Annette Warren can still belt out a tune
With her perfectly pitched rich voice and expressive articulation of lyrics, singer Annette Warren was in high demand for her vocal skills in the 1940s. On July 8, she will offer fans a chance to hear her again during a rare public performance.
“I’m going to be 96 on July 11, and this Sunday I’ll be holding a birthday concert at my house,” said Warren from her home in Rancho Palos Verdes, California. “I have a 1,000-square-foot home where I have taught singing for years.”
More than a music teacher, Hollywood captured Warren’s early talent on film about six decades ago where she was heard but remained unseen.
For instance, a quick YouTube search of the song “Can’t Help Lovin’ That Man” will reveal a delightful clip of the bluesy song from the 1951 MGM musical “Show Boat” — at first glance apparently sung brilliantly by star Ava Gardner.
Only it’s not Ava singing. It’s Annette.
“Many years ago, I was in bed one evening watching ‘The Tonight Show,’ and they were having a big debate over who provided the singing voice of Ava in the film,” Warren said. She recalls waiting to hear their verdict on the identity of the unheralded singer. “I can’t remember who they settled on, but they didn’t say it was me!”
Of course, it was her, in the role of “ghost singer” for movie star Gardner. But dubbing the singing voices of actresses was merely a detour in Warren’s musical career, which began as a pianist after winning a national scholarship to Juilliard at age 16. While young Annette would make the journey from her home in Cleveland to the East Coast, she never attended the famed school.
“Tommy Dorsey’s vocalist Anita Boyer heard me singing at a hotel in Cleveland and suggested I should contact Phil Moore when I got to New York,” said Warren, referring to the renowned jazz pianist and bandleader from the 1940s and 1950s.
Warren sought out Moore, who after hearing her play and sing, told her she didn’t need to attend Juilliard and instead offered personal coaching.
“But he wanted $300 a week for tuition!” she recalled. So she called her mom who immediately dispatched the money, despite being a single mother supporting three kids.
“When Phil learned that, he returned the check. I soon began singing cabarets and nightclubs with his orchestra all over the country. It turned my life around.”
In addition to opening career opportunities, it led to meeting her future husband jazz pianist Paul Smith (1922-2013). They remained married for 55 years.
With her background as a trained classical pianist, Warren soon found her talents in demand.
“Since I could sight-read music, I easily got work other singers couldn’t. I was employed by one company to record amateur songs people would send in. I could record 20 songs in an hour and they paid me $4 per song.”
Then one day she saw an ad in the Los Angeles Times.
“It turned out MGM was looking for a vocalist to dub Ava Gardner’s songs in ‘Show Boat.’ That same night I was at a party and introduced myself to Marvin Saltzman, who was an agent and the son-in-law of Arthur Freed, who was producing the film.”
Saltzman helped Warren secure an audition — in front of the entire cast.
“That never happened when you went for most dubbing jobs,” she said. “But they were all there — Kathryn Grayson, Howard Keel, even Joe E. Brown and Agnes Moorehead. I sang ‘Can’t Help Lovin’ That Man,’ and when I finished Kathryn Grayson — who was a fabulous singer — walked up to me and said, ‘My dear, we could all learn a lot from you.’ But Ava wasn’t happy because she wanted to sing in the movie. And to be honest, I couldn’t blame her because she had a fairly good voice herself.”
Warren’s Hollywood ghost singing days were brief, and also included dubbing Lucille Ball in three films: “Lured,” “Sorrowful Jones” and “Fancy Pants.” But it was a rather odd choice because Annette’s trained voice didn’t really match the huskiness of Lucy’s speaking voice.
Nevertheless, she says she never attempted to alter her singing style to match the voice of the actresses she dubbed. “The phone would ring, and I’d get a call for a job. The money was good, so I’d go do it if I could.”
Despite her obvious vocal talents, Warren’s professional career never ascended to the heights of fame and recognition as some of her contemporaries. When suggested she must have regrets, the answer was a resounding “No!”
“Paul and I raised 4 children — two stepchildren who were his, one we adopted and then I got pregnant 3 months after the adoption — so my heart was always with them,” she says. “I didn’t have a manager or an agent and never really promoted myself as much as I could have. But I have never, ever felt any regrets about not becoming a better-known singer. I was the happiest woman in the world raising a family.”