Ethel Merman

Ethel Merman was the leading American musical theater performer of her generation, creating roles in 13 Broadway musicals between 1930 and 1959, and continuing to appear in shows occasionally through 1970. Her clarion voice and exact enunciation were perfect for an era when a stage performer was required to sing loud enough to be heard at the back of the theater without amplification. That made her a favorite of the leading songwriters of the day, and she introduced some of the most memorable songs of George Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Irving Berlin. Her Broadway stardom, at a time when the musical theater was a major source for American popular music, nationally afforded her opportunities in other areas of entertainment including personal appearances, records, movies, radio, and television. But her real home was on the Broadway stage, and that's where she spent the bulk of her time for 40 years. Merman began singing as a child and entertained at military camps during World War I. She became a secretary after graduating from high school, but gradually built up a career singing in nightclubs and vaudeville. In September 1930, she reached the pinnacle of vaudeville success, playing the Palace Theater in New York. By then, however, she was already preparing to make a transition to the legitimate theater, and on October 13, 1930, she opened in a featured role in the Broadway musical Girl Crazy, with songs by George and Ira Gershwin, attracting considerable attention with her performance of "I Got Rhythm." The show ran 272 performances, closing June 6, 1931, and she found time during its run to continue her nightclub appearances and to work at New York's Paramount Pictures studios, where she appeared in short films, and then made her feature film debut in Follow the Leader,...