Mitzi Gaynor, Star of ‘South Pacific,’ Dies at 93

Mitzi Gaynor, the effervescent dancer and actor who starred as Nellie Forbush in the 1958 film of South Pacific and appeared in other musicals with Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly, has died. She was 93.​​Gaynor, among the last survivors of the so-called golden age of the Hollywood musical, died of natural causes in Los Angeles on Thursday morning, her long-time managers Rene Reyes and Shane Rosamonda confirmed in a statement to The Associated Press.​​“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. “Your love, support and appreciation meant so very much to her and was a sustaining gift in her life.”​

Her entertainment career spanned eight decades across film, television and the stage, and appeared in several notable films including We’re Not Married! and There’s No Business Like Show Business, but she is best remembered for her turn in South Pacific.​​The screen version of South Pacific received three Academy Award nominations and won for best sound, while Gaynor was a best actress nominee for a Golden Globe.​

The role of the love-sick nurse Nellie, created on Broadway by Mary Martin, had been eagerly sought by Hollywood stars. Sinatra helped Gaynor land it.​​She was starring with him in The Joker Is Wild, when she had a one-day opportunity to audition for lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II. It was the same day she was scheduled for her biggest scene with Sinatra. When she explained her plight, he told her, “Don’t worry, I’ll change the schedule.”​

Ensign Nellie Forbush, played by Mitzi Gaynor, takes a shower in the musical 'South Pacific.'

Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images

Hammerstein was impressed with Gaynor, who had already won the approval of director Josh Logan and composer Richard Rodgers. She was cast opposite Rossano Brazzi, about whom she sang “I’m in Love with a Wonderful Guy.”​South Pacific was not the turning point in her career that Gaynor had hoped it would be, and she shifted her focus from film to television, making early appearances on Donald O’Connor’s variety series Here Comes Donald, and on CBS’ The Jack Benny Hour. In October of 1959, she was the only women to guest star alongside Sinatra, Crosby, Dean Martin and Jimmy Durante on ABC’s The Frank Sinatra Timex Show special.​​Later in her career, Gaynor reinvented herself as a performing entertainer. Working with her husband and manager Jack Bean, she starred in her own musical revue that was a big draw in theaters throughout the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia.​​She became the highest paid female entertainer in Las Vegas and was the first woman to be awarded the Las Vegas governor’s trophy for “Star Entertainer of the Year" in 1970.​