William Jesse Shirley (July 6, 1921 – 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.
Early years William Jesse 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, 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 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.Michael Anthony Adams, Indianapolis Star, May 29, 2014. Hoosier was prince before Angelina Jolie's "Maleficent" 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.Indianapolis News, November 15, 1932, p. 10
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); the latter he sang Christmas carols in. Some press reports list the latter film's name as Acquitted, the name of a previous Columbia film from 1929.Hollywood Filmograph, September 17, 1932 p. 18Box Office Magazine, November 24, 1932, p. 24
Bill attended George W. Julian Elementary during his grade school years and attended Shortridge High School in adolescence. Among other things, he became a member of its student council along with such prominent figures as Madelyn Pugh and Kurt Vonnegut Jr.; he graduated in 1939. The following year, aged 19, Bill and his mother moved to 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 nearby to her son in Hollywood for sixteen years, and the two went to Indiana to visit family and friends quite often.Indianapolis Star, May 3, 1959; Indianapolis Times, 12-25-1941
In early 1941, Shirley was introduced to Republic Studios 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.Valparaiso Vidette-Messenger, Thursday, March 13, 1941 p. 14
Shirley's roles in the Republic films were usually very small or supporting. He had a small, yet somewhat important, part in Flying Tigers, as a very young pilot who is mortally wounded during his first mission. The character of Dale was originally intended to die much earlier; however, directors were so impressed by his acting that his script was extended another four pages.Kingsport Times; December 6, 1942 He appeared in other rare and usually B-list films, such as Rookies on Parade (1941), Hi Neighbor (1942), Ice-Capades Revue (1942), and Sailors on Leave (1941).
On August 3, 1942, he enlisted in the Army. He 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. Warren, Wyoming. While in the Army he appeared in a Behymer Artists' Bureau presentation of Rigoletto, and was tagged by critics as "a potential find for the Metropolitan".Indianapolis Star, May 3, 1959
He was romantically linked to Jane Withers for four years.https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/997354784/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/1010409051/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/1038123887/
Career After his Army service, he worked in radio, Broadway, the stage, in summer stock, and on television. He appeared in nightclubs, including a six-week engagement at Monte Proser's famous Copacabana in early 1947,Waco News-Tribune, January 18, 1947, p. 4Syracuse Herald-Journal, March 24, 1947 p. 3 the Latin Quarter in New York, the Mocambo in Los Angeles, and the Tropicana and Riviera in Las Vegas.Miami News; February 28, 1948Variety magazine; December 3, 1958
He found work for radio station KFI on two shows known as "Ladies Day" and "The Packard Hour". In 1949, he played Dutch Miller on "The Railroad Hour"'s presentation of Best Foot Forward, and played the role of the gondolier on episode of Ronald Colman'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.Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, January 3, 1948, p. 9 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 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.Oakland Tribune, July 15, 1953 p. 33Brazil (Indiana) Daily Times, September 10, 1952 p. 1
Through producer George Jessel, Zanuck heard Bill sing and promptly put him under contract as a ghost singer 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.Portsmouth Herald, September 27, 1949, p. 8 For nearly a year, he was romantically linked to Colleen Townsend.https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/683753364/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/50782801/
Although he had occasional vocal work, Shirley sometimes had difficulty furthering his career. Following a few performances in KFI's "Hollywood Bowl" in 1945 and "On Stage America" in 1946, Shirley alternated between radio and the stage. For a while, he performed often with singing actress Gale Robbins. 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".Profile, archive.org; accessed November 6, 2015. In 1950, the pair performed as themselves on an episode of the Ed Wynn Show."Early TV" video of The Ed Wynn Show (March 25, 1950, Episode 27), Archive.org; accessed November 6, 2015.
In 1952 he got his only leading role onscreen: as Stephen Foster 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. In late 1952, he joined a Hollywood USO troupe to entertain soldiers in Korea for the holidays.Mt. Vernon Register-News, December 18, 1952, p. 26 During this time, he came down with a throat infection which caused his doctors enough concern to consider a surgical procedure, leading to several cancelled engagements. By the first week of February he was reported better; 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."Oakland Tribune", April 8, 1953 Rehearsals began the following month.Valley Times, May 20, 1953 He frequently performed with USO troupes, appearing with stars such as Debbie Reynolds and Keenan Wynn.San Francisco Examiner, July 19, 1953
In November 1955, he appeared on Arthur Godfrey's "Talent Scouts" show and won first place, although this did not always bring about much publicity or notice that was not localized to his home state.Kokomo Tribune, November 16, 1955,p. 41
In July 1958, he returned to Indianapolis to play Curly in a Starlight Musicals production of Oklahoma!, alongside Grace Olsen and Will B. Able.
Connections with Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher
Shirley's career intersected with both Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher during the late 1940s and early 1950s.
In January 1947, Shirley accepted a nightclub engagement at the Copacabana in New York City. Eddie Fisher later wrote that he had declined the same engagement, regarding it as unsuitable for his career at the time."My Life, My Loves" by Eddie Fisher; pg.37 Although Shirley and Fisher pursued separate careers, commentators have noted their similar appearance — dark curly hair, tenor vocal style, and "crooner" repertoire.
Contemporary reviews praised Shirley's professionalism despite intense stage fright, and described the audience's favorable response.https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/48065337/
In Fisher's 1981 memoir My Life, My Loves, he recalled the episode with evident discomfort."My Life, My Loves", pg. 37 He remembered watching Shirley's debut from backstage and wrote, "Proser hired the tenor Bill Shirley to replace me… I was backstage opening night when Bill sang Jerome Kern's 'All the Things You Are' and stopped the show." Fisher added that Monte Proser whispered to him, "See, kid...that could have been you." The moment, as described by Fisher, marked a turning point in his own career and seeded a lasting sense of rivalry. Evidence of reciprocal tension from Shirley is absent.
Following the December 1952 USO tour to Korea, Shirley became publicly linked with actress Debbie Reynolds. Both were reported to have experienced illness during or after the tour.https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/869796253/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/656770181/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/84352277/ By mid-February 1953, Shirley was seen escorting Reynolds to dinner in Los Angeles,West Los Angeles Evening Citizen News, February 13, 1953 and Photoplay Magazine (July 1954 issue) confirmed that she had been corresponding with him during the trip. Over the next year, newspapers regularly described Shirley as Reynolds' steady "new swain" or "new beau," with the San Francisco Examiner referring to her as "the love of his life" in July 1953.https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/458949666/ The two appeared publicly at concerts, parties, and charity functions, with coverage continuing into mid-1954.https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/734063583/
Meanwhile, Fisher also performed in Korea and described the experience in his memoirs My Life, My Loves (1981) and Been There, Done That (1999). His accounts of the Korea tour emphasized discomfort of his own — mild illness, dental pain, and insects attracted to stage floodlights — and he noted feeling cast unfavorably in the press when Reynolds was allegedly hospitalized in Honolulu (though reports place her in Tokyo) on her return. In "My Life, My Loves", Fisher characterized Reynolds' announcement of her Korea tour as a "calculated play for sympathy" due to her being upset with him for long-postponing their wedding."My Life, My Loves", pg. 104
Contemporary coverage emphasizes Shirley's attentiveness toward Reynolds after the junket, while Fisher's retrospective account presents a contrasting perspective.