Ethel Merman (16 January 1908 – 15 February 1984)

*Born as Ethel Agnes Zimmermann. She devised her screen and stage name by removing the first three letters (Zim) and the last letter from her birth name – Zimmermann.
*Merman made her debut as a five year old singer at the Astoria, Long Island Republican Club accompanied by her father. Her father taught Merman to read music and play the piano.

*Joined the production of We’re Not Dressing (1934) in a supporting role, starred Bing Crosby and Carole Lombard . Unfortunately, her experience in this movie was unpleasant.In premiere, she discovered that one of her musical scenes had been completely cut from the film.

*After won the Tony Award for Leading Actress in a Musical for her perform in Call Me Madam Broadway version, she then appeared in Call Mr Madam (1954) movie version.Before pre-recording the song “You’re Just in Love”, her co-star Donald O’Connor felt that a better result would be achieved if he sang it with Ethel Merman in a recording studio accompanied by the orchestra.

Musical Director Alfred Newman agreed and let them sing together. It turned out that Merman’s legendary loud singing voice was too deafening for O’Connor. In the end, they had to record the song with O’Connor in an isolation booth. When filming the musical number accompanied by the pre-recorded playback, O’Connor had to wear ear plugs.

*Ethel Merman co-starred with Marilyn Monroe in There’s No Business Like Show Business (1954). She concerned that audiences might focus on Marilyn Monroe’s stunning figure rather than Merman’s vocals in the film’s finale. She specifically requested that costume designer Travilla design a gown that would allow Ethel to compete with Marilyn. The result was a white satin dress with “wings” atop its bodice, that gave the illusion that Merman was at least as “busty” as Monroe.One day, Marilyn Monroe’s husband, Joe DiMaggio, visited the set. He refused to be photographed with Monroe, but insisted on being photographed with Ethel Merman, whom he called “my favorite star.”

*Throughout her career, Ethel Merman was known for her vulgar humor and adored cursing.Her brash, inappropriate vocabulary ran red-hot, but not everybody appreciated her shameless swearing. During rehearsal for her guest appearance on The Loretta Young Show, Ethel let her mouth run wild in front of the show’s host, Loretta Young.Determined to put a stop to such bad behavior, religious Young told her, “Come on, Ethel. You know my rules. That’ll cost you a dollar.” In response, Ethel had some choice words for her, sparking a heated argument.

*Merman’s last film appearance was a hilarious cameo in 1980’s Airplane, in which she played a patient in a military mental ward who “thinks he’s Ethel Merman.” When the angle cut to that patient’s bed, Merman sat up and sang “Everything’s coming up roses” from her Broadway hit Gypsy.