Song:This Nearly Was Mine
Album:South Pacific: An Original Soundtrack Recording
Italian actor Rossano Brazzi had a long career at home. Here he is mainly known for co-starring with Mitzi Gaynor in the 1958 film of the Rogers & Hammerstein musical South Pacific. Brazzi didn't sing so he was dubbed by American opera singer Giorgio Tozzi. After the success of Oklahoma, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein and Joshua Logan decided to turn South Pacific into a film. The original plan was to have the Broadway stars Ezio Pinza and Mary Martin do the film. But Pinza died and that changed things. Doris Day turned them down and they settled on Mitzi Gaynor. They offered the Role of Emile to several actors before casting Brazzi. Brazzi appeared in the 1954 film Three Coins In The Fountain and the 1955 film Summertime. But he didn't sing and he had to be dubbed. Giorgio Tozzi was an opera singer who had appeared on Broadway and TV. He was born Jan. 8, 1923 in Chicago. The interesting thing is Tozzi played Emile in South Pacific many times on stage after the film was made. Hollywood studios kept dubbing secret in those days but it was revealed eventually. Of course the film was a huge success and the soundtrack album was a hit too. You can get it as a budget CD. Rossano Brazzi made a few more Hollywood films like The Light In The Piazza in 1962. He returned to Italy and retired in the 70s. Brazzi died in 1994 at age 78. Giorgio Tozzi never did another film. But he had a long recording career and on stage. He died in 2011 at age 88. Here's Rossano Brazzi dubbed by Giorgio Tozzi performing This Nearly Was Mine in the 1958 film South Pacific.
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