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Ethel Merman (January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was a American star of stage and film musicals, well known for her powerful voice, often hailed by critics as "The Grande Dame of the Broadway stage". Alexanders Ragtime Band is the name of a 1938 film that takes off from the 1911 Irving Berlin song, Alexanders Ragtime Band, to tell a story of a society boy who scandalizes his family by pursuing a career in ragtime instead of in serious music. ... is the 16th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Aerial view of the Triborough Bridge (left) and the Hell Gate Bridge (right) spanning Astoria Park and the Astoria Pool Astoria is a neighborhood in the northwestern corner of the borough of Queens in New York City. ... This article is about the state. ... is the 46th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... New York, New York redirects here. ... Actors in period costume sharing a joke whilst waiting between takes during location filming. ... For other uses, see Singer (disambiguation). ... Ermes Effron Borgnino or better known as Ernest Borgnine (born January 24, 1917[1][2]) is a Golden Globe-, BAFTA- and Academy Award-winning American actor. ... The Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are American awards for motion pictures and television programs, given out each year during a formal dinner. ... The Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1950. ... Call Me Madam is one of Irving Berlins last musical comedies. ... The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live American theatre and are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League [1] at an annual ceremony in New York City. ... The Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical is awarded to the actress who was voted as the best actress in a musical, whether a new production or a revival. ... Call Me Madam is one of Irving Berlins last musical comedies. ... is the 16th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 46th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about motion pictures. ...

Biography

Early life

Merman was born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann in her maternal grandmother's house at 359 4th Avenue, Astoria, Queens, New York. Her father, Edward Zimmermann, was an accountant, and her mother, Agnes (née Gardner), was a school teacher. Merman's father was German American and Lutheran, and her mother was Scottish American and Presbyterian; she was baptized Episcopalian.^[1] She attended PS 6 on Steinway Street in Astoria. She used to stand outside the Famous Players-Lasky Studios and wait to see her favorite Broadway star, Alice Brady. Ethel loved to sing songs like "By the Light of the Silvery Moon" and "Alexander's Ragtime Band" while her adoring father accompanied her on the piano. William Cullen Bryant High School in Astoria named its auditorium Ethel Merman Theater. Mother with her child (Sculpture) A mother is typically the biological or social female parent of a child or offspring while the male parent is the father. ... Aerial view of the Triborough Bridge (left) and the Hell Gate Bridge (right) spanning Astoria Park and the Astoria Pool Astoria is a neighborhood in the northwestern corner of the borough of Queens in New York City. ... Queens is geographically the largest of the five boroughs of New York City in the United States, and the most ethnically diverse county in the U.S. It is coterminous with Queens County in the State of New York and is located on western Long Island. ... Accountant, or Qualified Accountant, or Professional Accountant, is a certified accountancy and financial expert in the jurisdiction of many countries. ... Née redirects here. ... German Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry. ... -1... Scottish Americans or Scots Americans are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates in the northwest European nation of Scotland. ... Presbyterianism is a family of Christian denominations within the Reformed branch of Protestant Western Christianity. ... -1... Famous Players-Lasky Corporation studios Famous Players-Lasky Corporation was an American motion picture company formed in 1916 from the merger of Famous Players Film Company and the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company. ... For other uses of Broadway, see Broadway. ... Alice Brady (November 2, 1892 - October 28, 1939) was an Academy Award-winning American actress in the silent film era of the late 1910s and 1920s through the 1930s, during the Great Depression. ... Film Data By the Light of the Silvery Moon is a film musical and was produced by William Jacobs with David Butler as his director. ... Alexanders Ragtime Band is the name of a song by Irving Berlin. ... William Cullen Bryant High School, or Bryant High School for short, is a secondary school located in Queens, New York City, New York which educates grades 9 through 12. ...

Performance style

Ethel Merman with Tyrone Power in a trailer for Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938)

Merman was known for her powerful, belting mezzo-soprano – alto voice, precise enunciation, and pitch. Because stage singers performed without microphones when she began singing professionally, she had great advantages in show business, despite the fact that she never received any singing lessons. In fact, Broadway lore holds that George Gershwin warned her never to take a singing lesson after seeing her opening reviews for Girl Crazy. Stephen Sondheim, who wrote the lyrics for Merman's Gypsy, remembered that she could become "mechanical" after a while. "She performed the dickens out of the show when the critics were there," he said. He added, "or if she thought there was a celebrity in the audience. So we used to spread a rumor that Frank Sinatra was out front. That whoever, Judy Garland was out front. I'll tell you one thing [Merman] did do, she steadily upstaged everybody. Every night, she would be about one more foot upstage, so finally they were all playing with their backs to the audience. I don't think it was conscious. Ethel was not big on brains. But she sure knew her way around a stage, and it was all instinctive."^[2] Tyrone Edmund Power, Jr. ... Alexanders Ragtime Band is the name of a 1938 film that takes off from the 1911 Irving Berlin song, Alexanders Ragtime Band, to tell a story of a society boy who scandalizes his family by pursuing a career in ragtime instead of in serious music. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Belt (music). ... A mezzo-soprano (meaning medium soprano in Italian) is a female singer with a range usually extending from the A below middle C to the F an eleventh above middle C. Mezzo-sopranos generally have a darker (or lower) vocal tone than sopranos, and their vocal range is between that... This article is about the voice-type. ... Enunciation is the act of speaking clearly and concisely. ... Microphones redirects here. ... Gershwin redirects here. ... Girl Crazy is a theater musical with music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and book by Guy Bolton and John McGowan. ... Stephen Joshua Sondheim (b. ... Gypsy: A Musical Fable is a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. ... Sinatra redirects here. ... Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922 - June 22, 1969) was an Academy Award-nominated American film actress and singer, best known for her role as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz (1939). ...

Career

Ethel Merman with Tyrone Power in a trailer for Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938)

Merman began singing while working as a secretary for the B-K Booster (automobile) Vacuum Brake Company in Queens. She eventually became a full time vaudeville performer and played the pinnacle of vaudeville, the Palace Theatre in New York City. She had already been engaged for Girl Crazy, a musical with songs by George and Ira Gershwin, which also starred a very young Ginger Rogers (19 years old) in 1930. Although third billed, 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" (from Annie Get Your Gun). Tyrone Edmund Power, Jr. ... Alexanders Ragtime Band is the name of a 1938 film that takes off from the 1911 Irving Berlin song, Alexanders Ragtime Band, to tell a story of a society boy who scandalizes his family by pursuing a career in ragtime instead of in serious music. ... For other uses, see Secretary (disambiguation). ... This article is about the musical variety theatre. ... The Palace Theatre, circa 1920. ... Girl Crazy is a theater musical with music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and book by Guy Bolton and John McGowan. ... Gershwin redirects here. ... Ira Gershwin (6 December 1896 – 17 August 1983) was an American lyricist who collaborated with his younger brother, composer George Gershwin, to create some of the most memorable songs of the 20th century. ... Ginger Rogers (Virginia Katherine McMath, July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an Academy Award-winning American film and stage actress and singer. ... I Got Rhythm is a song composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, published in 1930, which became a widely-known jazz standard. ... Perhaps one of the most famous, and recognizable, show-tunes ever is Theres No Business Like Show Business. This Irving Berlin marvel was written for Annie Get Your Gun and has two reprises within the show. ... Annie Get Your Gun is a musical with lyrics and music written by Irving Berlin and a book by Herbert Fields and his sister Dorothy Fields. ...

Merman starred in five Cole Porter musicals, among them Anything Goes in 1934, where she introduced "I Get a Kick Out of You", "Blow Gabriel Blow", and the title song. Her next musical with Porter was Red, Hot and Blue, in which she co-starred with Bob Hope and Jimmy Durante and introduced "It's Delovely" and "Down in the Depths (on the 90th floor)". In 1939s DuBarry Was a Lady, Porter provided Merman with a "can you top this" duet with Bert Lahr, "Friendship". Like "You're the Top" in Anything Goes, this kind of duet became one of her signatures. Porter's lyrics also helped showcase her comic talents in duets in Panama Hattie ("Let's Be Buddies", "I've Still Got My Health"), and Something for the Boys ("By the Mississinewah", "Hey Good Lookin'"). Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter from Peru, Indiana. ... For other uses, see Anything Goes (disambiguation). ... I Get a Kick Out of You is a song by Cole Porter, originally featured in Anything Goes (1934). ... Bob Hope, KBE (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003), born Leslie Townes Hope, was an English-Born American entertainer who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, on radio and television, in movies, and in performing tours for U.S. Military personnel, well known for his good natured humor and career longevity. ... “Inka Dinka Doo” redirects here. ... Down in the Depths (on the Ninetieth Floor) is a song written by Cole Porter, for his 1936 musical Red, Hot and Blue, in which it was introduced by Ethel Merman. ... DuBarry Was a Lady (1939) is a Broadway musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter, and the book by Herbert Fields and B.G. DeSylva. ... Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion. ... Categories: | ... For other uses, see Anything Goes (disambiguation). ... Panama Hattie is a theater musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Herbert Fields and B. G. DeSylva. ... Something for the Boys was a 1943 musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Herbert Fields and Dorothy Fields. ...

Irving Berlin supplied Merman with equally memorable duets, including counterpoint songs "An Old-Fashioned Wedding" with Bruce Yarnell, written for the 1966 revival of Annie Get Your Gun, and "You're Just in Love" with Russell Nype in Call Me Madam. Merman won the 1951 Tony Award for Best Actress for her performance as Sally Adams in Call Me Madam. She reprised her role in the lively Walter Lang film version. Irving Berlin (May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russian-born naturalized American composer and lyricist, and one of the most prolific American songwriters in history. ... Annie Get Your Gun is a musical with lyrics and music written by Irving Berlin and a book by Herbert Fields and his sister Dorothy Fields. ... Youre Just in Love is a popular song. ... Russell Nype (born April 26, 1924) is a Tony Award-winning American actor. ... Call Me Madam is one of Irving Berlins last musical comedies. ... The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live American theatre and are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League [1] at an annual ceremony in New York City. ... Call Me Madam is one of Irving Berlins last musical comedies. ... Walter Lang (born August 10, 1896 - died February 7, 1972) was an American film director. ...

Perhaps Merman's most revered performance was in Gypsy as Gypsy Rose Lee's mother Rose. Merman introduced "Everything's Coming Up Roses" and "Some People" and ended the show with the wrenching "Rose's Turn". Critics and audiences saw her creation of Madame Rose as the performance of her career. She did not get the role in the movie version, however, which went to movie actress Rosalind Russell, and an infuriated Merman was quoted as saying: "There's a name for women like her but it's seldom used in society outside [of] a kennel." (Since this is a line from the film The Women, in which Russell appeared, the story may be apocryphal.) She also insulted Russell's husband, Freddie Brisson, by calling him the "Lizard of Roz". ^{[citation needed]} Merman decided to take Gypsy on the road and trumped the motion picture as a result. Gypsy: A Musical Fable is a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. ... Gypsy Rose Lee (also known as Rose Louise Hovick and Louise Hovick) (February 9, 1911 or 1914 – April 26, 1970) was an American actress and burlesque entertainer, whose 1957 memoir, which included a scathing portrait of her domineering mother, was made into the stage musical and film Gypsy. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Rosalind Russell (June 4, 1907 – November 28, 1976) was a four-time Academy Award nominated and Tony Award winning American film and stage actress, perhaps best known for her role as a fast-talking newspaper reporter in the Howard Hawks screwball comedy His Girl Friday. ... Original film poster The Women is a comedy of manners by Clare Boothe Luce. ... In Judeo-Christian theologies, apocrypha refers to religious Sacred text that have questionable authenticity or are otherwise disputed. ... For other uses see film (disambiguation) Film refers to the celluliod media on which movies are printed Film — also called movies, the cinema, the silver screen, moving pictures, photoplays, picture shows, flicks, or motion pictures, — is a field that encompasses motion pictures as an art form or as part of...

in the film trailer for There's No Business Like Show Business (1954)

Merman lost the Tony Award to Mary Martin, who was playing Maria in The Sound of Music. "How can you buck a nun?" mused Merman. The competitiveness notwithstanding, Merman and Martin were friends off stage and starred in a legendary musical special on television. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Theres No Business Like Show Business is a 20th Century Fox film that was released on December 16, 1954. ... The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live American theatre and are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League [1] at an annual ceremony in New York City. ... Mary Virginia Martin (b. ... For other uses, see The Sound of Music (disambiguation). ...

Merman retired from Broadway in 1970, when she appeared as the last Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly!, a show initially written for her. No longer willing to "take the veil," as she described being in a Broadway role, Merman preferred to act in television specials and movies. For other uses of Broadway, see Broadway. ... Hello, Dolly! is a musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilders 1938 farce The Merchant of Yonkers, which Wilder revised and retitled The Matchmaker in 1955. ... For other uses of Broadway, see Broadway. ... A television special is a television program, typically a short film or television movie, which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. ...

Though she reprised her roles in Anything Goes and Call Me Madam, film executives would not select her for Annie Get Your Gun or Gypsy. Some critics state the reason for losing the roles was that her outsized stage persona did not fit well on the screen. Others have said that after her behavior on the set of Twentieth-Century Fox's There's No Business Like Show Business, Jack Warner refused to have her in any of his motion pictures, thereby causing her to lose the role of Rose in Gypsy, though some believe Rosalind Russell's husband and agent, Freddie Brisson, negotiated the rights away from Merman for his wife. Nonetheless, Stanley Kramer decided to cast her as the battle-axe Mrs. Marcus, mother-in-law of Milton Berle, in the madcap It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Persona literally means mask , although it does not usually refer to a literal mask but to the social masks all humans supposedly wear. ... Related articles FOX Television Network Fox Searchlight Pictures Fox Entertainment Group List of Hollywood movie studios List of movies Variant of current 20th Century Fox logo External links 20th Century Fox Movies official site Twentieth Century Fox is also the punning title of a song by The Doors on their... Theres No Business Like Show Business is a 20th Century Fox film that was released on December 16, 1954. ... This article is about Jack Warner, the head of Warner Brothers. ... Rosalind Russell (June 4, 1907 – November 28, 1976) was a four-time Academy Award nominated and Tony Award winning American film and stage actress, perhaps best known for her role as a fast-talking newspaper reporter in the Howard Hawks screwball comedy His Girl Friday. ... Stanley Kramer (September 29, 1913 – February 19, 2001) was a Jewish-American film director and producer. ... Milton Berle (July 12, 1908 - March 27, 2002) was an Emmy-winning American comedian who was born Milton Berlinger. ... Its a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is a 1963 American comedy film directed by Stanley Kramer about the madcap pursuit of $350,000 of stolen cash by a diverse and colorful group of strangers. ...

Merman's last movie role was a self-parody in the comedy movie Airplane!, appearing as a soldier, Lieutenant Hurwitz. Hurwitz is suffering from shell shock and thinks he is Ethel Merman. Merman sings "Everything's Coming Up Roses", while the nurses drag her back to bed and give her a sedative. In 1979, she recorded the infamous The Ethel Merman Disco Album, with many of her signature show-stoppers set to a disco beat. In contemporary usage, a parody (or lampoon) is a work that imitates another work in order to ridicule, ironically comment on, or poke some affectionate fun at the work itself, the subject of the work, the author or fictional voice of the parody, or another subject. ... Airplane! is an American comedy film, first released on 27 June 1980, produced, directed, and written by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker. ... This article is about a military rank. ... The military term combat stress reaction (CSR) comprises the range of adverse behaviours in reaction to the stress of combat and combat related activities. ... A sedative is a substance that depresses the central nervous system (CNS), resulting in calmness, relaxation, reduction of anxiety, sleepiness, and slowed breathing, as well as slurred speech, staggering gait, poor judgment, and slow, uncertain reflexes. ... The Ethel Merman Disco Album is a 1979 album by American Broadway legend Ethel Merman. ... This article is about the music genre. ...

Personal life

Ethel Merman at the typewriter in 1953, New York World-Telegram photo by Walter Albertin

Merman was married and divorced four times: The New York World-Telegram was formed by the 1931 sale of the New York World by the heirs of Joseph Pulitzer to Scripps Howard, owners since 1927 of the Evening Telegram. ...

1. Bill Smith, theatrical agent
2. Robert Levitt, a newspaper executive
3. Robert Six, an airline executive (1953 – 1960)
4. Ernest Borgnine, the actor, in 1964. They announced the impending nuptials at P.J. Clarke's, a legendary night spot in New York, but Merman filed for divorce after just 32 days. Johnny Carson soon quipped on his Tonight Show, "And they said it wouldn't last!"

With Levitt, Merman had two children: Ethel and Robert; they divorced in 1952. Ethel Levitt committed suicide in 1967. Ermes Effron Borgnino or better known as Ernest Borgnine (born January 24, 1917[1][2]) is a Golden Globe-, BAFTA- and Academy Award-winning American actor. ... Divorce or dissolution of marriage is the ending of a marriage before the death of either spouse. ... For other persons named John Carson, see John Carson (disambiguation). ... The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was a late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under the Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. ... For other uses, see Suicide (disambiguation). ...

Merman co-wrote two volumes of memoirs, Who Could Ask for Anything More in 1955 and Merman in 1978. In a radio interview, Merman commented on her many marriages, saying that "We all make mistakes, that's why they put rubbers on pencils, and that's what I did. I made a few loo-loos!"^[3] In the latter book, the chapter entitled "My Marriage to Ernest Borgnine" consists of one blank page.

Death

Merman was diagnosed with glioblastoma^[4] and underwent surgery in April 1983 to have the malignant tumor removed from her brain. Less than ten months later, in February 1984, the cancer had metastasized and she died.^[5] A glioma is a type of primary central nervous system (CNS) tumor that arises from glial cells. ... Neurosurgery is the surgical discipline focused on treating the central and peripheral nervous system. ... A brain tumor is any intracranial tumor created by abnormal and uncontrolled cell division, normally either in the brain itself (neurons, glial cells (astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, ependymal cells), lymphatic tissue, blood vessels), in the cranial nerves (myelin-producing Schwann cells), in the brain envelopes (meninges), skull, pituitary and pineal gland, or... For other uses, see Brain (disambiguation). ... Metastasis (Greek: change of the state) is the spread of cancer from its primary site to other places in the body. ...

Merman in popular culture

Merman had a cameo appearance in the movie Airplane! when a combat veteran suffering from "severe shell-shock" believed he was Ethel Merman. During the course of the joke she sat up in bed and sang a few bars of "Everything's Coming Up Roses". Airplane! is an American comedy film, first released on 27 June 1980, produced, directed, and written by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

The British Psychobillyband The Meteors recorded an instrumental called "Return Of The Ethel Merman" for their 1986 album Sewertime Blues. Psychobilly is a genre of rock music that mixes elements of punk rock, rockabilly, and other genres. ... ...

Merman is mentioned a lot in the musical series Forbidden Broadway making fun of the wireless microphones and soft singing used in The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical). Forbidden Broadway is an off-Broadway show created and written by Gerard Alessandrini and directed by Alessandrini and long-time collaborator Phillip George. ... The Phantom of the Opera is a musical and operetta by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the novel by French novelist Gaston Leroux. ...

In the Musical 'Taboo' [1]by Boy George, during the song Ich Bin Kunst, he states "I dressed up in the wardrobe of my mother (Ethel Merman)' George Alan ODowd, better known as Boy George (born June 14, 1961 in Eltham, London) is a rock singer-songwriter and club DJ. He grew up in a large, working-class Irish family in Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland. ...

In the 1987 film Good Morning, Vietnam, Army radio disc jockey Adrian Cronauer (played by Robin Williams) alluded to Merman's distinctive, brassy style and powerful voice during one of his improvised comic news bulletins. "Ethel Merman has been used to jam Russian radar systems. {belting in imitation of Merman} 'I've got a feeling that love is here to stay!' When asked for a reply, the Russians said 'Vat de hell vas dat?'" Good Morning, Vietnam is a 1987 comedy/drama film set in Saigon during the Vietnam War, based on the career of Adrian Cronauer, a disc jockey on Armed Forces Radio Saigon (AFRS), who proves hugely popular with the troops serving in South Vietnam, but infuriates his superiors with what they... Adrian Cronauer (born September 8, 1938) is a lawyer and former radio disc jockey from the United States. ... This article is about the American actor and comedian; for other people named Robin Williams, see Robin Williams (disambiguation). ...

In the 2005 film The Producers, the actor playing the part of Adolf Hitler calls himself "the German Ethel Merman." The Producers is a 2005 film based on the 2001 Broadway musical of the same name, which is in turn based on the 1968 movie starring Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder and Andréas Voutsinas. ... Hitler redirects here. ...

Audible samples of Ethel Merman

Courtesy of NPR Windows Media Player Required NPR logo For other meanings of NPR see NPR (disambiguation) National Public Radio (NPR) is a private, not-for-profit corporation that sells programming to member radio stations; together they are a loosely organized public radio network in the United States. ...

• Ethel Merman with Jimmy Durante "You Say the Nicest Things"
• Ethel Merman Sings: "The World is Your Balloon"
• Ethel Merman Sings: "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend"

Monroe sings the song surrounded by well-dressed men. ...

Theatre performances

Ethel Merman in a trailer for Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938)

• Girl Crazy (1930)
• George White's Scandals of 1931 (1931)
• Take a Chance (1932)
• Anything Goes (1934)
• Red, Hot and Blue (1936)
• Stars In Your Eyes (1939)
• DuBarry Was a Lady (1939)
• Panama Hattie (1940)
• Something for the Boys (1943)
• Sadie Thompson (1944) (left during rehearsals; replaced by June Havoc)
• Annie Get Your Gun (1946)
• Call Me Madam (1950)
• Happy Hunting (1956)
• Gypsy (1959)
• Annie Get Your Gun (1966) (revival)
• Hello, Dolly! (1970) (replacement)
• Mary Martin & Ethel Merman: Together On Broadway (1977)

Filmography

In the film Stage Door Canteen (1943)

• Follow the Leader (1930)
• We're Not Dressing (1934)
• Kid Millions (1934)
• The Big Broadcast of 1936 (1935)
• Strike Me Pink (1936)
• Anything Goes (1936)
• Happy Landing (1938)
• Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938)
• Straight, Place or Show (1938)
• Stage Door Canteen (1943)
• Call Me Madam (1953)
• There's No Business Like Show Business (1954)
• It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
• The Art of Love (1965)
• Journey Back to Oz (1974) (voice)
• Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976)
• Airplane! (1980)

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Stage Door Canteen is a 1943 film. ... In a marching band Follow-the Leader is a visual effect. ... Were Not Dressing is a 1934 film starring Bing Crosby. ... Plot details Spoiler warning: The story features Eddie, a kid from Brooklyn, who suddently inherits $77 million dollars from his lost father, an archeologist that had looted Egypt of its treaures. ... The Big Broadcast of 1936 is a 1935 film directed by Norman Taurog, and is the second in the series of Big Broadcast movies. ... Music sample Strike Me Pink (file info) Problems? See media help. ... This article is about the 1936 and 1956 films. ... Alexanders Ragtime Band is the name of a 1938 film that takes off from the 1911 Irving Berlin song, Alexanders Ragtime Band, to tell a story of a society boy who scandalizes his family by pursuing a career in ragtime instead of in serious music. ... Stage Door Canteen is a 1943 film. ... Call Me Madam is one of Irving Berlins last musical comedies. ... Theres No Business Like Show Business is a 20th Century Fox film that was released on December 16, 1954. ... Its a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is a 1963 American comedy film directed by Stanley Kramer about the madcap pursuit of $350,000 of stolen cash by a diverse and colorful group of strangers. ... The Art of Love (1965) is a movie comedy about an American artist in Paris who fakes his own death in order to increase the worth of his paintings (new paintings keep posthumously hitting the market). ... Journey Back To Oz is an official animated sequel to the 1939 MGM film The Wizard of Oz. ... Airplane! is an American comedy film, first released on 27 June 1980, produced, directed, and written by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker. ...

Television performances

Ethel Merman in a trailer for Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938)

• The Ford 50th Anniversary Show (1953)
• Panama Hattie (1954)
• Merman On Broadway (1961)
• The Lucy Show, two-parter, as herself (1963)
• Maggie Brown (1963) (unsold pilot)
• An Evening with Ethel Merman (1965)
• Annie Get Your Gun (1967)
• Tarzan and the Mountains of the Moon (1967)
• Batman, "The Sport of Penguins", two-parter as Lola Lasagne (1967)
• That Girl, two episodes, as herself (1967-68)
• 'S Wonderful, 'S Marvelous, 'S Gershwin (1972)
• Ed Sullivan's Broadway (1973)
• The Muppet Show (1976)
• Match Game PM (1976), (1978)
• You're Gonna Love It Here (1977) (unsold pilot)
• A Salute to American Imagination (1978)
• A Special Sesame Street Christmas (1978)
• Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July (1979) (voice)
• The Love Boat, five episodes, (1979-1982)
• Night of 100 Stars (1982)

Alexanders Ragtime Band is the name of a 1938 film that takes off from the 1911 Irving Berlin song, Alexanders Ragtime Band, to tell a story of a society boy who scandalizes his family by pursuing a career in ragtime instead of in serious music. ... Panama Hattie is a theater musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and book by Herbert Fields and B. G. DeSylva. ... Annie Get Your Gun is a musical with lyrics and music written by Irving Berlin and a book by Herbert Fields and his sister Dorothy Fields. ... The Muppet Show was a television program featuring a cast of Muppets (diverse hand-operated puppets, typically with oversized eyes and large moving mouths) produced by Jim Henson and his team from 1976 to 1981. ... Match Game PM was an American television game show where contestants tried to match a panel of six celebrities in answering fill-in-the-blank questions. ... A Special Sesame Christmas opening sequence A Special Sesame Christmas A Special Sesame Street Christmas was a low-budget 1978 CBS Christmas special, made the same year as the legendary and still popular Christmas Eve on Sesame Street. ...

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Ethel Merman

External links

• Ethel Merman at the Internet Broadway Database
• Ethel Merman at the Internet Movie Database
• Ethel Merman at TV.com
• Ethel Merman at All Music Guide
• Ethel Merman: A Brief Biography
• Obituary, The New York Times, February 16, 1984, "Ethel Merman, Queen of Musicals, Dies at 76"
• Ethel Merman at Find A Grave
• NPR's Susan Stamberg's Report on the Memory of Ethel Merman