William Jesse Shirley (July 6, 1921 â€" 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"
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 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.
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"
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 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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