Margaret E. Lynn

Margaret E. Lynn (April 28, 1924 - June 11, 2002) formalized U.S. Army entertainment, beginning in Korea in the 1950s. Building on the tradition of Civil War camp shows, and a military show Yip Yip Yaphank created by Irving Berlin as a soldier in World War I, she eventually developed the U.S. Army Entertainment program [1][Dead link], inspiring, supporting, and coordinating theatrical and music programs at Army bases world wide.

Born Margaret Linskie, in Dallas, Texas, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Southern Methodist University in 1942. In 1965, she was named the University's Distinguished Alumni Award [2][Dead link] as the "Woman of Achievement" for the decade of the 1940s. She earned a Master's degree in Speech and Drama at Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, in 1943, studying with the renowned Rev. Gilbert V. Hartke, O.P.

Under her stage name, Margaret Lynn, she was a dancer and dance captain with the Radio City Rockettes in New York City, and appeared in seven Broadway shows, including Oklahoma!, Carousel, and Mike Todd's Mexican Hayride. She played the ingenue lead, as well as understudying Ethel Merman in Something for the Boys.

In 1945, she was chosen by Peggy Wood and Paul Green to be among the first civilian "actress technicians" employed by the U.S. government to work with troops overseas following World War II. Under commanding officer and stage director Joshua Logan, she worked on dozens of productions for the military. She continued to conceive and direct shows during the Korean War, bringing entertainment, sometimes under artillery fire, to military personnel of various United Nations units involved in that conflict.

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