Ethel Merman
| Ethel Merman | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Ethel Agnes Zimmermann January 16, 1908 Astoria, Queens, New York City, US |
| Died | February 15, 1984 (aged 76) Manhattan, New York City, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Brain cancer |
| Resting place | Shrine of Remembrance Mausoleum, Colorado Springs, Colorado |
| Education | P.S. 4 William Cullen Bryant High School |
| Occupation | Actress, singer |
| Years active | 1930–1982 |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) |
William Smith (m. 1940; div. 1941) Robert Levitt, Sr. (m. 1941; div. 1952) Robert Six (m. 1953; div. 1960) Ernest Borgnine (m. 1964; div. 1964) |
| Children | Ethel Levitt (1942–1967) Robert Levitt, Jr. (b. 1945) |
Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann, January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American actress and singer. Known primarily for her voice and roles in musical theatre, she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage".
Among the many standards introduced by Merman in Broadway musicals are "I Got Rhythm" (from Girl Crazy); "Everything's Coming Up Roses", "Some People", and "Rose's Turn" (from Gypsy—Merman starred as Rose in the original 1959 Broadway production); and the Cole Porter songs "It's De-Lovely" (from Red, Hot and Blue), "Friendship" (from DuBarry Was a Lady), and "I Get a Kick Out of You", "You're the Top", and "Anything Goes" (from Anything Goes). The Irving Berlin song "There's No Business Like Show Business", written for the musical Annie Get Your Gun, became Merman's signature song.
Merman was born in her maternal grandmother's house located at 359 4th Avenue in Astoria, Queens, in New York City in 1908, though she would later emphatically insist that it was actually 1912. Her father, Edward Zimmermann (1879–1977), was an accountant with James H. Dunham & Company, a Manhattan wholesale dry-goods company, and her mother, Agnes (Gardner) Zimmermann (1883–1974), was a teacher. Edward Zimmermann had been raised in the Dutch Reformed Church and his wife was Presbyterian. Shortly after they married, they joined the Episcopal congregation at Church of the Redeemer, where their daughter was baptized. Her parents were strict about church attendance, and she spent every Sunday there, at morning services, followed by Sunday school, an afternoon prayer meeting, and an evening study group for children. Her family was of German and Scottish ancestry.
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