MovieChat Forums > Best Foot Forward (1943) Discussion > Did Tommy Dix do his own singing?

Did Tommy Dix do his own singing?

posted 12 years ago by fugazzi49
3 replies | jump to latest

Throughout the film Tommy Dix speaks in a high tenor voice saying things like, "Gee Miss Ball..." But when he sings Buckle Down Winsocki, it's with a powerful baritone voice. He may have done the character in a high voice to connote youth and innocence. On the other hand Hollywood had a penchant in this era for dubbing singing parts and the contrast between his talking And singing voice was rather startling .Does anybody know for sure that it was him singing?

[–] dwstafford671 12 years ago

Check out his Bio and it says he did and then recorded with Benny Goodman and his Orchestra and it was a big hit on 78 rpms.

[–] fugazzi49 9 years ago

I found verification in an unlikely place, an article about 80's pop singer Rick Astley! It noted that like young Tommy Dix in the 40's, he had a boy's face but sang in a manly baritone that was startling considering his looks.

[–] dmnemaine 8 years ago

The original Bud Hooper from the Broadway cast, Gil Stratton, also had a similar disparity between his speaking voice and his singing voice (you can hear him sing briefly in "Girl Crazy" during "Embraceable You" with Judy Garland). Ironically, Gil Stratton was put under contract to MGM specifically to reprise his Broadway role in the film version of "Best Foot Forward", but was obviously usurped by Tommy Dix. He ended being severely underused by MGM, which was too bad.