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Stephen Boyd's singing voice was dubbed by Los Angeles studio singer, Jimmy Joyce. On April 2, 2007, Robert Osborne of TCM , introducing the MGM film Fearless Fagan (1952) directed by Stanley Donen , said that Donen was due to direct Jumbo right after Singin' in the Rain in 1952.
Kitty Wonder (Day) and ‘Pop’ Wonder (Durante) take a bow in Billy Rose’s Jumbo. Unfortunately, Billy Rose’s Jumbo opened in New York at Radio City Music Hall during a newspaper strike and did not get reviewed by the all-important critics. As a result, the film did not do as well as it was projected.
Next, Boyd was again loaned out to MGM Studios to star with Doris Day in the circus musical Billy Rose's Jumbo, filmed during the early part of 1962; the role earned Boyd a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
The dubbing of Stephen Boyd's vocals is a lingering mystery in the annals of movie musicals. Various sources have credited the robust baritone to a studio singer named James Joyce, but Joyce's name is documented nowhere else in terms of film history, and his distinctive voice has been heard in no films before or since.
Although no singer, leading man Stephen Boyd had scored a hit as Messala, the villain in Ben-Hur, and did an impressive job lip-synching to James Joyce's vocals. But the film's cast was dominated by the presence of two seasoned comic performers.
- Charles Walters
- Doris Day
Jan 23, 2021 · An adaptation of the stage musical Jumbo produced by Billy Rose, the film was directed by Charles Walters, written by Sidney Sheldon, and featured Busby Berkeley’s choreography. The film was Doris Day’s last screen musical. Stephen Boyd’s singing voice was dubbed by Los Angeles studio singer, Jimmy Joyce.
The musical was made into a movie as Billy Rose's Jumbo in 1962, starring Jimmy Durante, Doris Day, Martha Raye, and Stephen Boyd, featuring Busby Berkeley's choreography. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Scoring of Music-Adaptation or Treatment. Although Jimmy Durante was in the cast of both the stage musical and the film (made ...
