And I'm *SO* glad that Audrey was in the spotlight here for over 3 minutes, despite not even being nominated for her nonpareil performance!!!!! Just listen to the rapturous applause she receives when she walks to the podium - one would think she *HAD* just won Best Actress herself!! That really is what Rex Harrison was trying to convey to the whole world by having Audrey alongside him throughout his Acceptance speech - the fact that she was AS ENTITLED to an Oscar as he was. Yup, her graciousness flying in from Europe definitely paid off perfectly. :) :)

They made sure to show Julie Andrews applauding for Audrey. TWO fair ladies, most certainly, and Rex honored both..

Gehan Cooray you are so absolutely right! 👍

Pie CatLady you are so absolutely right!👍

I've also seen her in Sabrina and Roman Holiday.

msingl100 we're two peas in a pod! Because we feel exactly the same way about My Fair Lady and The Sound of Music.

@Artur Bello Actually, Julie didn't star in Sound of Music first; Mary Martin did! But Mary was too old to do the movie... Yet Mary WAS approached to do the film of Mary Poppins! That would have been interesting!

Julie sang better in my fair lady stage perform, dont like audrey voice in my fair lady

@@hridoyrahman4553 You didn't hear Audrey singing in "My Fair Lady." She was dubbed by Marni Nixon.

@@akrenwinkle ok..It didn’t go well.I didn't like Merni's voice

Very true... you can see the adoration both had for each other and I can imagine they must have had the BEST time making that movie...

No one in Hollywood today is 1/1000th as kind and generous as Audrey and Rex Harrison were. Rex was literally THE PERFECT GENTLEMAN here - sharing his victory with his co-star in public, while Audrey remained the Perfect Lady. The vast majority of contemporary 'stars' are as egocentric as they are devoid of class and true talent. Whereas Americans USED to admire actors and actresses who were real ladies and gentlemen, they now favour the kind of performer who caters to the lowest common denominator. Ugh!

***** Are you serious? Rex was a gentleman? Well, maybe that evening, but surely not in his life.

+baxterpoo I'm not sure about inlove, from what I read , Rex Harrison was quite the cat with women, lol, even at his age here, 60 ? , he was quite older than her , but they did have chemistry , I say he should of made his kisses more centered and kissed her that many times and with that passion in the picture

Just a little creepy.

Thanks for your words!!❤

Agreed well said I love "My fair Lady" and Audrey what a lady gorgeous, gorgeous eyes perfect and of course one of the best actors of all Rex was great RIP legends you were one of a kind the very best!!!

Rex Harrison, also unforgettable in "My fair lady".

Audrey wasn't bad but her face just was too unique and regal and beautiful to ever believe she was a bag lady. At least IMO.

I have a huge crush on both of them and they are both very classy ladies. I don't believe that Audrey can be blamed for Julie not getting the role because I think that was two separate decisions made at different times. I believe the second choice was Elizabeth Taylor, which would have been disastrous. besides, Julie then took Mary martin's role in the Sound of Music and nobody complained. That said, i would love to have sen her do both those roles and Camelot, too.

Steven Chappell the Sound of Music is my second favorite musical after My Fair Lady. But I don't have a problem with Julie not being in the movie version of My Fair Lady. *Audrey was an excellent Eliza Doolittle*

And not just from Hollywood!

@@44032 Mary Martin was involved in the casting decision of "The Sound of Music" film and encouraged Julie being cast as Maria, recognizing that Julie had already given a wonderful performance in the original 1957 live TV special of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella".

Fabinho Dantas Flappers it surely is! Thank goodness for KZfaq. (I wasn't born until 1967, so obviously I didn't see the Oscars that year).

Alydia Rackham that was very thoughtful of him.

Was that for Julie?

Just lovely recognizing them both.

Yet over-rated, can't act, just "talk-sung"...aka can't sing or carry a tune to save his life...his way through this with more shouting than anything yet won over an incredibly versatile actor like Cary Grant who could do it all, romance, heartbreak/sadness, drama, suspense, thriller, and comedy with utter ease yet never won any Academy Award...should've won easily at least 2 if not more, especially if the likes of Harrison, Wayne, Bogart, Stewart, Cooper, Crosby, and Sinatra who all played themselves and/or couldn't act for shit somehow won Oscars or multiples!!! It's mind-boggling!!! 🤯 Same for O'Toole who was royally screwed, especially for Lawrence of Arabia and others. It seems like the truly best actors never got an Oscar.

Peter Sellars performing multiple roles in Dr Strangelove would have had my vote.

Do not call God's name in vain. Admirable is the name of God.

They also should have nominated dick van dyke for Mary Poppins!

I know exactly what you mean, Anna. The fact that Audrey was not even NOMINATED for "My Fair Lady" is the most unforgivable slight in the entire history of Hollywood. That was the performance of a lifetime, and Sir John Gielgud himself agreed that she was 'much better' (his exact words) than Julie Andrews. Watch any clip of Andrews as Eliza, and you will note how she is either too hammy (playing a caricature of the character), or surprisingly UNLIKEABLE (failing to generate any affection or sympathy for the character, whereas Audrey tugs at our heart-strings from beginning to end). Audrey actually did 25% of her own singing, performing most of 'Just You Wait' on her own, along with a couple of lines here and there in other songs. Deborah Kerr didn't do *ANY* of her own singing in 'The King and I', and was still nominated. And die-hard Julie Andrews fans shouldn't even get me started on the Cockney accent, because Andrews' accent wasn't ANY MORE AUTHENTIC than Audrey's (both actresses have gone on tape saying that it would have been impossible to do a TRULY authentic accent and still be understood by the average viewer).

***** you forgot to mention that Andrews played Eliza on the stage where you have to project and play to the last row. I'm sure she would've toned it down for the film, just like she was able to do with MARY POPPINS and THE SOUND OF MUSIC. And it's not like Audrey didn't overact, especially during the Cockney scenes and the scene immediatley after the ball.

musicaltheatergeek79 I was referring SPECIFICALLY to the sequences that Julie filmed as Eliza for THE SCREEN/TV (in the 1950s and then again in the 1970s). Admittedly, TV acting was not required to be quite as naturalistic as Film acting back then, but her screen performances of the "Just You Wait" and "Show Me" sequences make it seem like Eliza suffers from HISTRIONIC PERSONALITY DISORDER. She is exceedingly more natural and believable in her screen performances of "Wouldn't It Be Loverly?", but there again, I don't think she's quite as likeable as Audrey is (compare Audrey's facial expressions with Julie's facial expressions in the same number; Julie shot it for TV at least twice, first for the Ed Sullivan Show in the '50s, and then for the Julie Andrews Show in the '70s). You can't determine whether she would have toned it down for the big screen based on her performances as Mary Poppins and Maria von Trapp, because Julie never PLAYED those roles onstage - she learned them STRICTLY for film, whereas she had played Eliza on Broadway and in the West End for nearly half a decade. Even after making a number of films in the '60s, she didn't "tone down" her Eliza for TV in the 1970s (except in 'Wouldn't It Be Loverly', although her "Oh!"s there were excruciatingly stagey). This suggests to me that she was somehow unwilling to relinquish the manner in which she had portrayed the role on stage all those years (and I understand that, being an actor/singer myself). Granted, again, TV performances weren't expected to be too different from theatrical/stage performances at the time, but the sense I get is that Julie had acquired a VERY DISTINCT concept of how Eliza should be played after her marathon Broadway and West End runs. The reason she is so effective onscreen in MARY POPPINS and THE SOUND OF MUSIC, is because her work there was 100% *FRESH*. Mary Poppins did not exist as an acting role until she was hired to do the film, and she admitted in the '90s that she never *DREAMED* of playing Maria von Trapp herself one day when she watched Mary Martin do it on Broadway. Hence, those performances are as fresh as I think Audrey's Eliza is, whereas Julie's Eliza come across as OVER-RIPE on screen!! I can see how some people might charge Audrey with "overacting" in the Cockney scenes and Post-Ball scene, if they compare her performance with Wendy Hiller's more subdued performance in the late '30s film adaptation of PYGMALION for instance, but I've personally always thought Audrey was COMPLETELY "in the moment" when filming those scenes, and IMMERSED in the mindset of Eliza in a very EMOTIONALLY AUTHENTIC way. Yes, she makes much *BOLDER* - and as I see it, much more *VITAL* - acting choices than Wendy Hiller did in the 1937 film (which hearkens back to a more 'mannered' style of acting), but I don't think she comes across as over-rehearsed and OVERWROUGHT as Julie Andrews does in most of her Eliza sequences. Another KZfaq viewer once made reference to how "masculine" Julie's Eliza was in her TV performance of 'Show Me', and I think that's a very accurate statement. This 'masculinity' wasn't apparent at all on the 1956 Original Broadway Cast Album of MY FAIR LADY, but you could hear the difference by the time they made the 1959 London Cast Album. Audrey's Eliza by contrast is always very, very feminine - the perfect Galatea or even Venus to Rex Harrison's Pygmalion, whereas Julie's Eliza often reads more like a slightly unbalanced Amazon. This is not to undermine Julie Andrews as an actress or a singer in any way, because I've been a lifelong fan of hers (just like Audrey's), and would probably melt before her if I ever met her - but I firmly believe that the decision to cast Audrey as Eliza in the film was 1000% correct. My favourite Julie Andrews role onscreen is actually neither 'Poppins' nor SOM (neither of which showcased her versatility as an actress or a singer), but STAR! - they couldn't have devised a better vehicle for her at the time, and it's such a crying shame that most people have never been able to understand/appreciate that film. My favourite STAGE roles played by Julie are Polly in 'The Boyfriend', and Queen Guinevere - the coloratura singing that she was capable of back when she played Polly continues to be positively SPINE-CHILLING, while Guinevere of course fit her like a glove!! Am I a bigger fan of Audrey's than Julie's? It's hard to answer that fairly because they're apples and oranges, but just as much as STAR! is my favourite Julie Andrews fan, MY FAIR LADY will always be my favourite Audrey Hepburn film - I don't think anyone else could have *LIT UP THE SCREEN* like she did as Eliza, and I think it was her most impressive acting work ever (speaking both dramatically and comedically - yes, that's a word! lol)

***** Thanks for taking the time to write all that, but I think we're gonna have to agree to disagree.

musicaltheatergeek79 Oh, you don't have to thank me. I didn't write all that with the intention of changing your mind, but rather for the benefit of others reading this, so they see exactly where I'm coming from. We definitely don't see eye to eye. lol

Also when he said he wished he could split the award in half and looks at Audrey!

Yes because 2 or 3 actors turned down Rex's role then they finally offered it to Rex Harrison. So if the actresses offered including Audrey turned it down they most probably offered it to Julie in the end.

Julie Andrews! Class, poise to the letter . She took it like a trouper, sitting there most regally even though the hurt and disappointment were written all over her. She should never have been replaced. Observe get most winning smile at the very end of Harrison's acceptance speech .Two major regrets:- Julie Andrews' losing out of the role of Eliza Doolittle, and Burt Lancaster's turning down "Ben Hur".

Audrey had no reason to feel snubbed. If anyone was snubbed, it was Julie, who should have had the part of Eliza in the first place. Julie created the role on Broadway and should have been in the film. Audrey didn’t even sing the role herself-it was dubbed. She didn’t deserve an Academy Award for looking beautiful in Cecil Beaton’s costumes.

@@sandee3073 , I don’t see any reason to insult Audrey Hepburn’s performance by saying she simply looked good in the costumes. I too think that Julie Andrews should have played Eliza but Hepburn acted the hell out of that role, and the award is for acting, not singing. Deborah Kerr very deservedly got nominated for The King and I, and she too was dubbed by Marni Nixon.

@@3sha214 Julie was the first option but she refused to do the casting. Second option was Audrey and third Liz Taylor. Audrey turned down in favor of Julie but after Liz was chosen, Audrey accepted the role again

Audrey was THE fair lady. :)

Prince YES!!! OH MY GOSH

Gehan Cooray that's what I tell the people who are pissed at Warner Brothers for choosing Audrey over Julie.

And she dressed as The Lady..not like the barely dressed "stars" of the present.

Leia Organa I know! It's a beautiful moment. Speaking of beautiful things, I love your last name. Organa. I play the organ. It beats the piano to a frazzle! My favorite piece is the hymn tune FOREST GREEN by Rafe Vaughan Williams.

rami gertler

I believe that when Julie won for Mary Poppins that same year, in her acceptance speech she thanked Jack Warner for NOT casting her in My Fair Lady!

That or she was a little hurt that she didn’t get an award for all the hard work she put into making the movie.

@@SuicideboysGrey59 The only good movie she did after this was 'Wait Until Dark'. And she was excellent in it.

If she felt like crying, it was out of happiness for Rex. She wasn't so self-involved that she'd be thinking only of herself in that moment. She is clearly beyond delighted for Rex.

I love it so!!!

Are you kidding? JA originated Eliza on Broadway

@@manuelorozco7760 So what? You can never compere them. Audrey was a clasier lady and she DID sing every song on the film She also took singing lessons It was Warner's decision, not to use her voice.

Mabel Martín Wait what?

@@manuelorozco7760 if you're confused about the voice part, Audrey didn't sing in the movie, she had the intention to do it but Warner decided to dub her with Marni Nixon's voice. About the rest of the comment, idk what they mean.

Ce G I knew about Marni Nixon yes

i dont mind tbh it worked as a film 4 me and was the first dvd i ever bought ,😣it was stolen sadly

MrImiller07 Rex Harrison = Professor Henry Higgins forever!

I agree with Grant that he would've stunk up this role. However....Harrison is so over-rated, can't act, just "talk-sung"...aka can't sing or carry a tune to save his life...his way through this with more shouting than anything yet won over an incredibly versatile actor like Cary Grant who could do it all, romance, heartbreak/sadness, drama, suspense, thriller, and comedy with utter ease yet never won any Academy Award...should've won easily at least 2 if not more, especially if the likes of Harrison, Wayne, Bogart, Stewart, Cooper, Crosby, and Sinatra who all played themselves and/or couldn't act for shit somehow won Oscars or multiples!!! It's mind-boggling!!! 🤯

and 2:53 with her butterfly like blinks ! her eyes were so gorgeous.

I too believe she deserved a nomination for her role, her acting was so great in the movie. However, I read that the reason she didn't get it was because Hollywood was kind of mad because Warner overlooked Julie Andrews for the role she originated on Broadway simply because she wasn't a big name in movies, even tho they went for Rex Harrison who also originated his role in Broadway. So it's really Jack Warner's fault.

+gigi vitelli That's right, I do remember hearing that as well. Although I agree it was rude not to offer the part to Julie Andrews, had she taken it, she wouldn't have been available for Mary Poppins, and I personally prefer Julie's Mary to her Eliza. Aside from that, none of the casting decisions were Audrey's fault, so I wish Hollywood hadn't taken their anger at Jack Warner out on her.

+Gabriella Saab yes I totally agree :)

+Gabriella Saab Who's to say Audrey Hepburn wasn't the better choice over Julie Andrews for the role , I think she was , Andrews at the time was a Broadway star, I think she was just as pretty and maybe with those blue eyes, prettier than Audrey Hepburn, but I'm not sure this role would of been her forte on screen , if she would of projected the right feeling and chemistry with Rex Harrison, which is essential, for the movie . Idk, for example she was glorious in Sound of Music and she definitely would of been better than Hepburn in that role, it was her coup d'tat and they might have been both great and interchangeable in Breakfast at Tiffany's or Mary Poppins, she eventually became a movie star in her own right ,they were both great stars and each had their niche

The unfortunate results is there's virtually nothing far as visual recording from Rex Harrison and Dame Julia "Julie" Elizabeth Andrews version of " Eliza Doolittle as My Fair Lady "...

Nope its cause Patricia Neal couldn't do it ( previous year's best actress)

I thought the same

More likely because she was not nominated for best actress and image what if they had asked miss Audrey to present the best actress award to Julie Andrews, the original, and one and only Elisa Doolittle. It would have been great if Julie Andrews was hired to dub Audrey for the great songs of my fair lady.

Yes, that happens a lot of times

@@filipchung2121 no!!!!! That’s a horrible idea.. cringey and awkward. As an actress you’d NOT want to give awards to someone playing something you played wonderfully well.. Audrey’s MFL is still my favorite.. my first and only choice film.

Great adjective for her ❤

09c40719ms11G OKAY SAMEEE

If you ever find/make a time machine tell me! :D I would've loved to meet some of those people, my favorite actors and actresses.

Sometimes I feel that way because of how much I have grown to love that era for the past ten years.

Amanda Seymour I fervently agree with everything you said.

ou

+Jane hudson AMEN! I completely blame "Jackass' Warner for the whole thing. He was more worried about getting his $$ back on his investment and less about the people involved. Audrey's class here is amazing. Most would have just boycotted the whole event, but she showed up for her peers and supported them.

Who's better Julie Andrews or Audrey Hepburn?

Equally lovely but with some little differences.

Agree....if Julie had done Poppins a year earlier and established herself in a movie Warner may have picked her. Too bad Mary Poppins was not made earlier. What a treasure it would be for all to have Julie on Film forever in My Fair Lady. A tragedy.

Margaret Agreed, but I think the nod has to go to Julie Andrews for originating the role, as well as for doing her own singing in it. Having said that, Audrey Hepburn's performance in the movie was magificent - and I'll bet Julie would agree.

Ikbelle IB you are so right!

Josée Larose I fervently agree with you!

I watched My Fair Lady on TCM last Saturday night. And I agree it was a beautiful film

dennis walker you are so right!

Silvia Chuxy you are so absolutely right!

1939...hands down the best year of Hollywood and film ever in history and will never be replicated. Closely followed by 1950.

Star Sky oh my gosh yes.

Star Sky you are so absolutely right regarding both Julie Andrews and Audrey Hepburn. They were each perfect in their roles.

I must point out that the Best Actor award that year was given out *before* the Best Actress award. During this acceptance speech there was no irony and no certainty that Julie would be the winner, although she was favored to win. Speculation at the time was that she would probably win the next year for THE SOUND OF MUSIC (which had been released during the voting period for these awards) and that the dramatic work by Anne Bancroft or Kim Stanley would therefore take the prize for 1964. Julie herself has often said she thought Bancroft deserved it.

+jjj1951 They were not that giant back then. Guess what legends Kate Winslet or Meryl Streep will be in 2090! .. And if you are so in love with the 1960s Hollywood .. Julie Andrews was not allowed to hug black Sidney Poitier that evening. By contract! Good old times, indeed. -.-

+MrMcsia That seems rather odd , I know dated racist stuff was still going on in the 60's and even today, but I think I remember Anne Bancroft hugging and kissing Sidney Poitier by then a major movie star, in a gushy way, at the Oscars around the same time , who I saw french kissing kissing a white actress in his film Path of Blue , the uncut version circa 1960 ?, similiary I saw a white actress , practically all over Harry Belafonte in his 1959 ? picture and both actors ,including Sammy Davis were married to very white women (British \Swedish) in the 60's , but yeh alot of stuff both good and bad was going on in the 60's , just like now

jjj1951 Now, now...Meryl Streep is among the top 3 actresses - ever.

Barbara Bach. Not "just like now", Barbara, racism was far worse, more overtly hateful and violent back then. Racism is more subtle today, but equally as damaging.

jjj1951 Pygmies??? What about Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, Whoopi Goldberg, Kathy Bates, everyone in Harry Potter? None of those actresses are pygmies.

Tell that to Lerner, Loewe and Moss Hart who cast Julie Andrews in the Play. At the time MFL broke every broadway record. My Fair Lady is a Musical. There is no comparison period. Audrey did act the role very well, but she is not a singer. Even Marni Nixon's voice is not well dubbed, and Marni Nixon has a great voice!

@@kathryngreen504 agreed that Audrey is no singer but Andrews doesn’t have the class and that ‘Je ne sais quoie ‘ which was needed for the screeen version. The latter is a stage actress.

Easy. Julie!

that's sad

your just jealous 😂

aww i get why she had it 😁

shigsho definitely!

Harrison was over-rated, can't act, just "talk-sung"...aka can't sing or carry a tune to save his life...his way through this with more shouting than anything yet won over an incredibly versatile actor like Cary Grant who could do it all, romance, heartbreak/sadness, drama, suspense, thriller, and comedy with utter ease yet never won any Academy Award...should've won easily at least 2 if not more, especially if the likes of Harrison, Wayne, Bogart, Stewart, Cooper, Crosby, and Sinatra who all played themselves and/or couldn't act for shit somehow won Oscars or multiples!!! It's mind-boggling!!! 🤯

Allen Quinn I know that what I was thinking! 😂😂😂😂

I would've expected 1 shot of her because that's standard these days, but they cut to her THREE times. Way to be subtle there.

MediaLover194 subtlety must not be there strong suit...😂😂😂

MediaLover194 subtlety must not be there strong suit...😂😂😂

Allen M. Quinn Yeeaah !...😈 Morboso!.. Qué esperaba ? Verla con cara de envidia?..o de pena ? 😏😏

Thats just beacuse she sucks! But this win was completely unaccapteble, Sellers deserved this up in my ass...

She didn't suck.... And plenty of actors that suck have been nominated AND won.

She sucked and was pathetic and thats it :D

dr strangelove And then you woke up

Wut?

Sam Hersch 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

The same thing happened 10 years earlier when William Holden gave Grace Kelly's Oscar for the Country Girl

Manuel pointed out the other instance that this happened with Grace Kelly but can anyone think of other moments?

cbg gednet you are so absolutely right!