Pete Myers takes a look at the voices behind the gorgeous and glamorous actors who could not sing—the ghost singers who sang for stars like Rita Hayworth and Susan Hayward in the golden age of Hollywood musicals. And then there is the reverse: a voice so great that moviegoers went to hear him do the singing off-screen while a better-looking actor stood in for him on the screen, Mario Lanza (1921-1959). His vocals for the 1954 film “The Student Prince” was one of the few cases where Hollywood did not try to hide the trickery. India’s movie industry, on the other hand, makes no secret of this. Lata Mangeshkar, the legendary playback artist and idol of the Indian moviegoer, sang the soundtrack of over 2,000 films.
Part One:
Part Two:
Producer: Pete Myers
Broadcast: April 3, 1993