Ethel Merman was an American actress and singer. Known primarily for her powerful voice and 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", "Everything's Coming Up Roses", "Some People", "Rose's Turn", "I Get a Kick Out of You", "It's De-Lovely", "Friendship", "You're the Top", "Anything Goes", and "There's No Business Like Show Business", which later became her theme song. Merman was born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann in her maternal grandmother's house... located at 265 4th Street in Astoria, Queens, in New York City in 1908, though she would later emphatically declare that it was actually 1912. Her father, Edward Zimmermann , was an accountant with James H. Dunham & Company, a Manhattan wholesale dry-goods company, and her mother, Agnes , was a school teacher. Zimmermann had been raised in the Dutch Reformed Church and his wife was Presbyterian, but shortly after they were wed they joined the Episcopalian congregation at Church of the Redeemer, where Merman was baptized.
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| Birthdate: | January 16, 1908 |
| Birthplace: | Astoria, New York |
| Date of death: | February 15, 1984 |
| Religion: | Episcopalian |
| Also known as: | Ethel Agnes Zimmermann, The Grande Dame of Broadway, ethel_merman |