Gertrude Lawrence but when he proved to be unenthused by the suggestion, Lawrence sent the book to Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. Rodgers initially demurred because he felt Lawrence's vocal range was limited and she had a tendency to sing flat. But he realised the story had strong potential, and the two men agreed to write what ultimately became "The King and I". It opened on Broadway in March 1951, and ultimately, Lawrence won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance. Her triumph was short-lived; her health deteriorated rapidly, forcing her to miss numerous performances until
Rodgers and Hammerstein the mystery guests on episode number 298 of "What's My Line", which first aired on February 19, 1956; blindfolded panelist Arlene Francis was able to correctly identify them. The pair made a rare feature film appearance in MGM's 1953 production "Main Street to Broadway", in which Rodgers played the piano and Hammerstein sang a song they had written. They also appeared in the trailer for the film version of "South Pacific" in 1958. While Rodgers and Hammerstein's work contains cheerful and often uplifting songs, they departed from the comic and sentimental tone of early 20th century musicals by seriously addressing