Merman

by Ethel Merman, George Eels

Ethel Merman, Broadway's queen of musical theatre reigned for decades, tells about her fascinating life in this fast-moving autobiography, which is packed with surprising anecdotes and brimming with humor. Sixteen pages of black and white photographs from Ms. Merman's personal collection accompany the entertaining text.

Genres: Nonfiction, Music, Memoir, Biography

344 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Ethel Merman was a Tony Award- and Grammy Award-winning American star of stage and film musicals, well known for her powerful voice, often hailed by critics as "The Grande Dame of the Broadway stage".

Reviews

[Lee Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ethel Merman was not a nice person. That's what I learned. I was going to read the new bio of her that just came out, but after I read this, not so much. 3 stars just because it was entertaining, but she was kind of a bitch. And not Jewish--who knew? The chapter on her brief (like one month) marriage to Ernest Borgnine--literally a blank page. She wasn't talking, and I really wanted some scoop on that.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I used to adore Ethel Merman. This book changed that a bit. I didn't particularly enjoy finding out that she was an avid/enthusiastic Republican, proud prude, relentless name dropper who "doesn't like reading" and "doesn't like books." WTF? How could someone with so much verve and pep not like books? I really should have put this book down after about 50 pages but I kept hoping it would get better. It didn't. It's not particularly well-written, there's very little in the way of juicy stories. She neither "spills all" nor "keeps it classy." She does this weird thing where she uses lots of hints and insinuation to gossip all the while pretending like she's not. Ugh. Either spill or don't - I'm fine either way - but don't go all vaguebooking on me.

P.S. All the name-dropping was for naught because a good 75% of the names have faded into obscurity. And this from someone who's seen a lot of old movies and knows a fair amount about old Hollywood.

#14 in 2015 PopSugar reading challenge

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

fabulous book

[Erik Gullickson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too hilarious for words, seriously - she is SHAMELESS!

[Lisa Burris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I put off reading this for a long, long time, since I'm not a Merman fan, but her book is very honest and straightforward, much like the woman herself. She talks candidly about her many marriages, including the single blank page about her ill-fated and very, very short marriage to Ernest Borgnine. Tea aside, the gold of this book is the inside look into Broadway history, with a cast that includes Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Richard Rogers, and more. Merman's autobiography is a must-read for theatre fans and insiders, as well.

[James Siejak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ethel Merman in her own words. Nice companion to the bio Ethel Merman: A Life.