Anita Ellis

Anita Ellis (née Kert, later Shapiro; April 12, 1920 – October 28, 2015) was a Canadian-born American singer and actress. She famously dubbed Rita Hayworth's songs in Gilda.

For the Chilean tennis champion Anita Lizana de Ellis, see Anita Lizana.
Anita Ellis
Ellis in c. 1945
Born
Anita Kert[1]

April 12, 1920 (1920-04-12)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
DiedOctober 28, 2015 (aged 95)
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Alma materCollege of Music, Cincinnati, Ohio
Occupation(s)Singer, actress
Known forDubbing singing voices for famous actresses
Spouses
  • Frank Ellis
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1943; div. 1946)​
  • Mortimer Fromberg Shapiro
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1960; died 1994)​
RelativesLarry Kert (brother)

Early years

Anita Kert[2] was born in Montreal, Quebec, the eldest of four children born to Orthodox Jewish parents, Harry and Lillian "Libbie" Kert (née Pearson; originally Peretz).[3][4] She had a younger sister and two younger brothers, one of whom, Lawrence Frederick Kert (1930–1991), became an actor and singer best known for originating the role of Tony in West Side Story.[5] The family moved to Hollywood when she was nine years old. She graduated from Hollywood High School in 1938,[6] and attended the College of Music in Cincinnati, Ohio.[7]

Ellis became a naturalized United States citizen in 1950.[6]

Voice dubbing

Ellis dubbed the singing voices of such actresses as Rita Hayworth (notably in Gilda, 1946), Vera-Ellen and Jeanne Crain.[8] Twenty-eight years after Gilda was released, entertainment writer Rex Reed reminisced in print about Ellis's voice: "I fell in love with Anita Ellis when I was 8 years old ... Only I didn't know she was Anita Ellis, I thought she was Rita Hayworth ... That was the sexiest voice in 1946, and it kept turning people on for years ..."[9]

For her work in Gilda, her role in the film was greatly underplayed and kept secret by the producers, who wanted fans to believe Hayworth was the singer. They went as far as to put Rita Hayworth's name in the credit of the soundtrack instead of Anita Ellis. Hayworth also bore some resentment towards the studio for not allowing her to sing her own parts and the embarrassment it caused when she was asked to sing by fans who thought she was the voice of Gilda. There were claims made that Hayworth had sung the acoustic guitar version of "Put the Blame on Mame" but this was untrue, as Ellis dubbed Hayworth's singing voice in all the film's songs.[10]

Radio

In 1941, she joined WLW in Cincinnati, Ohio, as a singer.[7] Billed as Anita Kurt, she was a regular on Open House (also known as The Ona Munson Show),[11] The New Jack Carson Show,[12] Tommy Riggs and Betty Lou.[13]

Billed as Anita Ellis, she was also a regular on The Charlie McCarthy Show[13]: 72  and The Jack Carson Show.[13]: 169  She was a regular guest on The Red Skelton Show. (Two sources list Ellis as one of the vocalists on Skelton's show, without the "guest" modifier.)[13]: 282 [11]: 545 

Discography
  • I Wonder What Became Of Me (Epic, 1956)
  • Hims (Epic, 1957)
  • The World In My Arms (Elektra, 1960)
  • A Legend Sings (Orion, 1979)
  • Echoes (Michael's Pub, 1979)

Compilations

Releases of material from earlier years.

  • Anita Ellis With Mitchell Ayres And His Orchestra - Eugenie Baird With D'Artego And The Cavalcade Orchestra
  • Look to the Rainbow

Personal life

Ellis married U.S. Army Lt. Frank Wilby Ellis Jr. (1916–1957) on January 23, 1943, in Tucson, Arizona.[14] They divorced in 1946.[7] Lt. Ellis was killed in the crash of TB-47B "Stratojet" #50-0076 on December 18, 1957 while serving as pilot.[15] She remarried, to neurologist Dr. Mortimer Fromberg Shapiro, an Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai faculty member on July 31, 1960; the couple remained together until Shapiro's death on June 6, 1995. Both unions were childless.[5]

She "traveled through the wilderness of Africa and the Himalayas, and taught nature studies at the American Museum of Natural History."[9] In the 1950s, Ellis stopped performing while she underwent psychoanalysis. She returned to professional singing with performances in nightclubs and a recording contract with Epic Records.[16] In 1957, columnist Dorothy Kilgallen wrote: "Anita Ellis ... has surprised everyone with her new jazz singer style. She gives her analyst credit for the New Sound."[17]

Ellis had a pilot's license and flew her own plane for pleasure.[18]

Later years and death

A newspaper article in 1979 reported that Ellis had suffered from stage fright for more than 25 years. Ellis described her condition as "not just stage fright. It's more than that. It's really crippling. It's kept me from my own gifts. It just stops me cold. I don't sing."[7]

She eventually ended her career in 1987 due to her stage fright. A widow, she lived in Manhattan and had suffered from Alzheimer's disease since 2000;[19][20] she died on October 28, 2015, aged 95, from the disease. Mt. Sinai Hospital's department of neurology received a $1 million gift to support strategic priorities from her estate.[5]

Filmography

She performed in the following films:

References
  1. Some sources cite her surname as Kurt
  2. Some sources her surname as Kurt
  3. Montreal Marriage records 1 June 1919
  4. Who's Who in Entertainment, Volume 1. Marquis Who's Who. April 14, 2017. p. 181.
  5. Family Tree of Anita Kert Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine, cousinsconnection.com; accessed May 4, 2016.
  6. "Radio Mirror". MacFadden Publications. 1946. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  7. "Stage fright has plagued singer for over 25 years". The Kokomo Tribune. Kokomo, Indiana. Associated Press. March 18, 1979. p. 35. Retrieved May 6, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  8. O'Brien, Gerard W. (July 25, 2006). "The Heat is On... Quinn Lemley's Musical Journey as Rita Hayworth". jazzreview.com. Archived from the original on August 27, 2006. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  9. Reed, Rex (December 11, 1974). "Royal Entertainment: Rex Reed". Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph. Colorado Springs, Colorado. p. 58. Retrieved May 4, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  10. Kobal, John (1982). Rita Hayworth : the time, the place, and the woman. Internet Archive. New York : Berkley Books. ISBN 978-0-425-05634-9.
  11. Sies, Luther F. (2014). Encyclopedia of American Radio, 1920-1960, 2nd Edition. McFarland & Company, Inc.; ISBN 978-0-7864-5149-4, pg. 498.
  12. "Air Ya Listenin?". The Mason City Globe-Gazette. Mason City, Iowa. June 2, 1943. p. 2. Retrieved May 5, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  13. Terrace, Vincent (1999). Radio Programs, 1924-1984: A Catalog of More Than 1800 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc.; ISBN 978-0-7864-4513-4, pg. 337.
  14. "Miss Kurt wed secretly". The Lincoln Star. Lincoln, Nebraska. International News Service. March 14, 1943. p. 1. Retrieved May 5, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  15. Frank W. Ellis Jr. death details, americanairmuseum. Accessed October 11, 2022.
  16. "Anita Stops 'Ghosting'". The Courier News. Blytheville, Arkansas. NEA. February 18, 1957. p. 7. Retrieved May 4, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  17. Kilgallen, Dorothy (August 6, 1957). "The Voice of Broadway". Pottstown Mercury. Pottstown, Pennsylvania. p. 4. Retrieved May 5, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  18. Emery, Fred (January 15, 1946). "On the Air: Skelton Vocalist". Delphos Daily Herald. Ohio, Delphos. p. 5. Retrieved May 6, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  19. Profile Archived 2010-01-14 at the Wayback Machine, Nysocialdiary.com; accessed April 14, 2016.
  20. Profile, Oldies.com; accessed April 14, 2016.
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