1. Bill Shirley 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.
27 Facts About Bill Shirley
1. 2.
William Jesse Bill Shirley was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, on July 6,1921.
3.
Bill Shirley's father, Luther James Shirley, was a funeral director for Shirley Brothers Mortuaries.
4.
Bill Shirley's mother, Inez Shirley, was a well-known professional pianist.
5.
Bill Shirley sang at funerals from a very young age and from there became a very popular boy soloist with the Ogden Chorale, which sang at Christmas and Easter on the steps of the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument.
6.
Bill Shirley performed with the Meglin Kiddies and was an active member of the Children's Civic Theater and the Irvington Playhouse.
7.
Bill Shirley listened to Billy sing, and the "boy with the golden voice" soon appeared in films by 20th Century Fox, Columbia and Paramount Studios.
8.
Bill Shirley's singing teacher there, the famous Andres de Segurola, would accept Shirley as a pupil for no less than six months.
9.
Mrs Bill Shirley lived nearby to her son in Hollywood for sixteen years, and the two went to Indiana to visit family and friends quite often.
10.
In early 1941, Bill Shirley was introduced to Republic Studios president Herbert Yates by a mutual friend who worked at the studio and remembered that Bill Shirley used to sing as a child.
11.
Bill Shirley sang a few numbers for Yates, and was immediately signed up for a seven-year contract.
12.
Bill Shirley had a small, yet somewhat important, part in Flying Tigers, as a very young pilot who is mortally wounded during his first mission.
13.
Bill Shirley appeared in other rare and usually B-list films, such as Rookies on Parade, Hi Neighbor, Ice-Capades Revue, and Sailors on Leave.
14.
Bill Shirley served in recruitment and induction, as well as the Signal Corps Training Film division in Los Angeles, and the Quartermaster Corps and radio branch of the Special Service division in Ft.
15.
Bill Shirley appeared in nightclubs, including a six-week engagement at Monte Proser's famous Copacabana in early 1947, the Latin Quarter in New York, the Mocambo in Los Angeles, and the Tropicana and Riviera in Las Vegas.
16.
Bill Shirley found work for radio station KFI on two shows known as "Ladies Day" and "The Packard Hour".
17.
Bill Shirley dubbed vocals for films including Oh, You Beautiful Doll and Dancing In The Dark, but was released by the studio for no known reason a few months later.
18.
Bill Shirley performed with her on an episode of Movietown Radio Theater entitled "Show Business".
19.
Bill Shirley frequently performed with USO troupes, appearing with stars such as Debbie Reynolds and Keenan Wynn.
20.
Bill Shirley was approached by the Walt Disney Company to provide the speaking and singing voice for the character of Prince Phillip in its animated version of Sleeping Beauty.
21.
Bill Shirley had many rehearsals with Mary Costa, who was providing the voice for Princess Aurora.
22.
Bill Shirley performed in several Starlight Musical Theater Company productions, such as "The Great Waltz", a play in which he portrayed Johann Strauss II.
23.
Bill Shirley became exceptionally popular with Sacramento's Music Circus, as reported by such news items as the Sacramento Bee.
24.
Bill Shirley sang one of the film's most memorable songs, "On the Street Where You Live".
25.
Bill Shirley is often stated to have retired from acting in 1963.
26.
Bill Shirley had co-produced "Dames At Sea", which introduced Bernadette Peters, in the late 1960s.
27.
Bill Shirley retired from the company in May 1989, three months before his death from lung cancer, at age 68 on August 27,1989, at the Guardian Convalescent Hospital in Los Angeles.