Merman, Ethel, 1908-1984

Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann, January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American actress and singer.[1] Known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and for leading roles in musical theatre, she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage".[2] An only child, Merman was born in her maternal grandmother's house at 359 4th Avenue (today 33rd Street just off 36th Avenue) in Astoria, Queens in New York City in 1908, but later insisted that the year was 1912.[3] Her father, Edward Zimmermann (1879–1977), was an accountant with James H. Dunham & Company, Merman's parents insisted she have an education with training in secretarial skills, so she would have something to fall back on if her dreams of stardom didn't pan out. Merman attended P.S. 4 and William Cullen Bryant High School (which later named its auditorium in her honor), where she pursued a commercial course that offered secretarial training.[5] After graduating from Bryant High School in 1924, Merman was hired as a stenographer by the Boyce-Ite Company. One day during her lunch break, she met Vic Kliesrath, who offered her a job at the Bragg-Kliesrath Corporation for a $5 increase above the weekly $23 salary she was earning, and Merman accepted the offer.[8] She eventually was made personal secretary to company president Caleb Bragg, whose frequent lengthy absences from the office to race automobiles allowed her to catch up on the sleep she had lost the previous night when she was out late performing at private parties.[8] During this period, Merman also began appearing in nightclubs, first hired by Jimmy Durante's partner Lou Clayton. At this time, she decided the name Ethel Zimmermann was too long for a theater marquee. She considered combining Ethel with Gardner or Hunter, which was her grandmother's maiden name. These considerations provoked her father's ire, and she abbreviated Zimmermann to Merman to appease him.[9] Merman was known for her powerful, belting mezzo-soprano voice and precise enunciation and pitch.[49] Because stage singers performed without microphones when Merman began singing professionally, she had a great advantage, despite never taking singing lessons. Broadway lore holds that George Gershwin advised her never to take a singing lesson after she opened in his Girl Crazy.[50]
Merman was married and divorced four times. Her first marriage, in 1940, was to theatrical agent William Smith. They were divorced in 1941.[52] Later that same year, Merman married newspaper executive Robert Levitt. The couple had two children: Ethel (born July 20, 1942)[53] and Robert Jr. (born August 11, 1945). Merman and Levitt were divorced in 1952. In March 1953, Merman married Robert Six, the president of Continental Airlines.[54] They separated in December 1959 and were divorced in 1960.[52][55]

Merman's fourth and final marriage was to actor Ernest Borgnine.[56] They were married in Beverly Hills on June 27, 1964.[57] They separated on August 7, and Borgnine filed for divorce on October 21.[58]

In a radio interview, she said of her many marriages: "We all make mistakes. That's why they put rubbers on pencils, and that's what I did. I made a few lulus!"[59] In her autobiography Merman (1978), the chapter titled "My Marriage to Ernest Borgnine" consists of one blank page.[60]

Ethel Levitt, her daughter, died on August 23, 1967, of a drug overdose that was ruled accidental.[61][62] Her son Robert Jr. was married to actress Barbara Colby. While she was estranged from Robert, Colby was shot and killed (along with a friend, James Kiernan), in a parking garage in Los Angeles in July 1975. The shooting was by apparent gang members who had no clear motive.[63] Merman, a lifelong Republican, was a frequent guest at the Eisenhower White House.[66] Merman was also noted as saying, "Eisenhower was my war hero and the President I admire and respect most."[67] On January 20, 1981, Merman performed at the inauguration of Ronald Reagan singing "Everything's Coming up Roses". She had previously sung the same song at an inaugural gala for John F. Kennedy which was never broadcast.[68][69][70]