Bill Shirley
| Bill Shirley | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
William Jesse Shirley July 6, 1921 Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | August 27, 1989 (aged 68) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Actor, singer, entertainer |
| Years active | 1932-1989 |
William Jesse "Bill" Shirley (July 6, 1921 – August 27, 1989) was an American actor and tenor/lyric baritone singer who 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 classic Sleeping Beauty and for dubbing Jeremy Brett's singing voice in the 1964 film version of My Fair Lady.
William Shirley was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on July 6, 1921. His father, Luther James Shirley, was a funeral director for Shirley Brothers Mortuaries. His mother, Inez Shirley (née Baldwin), was a well-known professional pianist. According to the Indianapolis Star, June 1, 1952, Inez first discovered her son's talent around the age of five, when "one day he began singing along to what she was playing on the piano". She directed him to the founder of the Ogden Chorale, who was taken with the child's vocal ability, expressive eyes, and "unusual" personality. From then on, Billy was known locally as a boy soprano and singing/acting prodigy. He was a very popular boy soloist with the Ogden Chorale, which sang at Christmas and Easter on the steps of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument. He performed with the Meglin Kiddies and was an active member of the Children's Civic Theater and the Irvington Playhouse.
At the age of eleven, he traveled with his family to California and was introduced to L. E. Behymer who arranged to introduce him to Sid Grauman. He listened to Billy sing, and the "boy with the golden voice" soon appeared in films by 20th Century Fox, Columbia and Paramount Studios. The family owned a dog, a Boston terrier named Buddy. During the time he stayed in California, little Billy often wrote letters home requesting news about his pet.
Some of the boy's first acting roles were in rare or hard-to-find films, such as The Phantom President (1932) and As The Devil Commands (1933). He sang Christmas carols in As The Devil Commands. Some press reports list the latter film's name as Acquitted, the name of a previous Columbia film from 1929.
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