Ethel Merman was a Broadway institution known as the 'undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage.' After being discovered by Vinton Freedley as a singer at Brooklyn's Paramount movie theatre, she was signed to star in the Gershwin's new Broadway hit GIRL CRAZY where she stopped the show nightly with her performance of 'I Got Rhythm'.
On this day in 1984, Ethel Merman, a Broadway institution known as the 'undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage, passed away at the age of 76.
Over two dozen stars of film, stage and television were given a standing ovation by a sold out crowd for the 30th Anniversary of S.T.A.G.E. at the historic Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills, CA Saturday, May 10, 2014. And, on hand to get up close and personal with the stars, were BWW TV's longtime Los Angeles Correspondent and Co-Producer Michael Sterling with Videographer/Co-Producer, Jordan Santacana. Check out the video below!
South Pacific movie star and Golden Globe-nominee Mitzi Gaynor; current Broadway cast member and Tony Award-nominee Loretta Ables Sayre; original Broadway cast membersBarbara Luna, Michael DeLeon and Noel DeLeon; Broadway historian and author of The South Pacific Companion, Laurence Maslon; and President of The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, Ted Chapin all came together to celebrate theSouth Pacific 50th Anniversary Collector's Edition Blu-ray Disc release at the Lincoln Center Barnes & Noble in New York City.