How did Blake Edwards' widow manage to lose her voice while Helen Reddy kept hers?

MEOW

And you'll be able to hear her roar once more.

ANDREWS had surgery on her throat some years back that resulted in her losing the vocal capacity that she had (had).

THE END

[quote]That woman who trapped Blake Edwards in the prison of hetero "marriage" and imprisoned two little girls of color had surgery on her throat some years back that resulted in her losing the vocal capacity that she had (had), which she wouldn't have needed if her technique were any good.

Fixed.

Helen Reddy used to be a chain smoker, too.

isn't Reddy dead?

"ANDREWS had surgery on her throat some years back that resulted in her losing the vocal capacity that she had (had)."

I think that was the story, I don't know if it was true though. That was, allegedly, used more as a cover as to why her voice had declined. When in reality it had already fallen far from its peak before that. I'm sketchy on the timeline with VICTOR / VICTORIA, the surgery, live performances thru the years, etc. though.

Bluntly however: menopause. Very few female singers, no sopranos survive it.

[quote] Helen Reddy used to be a chain smoker, too.

Of what? Her ex-husband/manager was a cokehead who almost died of a heart attack after their divorce.

MY FAIR LADY was too taxing for a singer with little knowledge of vocal technique. You can hear the difference between the Broadway cast recording and the London cast recording. They were recorded three years and a large number of performances apart. And you can hear the wear and tear in her voice.

In 1992, she did a studio recording of The King and I. It's heart breaking to listen to it. Her voice is on its last legs. She even has trouble holding a pitch. Of course, she should have done a major revival 20 years before. That might have been glorious. But no.

Then she stupidly decided to come back to Broadway in 1995. 39 years after My Fair Lady. She was 60 with a worn out voice and she chose to take on 8 performances a week. (Lots of audience members saw her stand-by.)

By the time she got the vocal surgery, she had abused her voice for years, still never learned technique, and had nodes on her throat. By all accounts, the surgeon did a poor job. He also operated on Teresa Stratas' voice and destroyed it. Andrews never should have bothered. It was just about all over by that point, anyway.

Helen Reddy back in the day. Both plain and pretty at the same time. Winsome.

Barry Manilow went to Julie's voice doctor and didn't lose his voice. He didn't have as much to lose, but he still had it when I saw him.

Julie Andrews back in the day. She had a voice like an English lark.

"In 1992, she did a studio recording of The King and I. It's heart breaking to listen to it. Her voice is on its last legs."

Mmm. And that was BEFORE the surgery.

The "she lost her voice because of surgery" story is not true.

She had lost her voice before surgery. It was pretty ragged during the run of Victor/Victoria.

In fact, Forbidden Broadway spoofed her with "I Couldn't Hit That Note"

"Aaaaaaaaannd soooooooooo I MODulate, a whole key down to state: I couldn't hit that note [tape voice starts] AAAAAAAAAALLLL NIIIIIIIIIGHT!"