William Jesse Shirley (July 6, 1921 – August 27, 1989) was an American actor and tenor/lyric baritone singer who later became a
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...
producer. He is perhaps best known as the speaking and singing voice of Prince Phillip in
Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
's 1959 animated classic ''
Sleeping Beauty
''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...
'' and for dubbing
Jeremy Brett's singing voice in the 1964 film version of ''
My Fair Lady
''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons f ...
''.
Early years
William Jesse Shirley was born in
Indianapolis, Indiana
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...
, 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'', Inez first discovered her son's talent when he was 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" for a child of his age. 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
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
and was introduced to L. E. Behymer who arranged to introduce him to
Sid Grauman
Sidney Patrick Grauman (March 17, 1879 – March 5, 1950) was an American showman who created two of Hollywood's most recognizable and visited landmarks, the Chinese Theatre and the Egyptian Theatre.
Biography
Early years
Grauman was the s ...
. He listened to Billy sing, and the "boy with the golden voice" soon appeared in films by
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
,
Columbia and
Paramount Studios
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production and distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldest film studio in the world, the second-oldest ...
. The family owned a dog, a
Boston terrier
The Boston Terrier is a breed of dog originating in the United States of America. This "American Gentleman" was accepted in 1893 by the American Kennel Club as a non-sporting breed. Color and markings are important when distinguishing this breed f ...
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
''The Phantom President'' is a 1932 American pre-Code musical comedy and political satire film. It was directed by Norman Taurog, starred George M. Cohan, Claudette Colbert, and Jimmy Durante, with songs by Richard Rodgers (music) and Lorenz Ha ...
'' (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.
Bill attended George W. Julian Elementary during his grade school years and attended
Shortridge High School
Shortridge High School is a public high school located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Shortridge is the home of the International Baccalaureate and arts and humanities programs of the Indianapolis Public Schools district.(IPS). Originall ...
in adolescence. Among other things, he became a member of its student council along with such prominent figures as
Madelyn Pugh
Madelyn Pugh (March 15, 1921 – April 20, 2011), sometimes credited as Madelyn Pugh Davis, Madelyn Davis, or Madelyn Martin, was a television writer who became known in the 1950s for her work on the ''I Love Lucy'' television series.
Early ...
and
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American writer known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and ...
; he graduated in 1939. The following year, aged 19, Bill and his mother moved to
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
, where he studied voice and music at the Herbert Wall School of Music. His singing teacher there, the famous
Andrés de Segurola, would accept Shirley as a pupil for no less than six months. Mrs. Shirley lived with her son in Hollywood for sixteen years, and the two went to Indiana to visit family and friends quite often.
He was a 1940 graduate of the Edward Clark Academy, a theater school in Hollywood.
In early 1941, Shirley was introduced to
Republic Studios
Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...
president Herbert Yates by a mutual friend who worked at the studio and remembered that Shirley used to sing as a child. Shirley sang a few numbers for Yates, and was immediately signed up for a seven-year contract.
Shirley's roles in the Republic films were usually very small or supporting. He had a small, yet somewhat important, part in ''
Flying Tigers
The First American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Republic of China Air Force, nicknamed the Flying Tigers, was formed to help oppose the Japanese invasion of China. Operating in 1941–1942, it was composed of pilots from the United States Ar ...
'', as a very young pilot who is mortally wounded during his first mission. He appeared in other rare and usually B-list films, such as ''Doctors Don't Tell'' (1941), ''
Rookies on Parade
''Rookies on Parade'' is a 1941 Republic Pictures musical–comedy film that was the studios entry into the pre-World War II Army comedy genre. The Army technical advisor was Captain Jack Voglin who performed the same duty on the 1941 films ''Y ...
'' (1941), ''
Hi'-Neighbor'' (1942), ''Ice-Capades Revue'' (1942), and ''Sailors on Leave'' (1941).
Career
After his Army service, he worked in radio and on Broadway. He regularly performed on stage, in
summer stock
In American theater, summer-stock theater is a theater that presents stage productions only in the summer. The name combines the season with the tradition of staging shows by a resident company, reusing stock scenery and costumes. Summer stock the ...
, and on television. He appeared in nightclubs, including a six-week engagement at Monte Proser's famous
Copacabana in early 1947, the
Latin Quarter
The Latin Quarter of Paris (french: Quartier latin, ) is an area in the 5th and the 6th arrondissements of Paris. It is situated on the left bank of the Seine, around the Sorbonne.
Known for its student life, lively atmosphere, and bistros ...
in New York, the
Mocambo in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, and the
Tropicana Tropicana may refer to:
Companies
*Tropicana Entertainment, a former casino company that owned several Tropicana-branded casinos
*Tropicana Products, a Chicago-based food company known for orange juice
Hotels and nightclubs
*Tropicana Casino & Re ...
and
Riviera
''Riviera'' () is an Italian word which means "coastline", ultimately derived from Latin , through Ligurian . It came to be applied as a proper name to the coast of Liguria, in the form ''Riviera ligure'', then shortened in English. The two areas ...
in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
.
He found work for radio station KFI on two shows called "Ladies Day" and "The Packard Hour". In 1949, he played Dutch Miller on "
The Railroad Hour
''The Railroad Hour'' was a radio series of musical dramas and comedies broadcast from the late 1940s to the mid-1950s.
Sponsored by the Association of American Railroads, the series condensed musicals and operettas to shorter lengths, concentr ...
"'s presentation of Best Foot Forward, and played the role of the gondolier on episode of
Ronald Colman
Ronald Charles Colman (9 February 1891 – 19 May 1958) was an English-born actor, starting his career in theatre and silent film in his native country, then immigrating to the United States and having a successful Hollywood film career. He wa ...
's "Favorite Story" presentation of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Assignation". In 1947, he had a part in the musical "Look Ma I'm Dancin'!" as "Shauny O'Shay". During the tryout his part was cut severely, prompting him to leave the show. However, recordings of the production's soundtrack are still available that included Shirley's vocals, to avoid a potential musicians' strike. In late 1948,
Darryl Zanuck
Darryl Francis Zanuck (September 5, 1902December 22, 1979) was an American film producer and studio executive; he earlier contributed stories for films starting in the silent era. He played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of ...
received a Man-Of-The-Year award in a ceremony at the Mocambo. One scheduled singer was unable to appear, and asked Shirley to substitute for him.
Zanuck heard Bill sing and promptly put him under contract as a
ghost singer
A playback singer, also known as a ghost singer, is a singer whose singing is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras; the actual singer does not ap ...
for 20th Century-Fox. He dubbed vocals for films including ''
Oh, You Beautiful Doll'' (1949) (
Mark Stevens' singing voice) and ''
Dancing In The Dark'' (1949), but was released by the studio for no known reason a few months later.
Although he had occasional vocal work, Shirley sometimes had difficulty furthering his career. For a while, Shirley performed often with singing actress
Gale Robbins
Gale Robbins (born Betty Gale Robbins or Betty Gale Murphy, May 7, 1921 – February 18, 1980) was an American actress and singer.
Early years
Born in Chicago, Illinois, although one source claims she was born in Mitchell, Indiana and her fami ...
. In 1949, he starred with Robbins in the short-lived Broadway revue "A La Carte". He performed with her on an episode of Movietown Radio Theater (also known as Skippy Hollywood Theater) entitled "Show Business". In 1950, the pair performed as themselves on an episode of the
Ed Wynn
Isaiah Edwin Leopold (November 9, 1886 – June 19, 1966), better known as Ed Wynn, was an American actor and comedian. He was noted for his ''Perfect Fool'' comedy character, his pioneering radio show of the 1930s, and his later career as a d ...
Show.
In 1952 he got his only leading role onscreen: as
Stephen Foster
Stephen Collins Foster (July 4, 1826January 13, 1864), known also as "the father of American music", was an American composer known primarily for his parlour music, parlour and Minstrel show, minstrel music during the Romantic music, Romantic ...
in ''
I Dream of Jeanie'', although actor
Ray Middleton received the top billing. The same year, he played Bruce Martingale, a singer at a local tavern, in ''
Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd
''Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd'' is a 1952 comedy film directed by Charles Lamont and starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, along with Charles Laughton, who reprised his role as the infamous pirate from the 1945 film ''Capta ...
''. In late 1952, he joined a Hollywood USO troupe to entertain soldiers in
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
for the holidays. During this time, he came down with a throat infection which "worried" his doctors enough to press him to cancel shows pending a "possible" operation. Whether he underwent surgery or not, by February he had recovered enough to be reported past danger, and by April, he had recovered sufficiently enough to take on the role of Johann Strauss, Jr., in Edwin Lester's production of "The Great Waltz". Rehearsals began the following month.
He frequently performed with USO troupes, appearing with stars such as
Debbie Reynolds
Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer, and businesswoman. Her career spanned almost 70 years. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her portra ...
and
Keenan Wynn
Francis Xavier Aloysius James Jeremiah Keenan Wynn (July 27, 1916 – October 14, 1986) was an American character actor. His expressive face was his stock-in-trade; and though he rarely carried the lead role, he had prominent billing in mos ...
.
In November 1955, he appeared on
Arthur Godfrey
Arthur Morton Godfrey (August 31, 1903 – March 16, 1983) was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer who was sometimes introduced by his nickname The Old Redhead. At the peak of his success, in the early-to-mid 1950s, Godf ...
's "Talent Scouts" show and won first place, although this still did not bring about much publicity or notice that was not localized to his home state.
''Sleeping Beauty''
Shirley was approached by the
Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
to provide the speaking and singing voice for the character of Prince Phillip in its animated version of
Sleeping Beauty
''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...
. Shirley's singing range was tenor/baritone, and had a youthful quality which was ideal for the voice of the young Prince Phillip. Before they were cast as the voices of Aurora and Phillip,
Mary Costa
Mary Costa (born April 5, 1930) is an American retired actress and singer. Her most notable film credit is providing the voice of Princess Aurora in the 1959 Disney animated film ''Sleeping Beauty'', of which she is the last surviving original vo ...
and Shirley were asked to audition together to make sure their voices complemented each other. During the film's production, Shirley and actor
Ed Kemmer
Ed Kemmer (October 29, 1921 – November 9, 2004) was an American motion picture and television actor.
Life
Kemmer was born in Reading, Pennsylvania as Edward William Kemmerer, and served as a fighter pilot in World War II. He was shot down ove ...
were used by the Disney animators as
live action
Live action (or live-action) is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live-action with animation to create a live-action animated film. Live-action is used to define film, video ga ...
reference models for Prince Phillip; the animators had them perform many of the sequences from the movie while they drew the character. He had many rehearsals with Mary Costa, who was also providing the voice for
Princess Aurora.
They acted out their parts just as if they were to appear personally in the finished production. The two even kissed for the sound-track cameras. After their voices were recorded, the animators drew every motion of the characters' lips to fit each enunciated syllable from the actors' mouths, so that viewers would be able to "see" the voices and hear them. The animators would draw sixteen drawings for each syllable formed by the lips. Shirley would later remember that he said, "Whoa, Samson!" to a non-existent horse for a whole day before the sound engineers were satisfied with the inflection. And at that point, Samson had not even been sketched as a horse.
Shortly before the film was released, Shirley and Costa performed together at the
Hollywood Bowl
The Hollywood Bowl is an amphitheatre in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was named one of the 10 best live music venues in America by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine in 2018.
The Hollywood Bowl is known for its distin ...
on a Disney themed night in 1958.
In an interview, Costa recalled that she and the actresses playing the fairy godmothers (
Verna Felton
Verna Arline Felton (July 20, 1890December 14, 1966) was an American actress, best known for providing many voices in numerous Disney animated films.
She also provided the voice for Fred Flintstone's mother-in-law, Pearl Slaghoople in Hanna-Bar ...
,
Barbara Jo Allen
Barbara Jo Allen (born Marian Barbara Henshall; September 2, 1906 – September 14, 1974) was an American actress. She was also known as Vera Vague, the spinster character she created and portrayed on radio and in films during the 1940s and 19 ...
, and
Barbara Luddy
Barbara Luddy (May 25, 1908 – April 1, 1979) was an American actress best known for her voiceover work for Walt Disney Studios in the 1950s and 1970s.
Biography
Born in Great Falls, Montana, Luddy was the daughter of Will and Molly Luddy of ...
) were endeared to Shirley, his good looks, and his shyness, adding that "we all had our crushes on him" and "he was so shy and we all had just genuine crushes on that Prince. He was really cute." In another interview she said, "We loved to tease him. Verna Felton who played Flora would always creep up behind him with a pencil and act like it was a baton
and
or AND may refer to:
Logic, grammar, and computing
* Conjunction (grammar), connecting two words, phrases, or clauses
* Logical conjunction in mathematical logic, notated as "∧", "⋅", "&", or simple juxtaposition
* Bitwise AND, a boolea ...
She'd do some fairy work on him and say he was going to be the greatest, handsomest, and all of this." Shirley and Costa sang the iconic song of the film,"
Once Upon a Dream".
Besides the original, there is a version of the song that was unused and unpublished for the film. It contains rare vocals from both performers that differ slightly from those used in the finished product; this can easily be found on the Internet and the 1997 edition of the VHS. This version is widely considered by fans to be "prettier".
Additional work
Another famous vocal role of Shirley's (again as an uncredited ghost singer) was the singing voice of Freddy Eynsford-Hill (played by
Jeremy Brett) in the
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
film of ''
My Fair Lady
''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons f ...
''. Shirley sang one of the film's most memorable songs, "
On the Street Where You Live
"On the Street Where You Live" is a song with music by Frederick Loewe and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner from the 1956 Broadway musical ''My Fair Lady''. It is sung in the musical by the character Freddy Eynsford-Hill, who was portrayed by John Mich ...
". For a long while, Brett claimed that he himself had sung the song and that Mr. Shirley merely "sweetened the high tones." It was not until 1994 that Brett admitted that it was Shirley who sang the song, not him, although Brett claimed that he knew nothing about it until the opening night.
Shirley performed in several Starlight Musical Theater Company productions, such as "The Great Waltz" (1953), a play in which he portrayed Johann "Schani" Strauss II.
Florence Henderson
Florence Agnes Henderson (February 14, 1934 – November 24, 2016) was an American actress. With a career spanning six decades, she is best known for her starring role as Carol Brady on the ABC sitcom ''The Brady Bunch''. Henderson also appeare ...
was featured as the composer's love interest. Bill became exceptionally popular with Sacramento's
Music Circus, as reported by such news items as the
Sacramento Bee
''The Sacramento Bee'' is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its foundation in 1857, ''The Bee'' has become the largest newspaper in Sacramento, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 2 ...
. Older newspaper reports confirm that he apparently received much acclaim for his acting and singing, especially in his portrayals of Johann Strauss Jr. of "The Great Waltz", and Lt. Joseph Cable of "South Pacific".
During the early 1950s, he was a regular guest on Bekins "Hollywood Music Hall" with actress Lucille Norman, who had worked with him on "Sweethearts on Parade".
According to reports, Bill Shirley offered his services for humanitarian aid efforts. Some of these include funds and telethons, such as a benefit baseball game for the Marion County Society for Crippled Children and Adults in 1952, and the groundbreaking ceremony for the Indianapolis Community Hospital, alongside Jean Hersholt and then-Vice President Richard M. Nixon in 1954.
Bill Shirley is often stated to have retired from acting in 1963. However, he was a member of the
Actors' Equity Association
The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing those who work in live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage productions without a boo ...
and continued to perform well after 1963, especially in industrial shows such as “Diesel Dazzle” and “A Step Ahead” in 1966, and returned to play Nat Miller in a Music Circus production of “Take Me Along” in 1975. He had co-produced "Dames At Sea", which introduced Bernadette Peters, in the 1960s.
It is probable that Shirley's credits are innumerable, but yet unknown as he often received little or no credit for his work.
Death
For the last ten years of his life, he worked with
Litton Industries
Litton Industries was a large defense contractor in the United States named after inventor Charles Litton Sr.
During the 1960s, the company began acquiring many unrelated firms and became one of the largest conglomerates in the United States. ...
in the real estate department, primarily in
Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...
. He retired from the company in May 1989, three months before his death from
lung cancer
Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...
, at age 68 on August 27, 1989, at the Guardian Convalescent Hospital in Los Angeles. He was interred in
Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
's
Crown Hill Cemetery
Crown Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located at 700 West 38th Street in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana. The privately owned cemetery was established in 1863 at Strawberry Hill, whose summit was renamed "The Crown", a high poi ...
.
['']Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' obituary (August 30, 1989
"Bill Shirley, 68; Actor-Singer Was Voice of Prince Charming"
latimes.com; accessed November 6, 2015.
Filmography
*''
The Phantom President
''The Phantom President'' is a 1932 American pre-Code musical comedy and political satire film. It was directed by Norman Taurog, starred George M. Cohan, Claudette Colbert, and Jimmy Durante, with songs by Richard Rodgers (music) and Lorenz Ha ...
'' (1932) – Bit
*''
As the Devil Commands
''As the Devil Commands'' is a 1932 American pre-Code film written by Jo Swerling from a story by Keene Thompson. It is directed by Roy William Neill and stars Alan Dinehart, Mae Clarke and Neil Hamilton.
Plot
When John Duncan becomes ill, he ...
'' (1933) – Orphan
*''
Rookies on Parade
''Rookies on Parade'' is a 1941 Republic Pictures musical–comedy film that was the studios entry into the pre-World War II Army comedy genre. The Army technical advisor was Captain Jack Voglin who performed the same duty on the 1941 films ''Y ...
'' (1941) – Bill
*''
Ice-Capades
''Ice-Capades'' is a 1941 American comedy film directed by Joseph Santley and starring James Ellison, Phil Silvers, and Barbara Jo Allen. Its score, composed by Cy Feuer, was nominated for the Best Scoring of a Musical Picture. The film's sets ...
'' (1941) – bit role (uncredited)
*''
Doctors Don't Tell
''Doctors Don't Tell'' is a 1941 American drama film directed by Jacques Tourneur and written by Theodore Reeves and Isabel Dawn. The film stars John Beal, Florence Rice, Edward Norris, Ward Bond, Douglas Fowley and Grady Sutton.
Plot
Med stu ...
'' (1941) – Tom Wayne
*''
Sailors on Leave
''Sailors on Leave'' is a 1941 American musical film directed by Albert S. Rogell and written by Art Arthur and Malcolm Stuart Boylan. The film stars William Lundigan, Shirley Ross, Chick Chandler, Ruth Donnelly, Mae Clarke and Cliff Nazarro. T ...
'' (1941) – Bill Carstairs
*''
Mercy Island
''Mercy Island'' is a 1941 American drama that was nominated at the 14th Academy Awards, held in 1941, for Best Score of a Dramatic Picture, for which Walter Scharf and Cy Feuer received nominations.
Plot
A young man takes his wife and a friend ...
'' (1941) – Guide (uncredited)
*''
Hi, Neighbor
''Hi, Neighbor'' is a 1942 American comedy film directed by Charles Lamont and written by Dorrell McGowan and Stuart E. McGowan. The film stars Jean Parker, John Archer, Janet Beecher, Marilyn Hare, Bill Shirley and Pauline Drake. The film was r ...
'' (1942) – Dick
*''
Flying Tigers
The First American Volunteer Group (AVG) of the Republic of China Air Force, nicknamed the Flying Tigers, was formed to help oppose the Japanese invasion of China. Operating in 1941–1942, it was composed of pilots from the United States Ar ...
'' (1942) – Dale
*''
Ice-Capades Revue
''Ice-Capades Revue'' is a 1942 American comedy film directed by Bernard Vorhaus, and written by Bradford Ropes and Gertrude Purcell. The film stars Ellen Drew, Richard Denning, Jerry Colonna, Barbara Jo Allen, Harold Huber and Marilyn Hare. Th ...
'' (1942) – Denny
*''
Three Little Sisters'' (1944) – Pvt. Ferguson (as William Shirley)
*''
Dancing in the Dark'' (1949) – Singer of title song over opening credits (uncredited)
*''
Oh, You Beautiful Doll'' (1949) – dubbed singing voice for Mark Stevens (uncredited)
*''
Come to the Stable
''Come to the Stable'' is a 1949 American comedy drama film that tells the story of two French religious sisters who come to a small New England town and involve the townsfolk in helping them to build a children's hospital. It stars Loretta Young ...
'' (1949) – Male tenor singer with Twentieth Century-Fox Studio Orchestra (movie trailer only, unseen, uncredited)
*''
Nancy Goes to Rio'' (1950) – Dubbed voice of tenor in operetta – (uncredited)
*''
The Ed Wynn Show
''The Ed Wynn Show'' was an American variety show originally broadcast from September 22, 1949 to July 4, 1950, on the CBS Television Network. Comedian and former vaudevillian Ed Wynn was the star of the program's 39 episodes, which were the firs ...
'' (S1 Episode 27) (1950) – Himself
*''
With a Song in My Heart'' (1952) – (partially dubbed singing voice for Richard Allan; uncredited)
*''
I Dream of Jeanie'' (1952) –
Stephen Foster
Stephen Collins Foster (July 4, 1826January 13, 1864), known also as "the father of American music", was an American composer known primarily for his parlour music, parlour and Minstrel show, minstrel music during the Romantic music, Romantic ...
*''
Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd
''Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd'' is a 1952 comedy film directed by Charles Lamont and starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, along with Charles Laughton, who reprised his role as the infamous pirate from the 1945 film ''Capta ...
'' (1952) – Bruce Martingale
*''
Sweethearts on Parade'' (1953) – Bill Gamble
*''
Sleeping Beauty
''Sleeping Beauty'' (french: La belle au bois dormant, or ''The Beauty in the Sleeping Forest''; german: Dornröschen, or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess cu ...
'' (1959) – Prince Phillip (voice)
*''
My Fair Lady
''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play ''Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons f ...
'' (1964) – Freddy Eynsford-Hill (singing voice, uncredited)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shirley, Bill
1921 births
1989 deaths
20th-century American male actors
20th-century American singers
American male film actors
American male musical theatre actors
Burials at Crown Hill Cemetery
Deaths from lung cancer in California
Male actors from Indianapolis
Musicians from Indianapolis
Shortridge High School alumni
United States Army personnel of World War II
United States Army soldiers
American male voice actors