Actors and actresses who CANNOT sing- Page 2

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 3/20/06 at 11:13pm

You can also add the four leads in the revival of "Follies" (Blythe Danner, Gregory Harrison, Treat Williams, and Judith Ivey) to the list.

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 3/20/06 at 11:15pm

I would absolutley love to see some of those celebs in amusical. Especially Jim Carrey. that'd be really entertaining.

[EverythingIsRENT]

Posted: 3/20/06 at 11:16pm

Carol Channing. The woman is a phenomenal legend but my lord, her voice is like nails on a chalkboard!!

I am going to go out on a limb and say Ethel Merman could BELT out notes very well and had lung power, but she was not a singer in a sense that her voice had range and melody. Pretty much everything is shouted at the top of her voice, no real subtltey. Not diminishing her talent in any way, though!!

Posted: 3/20/06 at 11:17pm

Molly Ringwald.

I liked her in Cabaret regardless.

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/20/06 at 11:19pm

I am going to go out on a limb and say Ethel Merman could BELT out notes very well and had lung power, but she was not a singer in a sense that her voice had range and melody. Pretty much everything is shouted at the top of her voice, no real subtltey. Not diminishing her talent in any way, though!!
---

She sang like that for a reason. In the good old days, they didn't have mics. So she made sure every single person in the Theatre could hear her. From the front row to the last row. EVERYONE could hear her.

They don't make them like her anymore.

[stanton]

Posted: 3/20/06 at 11:20pm

Roseanne Barr ( or whatever name she goes by now)
Suzanne Sommers. Saw her act she is a nice lady, or maybe I caught her show on an off night?

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 3/20/06 at 11:27pm

"I am going to go out on a limb and say Ethel Merman could BELT out notes very well and had lung power, but she was not a singer in a sense that her voice had range and melody. Pretty much everything is shouted at the top of her voice, no real subtltey."

I agree completely.

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/20/06 at 11:28pm

It's kind of making me sick people are listing Merman in a thread about actresses who CANNOT sing.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 3/20/06 at 11:33pm

Despite what Noel Coward, Stephen Sondheim and Hal Prince think, Elaine Stritch can not sing. She can act, she has great phrasing, but she shouldn't be allowed near a piano.

[tiger_lily007]

Posted: 3/20/06 at 11:59pm

One of my profs at school saw Merman sing live, without a mic (obviously) and from what he has said about her, I don't think those who never got to see her have a correct appreciation for what it was like to be in the theatre at that time, in that place, and hearing and seeing her perform. CDs don't do her justice. I think we just don't get it because things are so different now with recordings and mics, and therefore I don't think we can pass unbiased judgement.

[Elphaba3]

Posted: 3/21/06 at 2:32am

I never saw Ms. Merman perform live, but she obviously had a huge amount of charisma. She is absolutely a Broadway legend, but I don't think she was a great singer. I don't think she was a horrible singer either. Just not my style at all.
Updated On: 3/21/06 at 02:32 AM

Posted: 3/21/06 at 2:42am

last time i checked there are some actors in musicals who can't sing!!

[Blanche]

Posted: 3/21/06 at 9:34pm

Well, I did see Merman live. She may not have had a classically trained voice, but she was an amazingly wonderful singer. She was a brassy belter and perhaps she wasn't everybody's cup of tea, but could she sing? Oh my God, yes.

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/21/06 at 9:36pm

Thank you, Blanche.

It kills me that people these days (mainly kids/teens I am guessing) think Merman couldn't sing.

Just.. wow.

[WickedGeek28]

Posted: 3/21/06 at 9:51pm

John Lithgow can carry a tune.
But I wouldn't say he's a singer.

That's what I thought for a long time but after seeing him is drs in april, he really shocked me. i especially enjoyed his "love sneaks in."

[stanton]

Posted: 3/21/06 at 9:53pm

Ethel Merman CAN SING! She is one of the best to ever hit the stage!

[bschneid76]

Posted: 3/21/06 at 10:23pm

Ethel Merman was a terrific singer, even when she was towards the end of her life, she still could carry a tune and make it very entertaining! See Broadway's Lost Treasures part III. She would have been amazing to see on stage! Listen to her old stuff and she has a georgious voice! Even her brassy belting tone is wonderful. I'd also disagree with saying Carol Channing doesn't have a singing voice, listen to Thoroughly Modern Millie (film). Both of these ladies fall under the "either like em or hate em" categorie. I feel both are terrific. As was Rex Harrison!!!!

[stanton]

Posted: 3/21/06 at 11:10pm

Keven Anderson. I love Patti Lupone she sings in Sunset Blvd!
Keven voice comes from his nose!

[Adam Chris]

Posted: 3/22/06 at 2:55pm

Oh on! I fell bad for those who had to sit through Fiddler with Rosie and Harvey.
If that didnt really happen, I would have thought it to be a joke.

[StageManager2]

Posted: 3/22/06 at 3:17pm

I can't stand Carol Channing's rendition of "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend." I've listened to the original cast recording and it's just plain awful.

[Calvin]

Posted: 3/22/06 at 3:25pm

I saw Tony Curtis in a musical. He tried, he really did. And he seemed to be having a good time. But let's hope he doesn't do that again.

[Love4Cheno]

Posted: 3/22/06 at 3:26pm

I think Julia Roberts is possibly the most atrocious "singer" I've ever heard. I happen to love Woody Allen's "Everyone Says I Love You" but I really break out into laughter when she sings.

As for celebs who can sing, as MichaelBennett mentioned: Gwyneth Paltrow. I will go so far as to say that i LOVE her voice. (Love her version of Just My Imagination w/ Babyface.)

[Allie]

Posted: 3/22/06 at 3:26pm

Cameron Diaz is not a great singer at ALL. She does "Beyond The Sea" with Ewan McGregor in the movie, A Life Less Ordinary, and she's awful!

[Calvin]

Posted: 3/22/06 at 3:29pm

And she killed the bird in Shrek.

[bschneid76]

Posted: 3/22/06 at 4:00pm

Have you heard Channing's Diamonds on Loreli?(sp) It's a bit better. I think her original song was a character choice, which works for the character. What a vocal range on that woman!!!