|
Ethel Merman (January 16, 1908 - February 15, 1984) was a star of stage and film musicals, well known for her strident voice and comic acting.
She was born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann, in Astoria, Queens, New York, of a German Lutheran father and Scottish Presbyterian mother, although many people assumed she was Jewish.
Merman was married and divorced four times.
- Bill Smith (Theatrical agent.)
- Sam Neuman (a marriage of convenience)
- Robert Levitt (Newspaper executive. The couple had two children. Divorced in 1952.)
- Robert Six (Airline executive, 1953-1960)
- Ernest Borgnine (Actor, in 1964. Merman filed for divorced after 32 days.)
She was known for her powerful alto voice, exact enunciation, and accurate pitch. Because stage singers performed without microphones when she began singing professionally, she had great advantages in show business.
She began singing while working as a secretary. She eventually became a full time vaudeville performer, and played the pinnacle of vaudeville, the Palace Theater in New York City. She had already been engaged for Girl Crazy, a musical with songs by George and Ira Gershwin. Her rendition of "I Got Rhythm" in the show was popular, and by the late 1930s she had become the first lady of the Broadway musical stage. Many consider her the leading Broadway musical performer of the twentieth century with her signature song being There's No Business Like Show Business.
Theater performances
Film performances
- 1930 Follow the Leader
- 1930 The Cave Club
- 1931 The Devil Sea
- 1931 Roaming
- 1932 Let Me Call You Sweetheart
- 1932 You Try Somebody Else
- 1932 Time on My Hands
- 1932 Old Man Blues
- 1932 Ireno
- 1933 Song Shopping
- 1933 Be Like Me
- 1934 We're Not Dressing
- 1934. Kid Millions
- 1936 The Big Broadcast of 1936
- 1936 Strike Me Pink
- 1936 Anything Goes
- 1938 Happy Landing
- 1938 Alexander's Ragtime Band
- 1938 Straight, Place and Show
- 1943 Stage Door Canteen
- 1953 Call Me Madam
- 1954 There's No Business Like Show Business
- 1963 It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World
- 1965 The Art of Love
- 1967 Tarzan and the Mountains of the Moon
- 1968 Around the World of Mike Todd
- 1971 Journey Back to Oz (voice)
- 1976 Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood
- 1978 A Salute to American Imagination
- 1979 Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July
- 1980 Airplane!
- 1981 Something a Little Less Serious
Television performances
External links
|
