About Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann; January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American singer and actress. Known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and her leading roles in musical theater, she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage." Variety claimed that she probably starred in more hit musicals than any other performer on Broadway starring in Girl Crazy, Du Barry Was a Lady, Panama Hattie, Anything Goes, Annie Get Your Gun, Call Me Madam and Gypsy. They also called her "one of the tiny handful of Broadway stars who had the talent, vitality, personality and drive to carry a show to critical and boxoffice success on her own." Among many accolades, she received the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in Call Me Madam, a Grammy Award for Gypsy, and a Drama Desk Award for Hello, Dolly! Merman introduced many Broadway standards, including "I Got Rhythm" from Girl Crazy, "Rose's Turn" from Gypsy, and the Cole Porter songs "It's De-Lovely" (from Red, Hot and Blue), 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 Annie Get Your Gun, became Merman's signature song. She is also known for her film roles in Anything Goes (1936), Call Me Madam (1953), There's No Business Like Show Business (1954), and It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963). During this period, Merman began performing in nightclubs, first hired by Jimmy Durante's partner Lou Clayton.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.