My favorite Merman quote — Page 2

How about after losing the Tony for her performance in Gypsy to Mary Martin in The Sound of Music: "You can't buck a nun."

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Ernest Borgnine was married to the Merm for a few days. The cause of the breakup? He said "How would you like to wake up every morning with a woman whose first words are (in 200 db) HEY ERNIE!!!!!"

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I always liked that even after she was famous, she went back to Astoria and played cards with the girls.

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Another story from Stritch in 'At Liberty': Stritch was stand-by for Merman in 'Call Me Madam' while doing 'Pal Joey' pre-Broadway in Connecticut. She'd check that Merman was on, then run up to CT for her 2nd act number ('Zip'). There was a snowstorm, so Stritch had to check with Merman early so she could get up to CT. Merman's response - "Oh Elaine, just go to New Haven and sing the fukcing song!".

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This one from my friend and fellow Merman fan, Randy:

"One of my favorite Mermanisms is that she apparently called Mervyn LeRoy (Rosalind Russell's husband, and the guy who directed both the screen version of 'Gypsy' as well as Judy Garland in 1939's most famous film musical) 'The Lizard of Roz.'"

Not quite. Roz's husband Freddie Brisson was the one Merman called "The Lizard of Roz," not Mervyn LeRoy.

Brisson had nothing to do with The Wizard of Oz, but Mervyn LeRoy was the director of Gypsy and a producer of The Wizard of Oz.

Freddie Brisson was referred to as a lizard by Merman and others because he snuck around and bought stage properties for Roz to make into movies.

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Updated On: 8/17/06 at 02:49 PM

As a great Ethel Merman fan I have truly enjoyed all of these outrageous quotes. Here is my contribution with an anecdote from the Bob Thomas biography:"I Got Rhythm!"
A young actress in the CALL ME MADAM cast happened to be a protegee of Richard Rodgers. Whether by inexperience or over-
confidence because of her sponsor, the actress became sloppy in her stage deportment. During a performance she was late for her
cue, leaving Ethel standing alone on the stage. "Goddammit, I want that bitch fired!" Ethel stormed afterward. "How dare she
leave me out there with egg on my face." The stage manager cleared his throat and remarked, "You know, Miss Merman, that
Richard Rodgers is very much interested in the girl's career."
Ethel replied, "I don't give a damn. She's lousing up the show.
If she's late one more time, out she goes!" Ethel had no fear of Rodgers, though he and Oscar Hammerstein were then the most powerful figures in musical comedy. She remained angry at Rodgers for trying to force her to return from a vacation when the box office for ANNIE GET YOUR GUN started sagging. Well, the young actress did it again--left Ethel waiting on stage.
"That's it! Out! Out!" Ethel exploded. "She goes!" The stage
manager warily bore her ultimatum to Richard Rodgers. "Tell
that bitch to go to hell," Rodgers said. Ethel's instructions
to the stage manager: "You tell Richard Rodgers to go f**k
himself.That dame is fired."

There's no business like show business!

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I am also a huge Merman fan and got to see her perform
since I was a littleboy really o'kay here's one that has not been montioned. This also was the 77 show with mary martin (dyke) that's hallorois will anyeway Ethel was talking to the
sound man Ken Billington and she told him about mic's she used
at this time and saids to him I wair one on each tit and won
down here and I can sing all ****in night, maid him wonder
what the next week's were going to be like.
's

A story I got right from Lauren Bacall because I sat next to her at the 77 show with martin, was she came back stage after applause and said She needed to use the grapper and when she came out she told her she was good. And bacall said I hope that she meant it.I can recall Bacall saying oboy boy oh boy sitting next to me when ethel use to talk about George & Ira Gershwin
and how they had the roof garden all to themselves as she used to
put it "all sewed up all to themselves"

Kent, the Loretta Young story has been around for a long time with lots of stars or directors (always male) the "F**k off, Loretta" role. This is the the first time I've heard Merman's name attached to it.

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On the site that shall not be named, there is a clip from Lucille Ball's show where she is trying to teach Ethel Merman to sing.

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The stage manager for Gypsy (cast full of children) was talking to the guys backstage in very "colorful" language, when Merman came up to him and said, "Hey, you, don't say 'f**k*' in front of the k-i-d-s!"
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Cole Porter once gave her a painting as a present - but she decided the colors in the painting didn't go with her decor, so she gave it to a relative.

Years later Cole asked her whatever happened to the Grandma Moses painting.

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Updated On: 8/18/06 at 01:29 PM