Mitzi Gaynor, the leading lady of the movie musical, has died at the age of 93

“South Pacific” was a box-office smash, and Ms. Gaynor's performance opposite Rossano Brazzi was well received. (He became the only one of the film's stars to sing his own song.) But he made three more films, all without comedy music; The last of them, “For Love or Money” with Kirk Douglas, was released in 1963. He moved to Las Vegas instead, where he headlined shows at major resorts and on television for more than a decade.

One network appearance made a particularly strong impression: her performance of the Oscar-nominated song “Georgie Girl” at the 1967 Academy Awards, with intricate choreography, four male backup dancers in white suits and a striptease costume change. This led to a decade-long series of Emmy Award-winning variety specials with titles such as “Mitzi and a Hundred Guys” and “Mitzi Zings Into Spring.”

His most notable television experience, however, may have been his least successful. On February 16, 1964, Ms. Gaynor had top billing on “The Ed Sullivan Show.” He sang “It's Too Darn Hot” and a medley of blues songs, but he was completely overshadowed by another of Bill's acts that night: The Beatles, making their second American television appearance. Later at a cast dinner, he recalled, Paul McCartney asked for his autograph.

Francesca Marlene de Jani von Gerber was born in Chicago on September 4, 1931, into a show business family. His father, Henry, was a Hungarian-born cellist and orchestra conductor; His mother, Pauline (Fisher) von Gerber, was a dancer. Francis, as he was known, was 3 years old when the family moved to Detroit; When she was 11, they moved to Southern California.