Ethel Merman

Ethel Merman

Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann, January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American actress, artist, and singer. Known primarily for her distinctive, powerful voice and leading 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.

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