Mid January seems ripe with golden age Broadway and Hollywood celebrities. It’s hard to pick just one to celebrate. But I’ve had to make a hard choice so I will do just that. For me the queen of January 16th is one Ms. Ethel Merman.
Ethel Merman was born an only child in Queens, New York on January 16, 1908 (though she claimed it was 1912).
Though she always enjoyed music and theatre, frequenting vaudeville performances and keeping up with the latest sheet music available, she also thrived in other academic pursuits including student council and her high school’s magazine. After graduating high school she found steady work as a stenographer, all the while also performing at clubs and private parties in the evenings.
It was at one these clubs that she met her agent, who got her a contract at Warner Brothers. She thought she had made it but she was left waiting around for the studio. So she had her contract negotiated so she could accept club work.
It’s this early priority to a multi hyphenate career that includes both movies/tv and the stage that defines her.
Her first stage hit was the Gershwin’s Girl Crazy in 1930. At the same time is Girl Crazy she was contracted to appear in 10 short musical films. Other notable stage appearances are of course Anything Goes (one of 5 Porter musicals she would star in), Anything Goes, Call Me Madam and of course, my ultimate favorite: Gypsy.
Ethel is as well known for her brash personality as her brash voice. Some of my favorite stories involving her are:
She was married 4 times. The last and final time to Ernest Borgnine from June-October 1964. The two quickly despised each other. In her memoir she dedicated a chapter to the marriage: It was simply one blank page of the book.
While appearing on the Loretta Lynn Show, Ethel happened to say the word “Hell.” Lynn tried to make Merman put $.25 in a swear cup. Ethel reportedly replied, “Tell me, Loretta, how much will it cost me to tell you to go fuck yourself?”
Please enjoy a listen of Ethel Merman Disco in order to celebrate this queen.
A cross between Iris Apfel, Miriam Margoles, Lucille Ball. But I am a devoted maximalist through and through. Although, as another inspiration once said
Style—all who have it share one thing: originality.
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