February 7, 2010
Grace Under Pressure
Who knew that one little golden statue could cause so much drama? It can when you’re dealing with two of America’s most beloved actresses. Both Julie Andrews and Audrey Hepburn have enough star power to overshadow anyone else, but when these two are pushed into the same category, there is bound to controversy.
In 1964, My Fair Lady was adapted into a film version from the play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. To most people, Julia Andrews was a shoo-in to play the part of Eliza Doolittle. But Warner surprised everyone (and angered some) by choosing Hepburn instead. But both Hepburn and Andrews played off a feud by telling reporters the other deserved the role. However, this didn’t stop the media from creating a fight anyway.
Hepburn was hurt when she found the news reporting that she wanted the part before it was offered, countering her own comments about Andrews. But she was even more insulted when she found that her singing in the movie had been dubbed by Marni Nixon.
To make the situation even more humiliating to Hepburn, My Fair Lady received 12 nominations and won 8 Oscars at the Academy Awards that year. Nominations for the film covered every major category including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress. Hepburn was completely skipped for a Best Actress nod, even after rave reviews as the chosen Eliza. The New York Times review by Bosley Crowther stated that “The happiest thing about it is that Audrey Hepburn superbly justifies the desicion of Jack Warner to get her to play the title role.”
Even with all of this praise, Hepburn was snubbed by the Academy for Best Actress. To add insult to injury, the Oscar went to Julie Andrews for Mary Poppins. There is no way to justly say that Andrews did not deserve this award because she too did a superb job, but the fact that Hepburn was not even nominated makes the situation seem like a personal hit to the starlet. Even Andrews stated she believed that Hepburn deserved a nomination as well.
Both actresses stayed poised and collected throughout the growing controversy. The medias continual pitted the two against each other but neither ever said an ill word of the other. It would take a lot grace to withstand the continuous media hits to both. These class acts, however, never wavered in their public opinions of each other. If only the world had more of these qualities…
For more information on this story visit http://www.altfg.com/blog/awards/audrey-hepburn-julie-andrews-my-fair-lady-894/.
