Rex Harrison

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Lore & Background

Harrison originated the role of Professor Henry Higgins in the 1956 stage musical *My Fair Lady*, which was based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play *Pygmalion*. When Warner Bros. purchased the film rights in February 1962 for $5.5 million plus 47.25% of the gross over $20 million, Harrison reprised his role for the 1964 film adaptation. The film was directed by George Cukor with a screenplay by Alan Jay Lerner. Harrison's partly-spoken delivery of songs in the film is a well-known example of sprechstimme. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance, as the film won eight Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director.

Reader's Guide

Harrison's performance as Henry Higgins is central to *My Fair Lady*'s plot: a phonetics scholar who wagers he can teach Cockney flower-seller Eliza Doolittle to speak English well enough to pass for a duchess. Key moments include Higgins boasting he could pass Eliza off as a duchess at an embassy ball, his demanding teaching methods in 'The Rain in Spain' scene, and his eventual realization that Eliza has become important to him in 'I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face.' The film was the second-highest-grossing film of 1964, after *Mary Poppins*, and was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 2018 as 'culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.'

Did You Know?

• Harrison reprised his stage role as Henry Higgins for the 1964 film adaptation, which was directed by George Cukor.
• His partly-spoken delivery of songs in the film is a well-known example of sprechstimme.
• Harrison won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in *My Fair Lady*.
• The film was the second-highest-grossing film of 1964, after *Mary Poppins*.
• In 2018, *My Fair Lady* was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

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