Mitzi Gaynor, “South Pacific” star, dead at 93

Singer, dancer and actress Mitzi Gaynor, who wowed audiences in movie musicals like “South Pacific,” and became a fixture on TV variety shows and a headliner in Las Vegas, died Thursday. She was 93.

Gaynor died of natural causes in Los Angeles, according to an announcement by her representatives.

In an eight-decade career, Gaynor appeared in numerous musicals in the 1950s, including “There’s No Business Like Show Business,” “Anything Goes,” “Les Girls,” and the film version of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s smash hit “South Pacific.

Gaynor beat out a plethora of Hollywood stars, including Doris Day, Elizabeth Taylor and Susan Hayward, who vied for the role of Nellie Forbush, a Navy nurse who sings of how she wants to “wash that man right out of my hair.” 

This is a developing story and will be updated.