Audrey Hepburn A-Z: R is for...
R is for... Rex Harrison!
He was her co-star in one of her most famous movies, and by the time filming wrapped, he was one of her biggest fans.
Rex Harrison needs no introduction, in my opinion, but here's a quick one. Born in Lancashire in 1908, this British-born actor enjoyed a long career, both in the United Kingdom and the United States, as one of the stage's greatest leading men. His stage credits include Anne of the Thousand Days, Bell, Book and Candle, and My Fair Lady. His film career was nothing to balk at either, with credits including The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Blithe Spirit, Cleopatra, My Fair Lady, and Doctor Dolittle.
Today, he's probably best remembered for My Fair Lady, a stage production he stayed with on Broadway from 1956 to 1962 (he later reprised the role in 1981); and a film musical he starred in in 1964, chosen for the role only after Cary Grant turned it down. Though she only made one film with Rex, Audrey did make sure to see him in My Fair Lady on Broadway in 1956.
We've also spoken about the drama surrounding the film version of My Fair Lady, but, briefly, it boiled down to Audrey taking the role when Jack Warner never planned to offer it to Julie Andrews, who'd originated the role on Broadway; and that her singing had been dubbed, unbeknownst to her for most of filming, by Marni Nixon. No matter that Rex technically didn't sing either: he'd created a type of sing-speaking and launched into song via a hidden recorder in his costumes that would pick up his songs.
My Fair Lady was an arduous shoot for Audrey, who also had to deal with a theft on set (the thief made off with her wedding ring, which had been stored in her dressing room), and before she'd even begun, her male co-star, Rex, expressed his doubts about her capabilities to play Eliza Dolittle. He reportedly said of Audrey, "Eliza Doolittle is supposed to be ill at ease in European ballrooms. Bloody Audrey has never spent a day in her life out of European ballrooms."
By the time the film premiered, it was a talking point: Audrey and Julie Andrews, who was having her own successes with Walt Disney's Mary Poppins. When she won the Golden Globe, she thanked Jack Warner, who had cast Audrey over her, for freeing her up to make the Disney film.
The New York Times wrote in its review of My Fair Lady in 1964, of Rex's two leading ladies: "For Mr. Disney's grabbing of Miss Andrews to play the title role in the film he intended producing from the popular 'Mary Poppins' children's books has resulted in a livelier introduction for the youthful and bell‐voiced star than if she had simply come forth and repeated her 'Fair Lady' role from the stage. And Mr. Warner's calculation that Miss Hepburn could wonderfully expand the dramatic and emotional possibilities of that complex and difficult role, under George Cukor's seasoned direction, has proved remarkably sound."
On Oscar night, though Audrey didn't receive an Oscar nomination for her work in My Fair Lady, Rex was nominated; and Julie Andrews was nominated for Mary Poppins. The two would end up winning their categories, with Audrey presenting the Academy Award for Best Actor to Rex.
"Well, this is a very exciting evening for me and I feel in a way that I should split it in half between us," he says to Audrey. "You deserve it all," she replies.
"I would like to thank everybody that had anything to do with the making of My Fair Lady. It was a wonderful experience and I must thank George for being so marvelous with us, and Jack, and everybody else that's connected with it. And deep love to, well, to fair ladies, I think."
When Audrey pivoted towards humanitarian work, Rex was one of her most vocal supporters. "It's just the sort of thing she would do. She was brought up in Holland during the war, remember. That's a very different sort of background from American kids. She understands the urgency of hunger and deprivation in a personal, immediate way."
And, later in his life, when he was asked who his favourite leading lady had been, Rex didn't hesitate: "Audrey Hepburn."
Rex died in 1990 at the age of 82 from complications related to pancreatic cancer. Audrey paid tribute to him, saying, "He was the essence of a great actor, and a fabulous technician."
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Who's your favourite of Audrey's co-stars? I'm still sticking with Gregory Peck or Peter O'Toole, though I could listen to Rex Harrison talk all day.
Come back soon for the letter S!
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