business in 1954.

Gaynor later appeared in the remake of Anything Goes alongside Bing Crosby for Paramount Studios. She went on to star with Frank Sinatra in The Joker is Wild in 1957 and in the same year, she appeared in MGM’s Les Girls with Gene Kelly.

Gaynor’s most recognised role, however, came in Rogers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific where she played Nellie Forbush. The role earned her a nomination for Best Actress- Motion Picture Comedy or Musical at the 1959 Golden Globe Awards.

Later in her career, Gaynor reinvented herself as a performing entertainer.

Fans were left “deeply saddened” by Gaynor’s passing with many taking to social media to offer their tributes and reflect on her “indelible mark on the entertainment world”.

Gaynor married talent agent Jack Bean in 1954 and they remained together until his death in 2006. The couple had no children.

-with AAP.

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