The King and I (1956 film) O'Hara, who had a pleasant soprano voice, was originally cast, but Richard Rodgers did not agree to the casting. It was Yul Brynner who pressed for Deborah Kerr to play the role. Marni Nixon provided Kerr's singing for the film. Nixon and Kerr worked side-by-side in the recording studio for songs which combined speaking and singing. Nixon would also dub Kerr's singing the following year, for the film "An Affair to Remember". Donald Bogle's biography of Dorothy Dandridge claims that Dandridge was offered the role of Tuptim in partial fulfillment of her three-picture contract with 20th Century-Fox, but that Dandridge
Deborah Woodson Theater in Washington, D.C., where she sang before the President of the United States of America. Deborah moved to Germany in 1997. She was an immediate success, performing frequently on the RTL "Saturday Night Live Show". Deborah was vocal coach in the nationally televised "Deutschland sucht den Superstar" ("The German Idol"). and served on the jury for European Gospel Awards 2004, 2005 and 2006. She has traveled the world conducting gospel workshops and performing with her gospel group, The Gospel Soulmates. Deborah played Motormouth Maybelle in the original German version of the musical "Hairspray" 2009 in the Musical Dome in