On October the 14th, 1930, a former typist and secretary –
one Ethel Zimmerman –
stepped out onto the stage of the Alvin Theatre on West 52nd Street.
She opened her mouth to sing and the walls of the theatre withdrew two inches.
And after the reviews the next day, lines began to form,
and they are still forming 41 years later
as people try to buy tickets to see Ethel Merman.
And tonight, the theatre honors her with a special Tony Award
and instead of my standing here and trying to tell you about it,
just cast your mind back:
The year is 1930, the show: Girl Crazy.
[music]
I got rhythm
I got music
I got my man
Who could ask for anything more?
I got daisies
in green pastures
I got my man
Who could ask for anything more?
And Old Man Trouble
say, I don't mind him
'Cause you won't find him
'round my door
I got starlight
And I got sweet dreams
I got my man
Who could ask for anything more?
Oh
Who could ask for anything more?
Oh
Who could ask for anything more?
And Old Man Trouble
say, I don't mind him
'cause you won't find him
hangin' 'round my front or back door
Oh
Who could ask for anything more?
Who could ask for
anything
more?
The year was 1931, and another edition of George White's Scandals.
There was a depression, but Ethel Merman's big song was:
Life is just a bowl of cherries
so live and laugh at it all
In Take a Chance, in 1932,
Ethel Merman stopped the show with "Edie Was a Lady."
And then she and Jack Haley told each other:
You're an old smoothie
I'm an old softie
I'm just like putty in the hands of a girl like you
The curtain went up in 1934 on a musical with a superlative score by Cole Porter called Anything Goes.
The first song we heard was sung by Ethel Merman, and it was:
I get no kick from champagne
Mere alcohol doesn't thrill me at all
So tell me why should it be true
that I get a kick out of you?
Some get a kick from cocaine
I'm sure that if I took even one sniff
that would bore me terrifically, too
Yet I get a kick out of you
I get a kick ev'ry time I see you standing there before me
I get a kick, though it's clear to me
you obviously don't adore me
I get no kick in a plane
Flying too high with some guy in the sky
is my idea of nothing to do
Yet I get a kick...
The most fabulous kick...
Yet I get a kick
out of you
Then came Du Barry Was a Lady, and the show-stopping:
Friendship, friendship
That's the perfect blend-ship
When other friendships have been forgot
ours will still be hot
A-laddle-laddle-laddle chug chug chug
1940 brought Panama Hattie to the stage and a triumph to Ethel Merman
as Hattie Maloney, owner of the Tropical Shore Bar.
She played a two-fisted, hard-drinking, loud-talking dynamo
who had her quieter moments.
Make it another old-fashioned, please
Make it another double old-fashioned, please
Make it for one who's due
to join the disillusioned crew
Make it for one of love's new refugees
Once, high in my castle
I reigned supreme
And, oh, what a castle
built on a heavenly dream
Then quick as a lightning flash
the castle began to crash
So make it another old-fashioned,
please
Leave out the cherry
Leave out the orange
Leave out the bitters
Just make it
a straight
rye
I dare say there are very few people within the sound of my voice who haven't seen Annie Get Your Gun,
and it was Ethel Merman who played Annie for well over 1,000 performances.
Do you remember her nightly complaint?
I'm quick on the trigger
with targets not much bigger than a pinpoint
I'm number one
But my score with a feller
is lower than a cellar
Oh, you can't get a man with a gun
When I'm with a pistol,
I sparkle like a crystal
Yes, I shine like the morning sun.
But I lose all my lustre
when with a bronco buster
Oh, you can't get a man with a gun
With a gun
Oh, you can't get a man with a gun
If I went to battle
with someone's herd of cattle,
you'd have steak when the job was done
But if I shot the herder,
they'd holler "bloody murder!"
And you can't shoot a male
in the tail like a quail
Oh, you can't get a man with a gun
I hear singing and there's no one there
I smell blossoms and the trees are bare
In Call Me Madam, Ethel Merman was the very social lady ambassador
to Lichtenberg, a mythical country.
She handled matters of state as well as matters of the heart.
You don't need analyzin'
It is not so surprisin'
That you feel very strange, but nice
Your heart goes pitter-patter
I know just what's the matter
because I've been there once or twice
Put your head on my shoulder
You need someone who's older
A rub down with a velvet glove
There is nothing you can take
to relieve that pleasant ache
You're not sick, you're just in love
I hear singing You don't need analyzin' and there's no one there It is not so surprisin'
I smell blossoms that you feel very and the trees are bare strange, but nice
All day long I seem Your heart goes pitter-patter to walk on air I know just what's the matter
I wonder why because I've been there I wonder why once or twice
Come here!
I keep tossing Put your head on my shoulder in my sleep at night You need someone who's older
And what's more A rub down with a I've lost my appetite velvet glove
Stars that used There is nothing you to twinkle can take
in the skies to relieve that pleasant ache. are twinkling in my eyes You're not sick,
I wonder why You're just in love
In Happy Hunting, Ethel Merman played a Philadelphia socialite
who was upset at not being invited to the big wedding of the year in Monaco
and set out to do 'em one better.
And then those Gypsy, the show business musical about the backstage mother of all time,
a woman of remarkable force and ruthless, unquenchable ambition
who will not admit defeat.
I had a dream
A dream about you, baby
I had a dream
It's gonna come true
They think that we're through
But baby
You'll be swell
You'll be great
Gonna have the whole world on a plate
Starting here
Starting now
Honey, ev'rything's coming up roses
Clear the decks
Clear the tracks
You got nothing to do but relax
Blow a kiss
Take a bow
Honey, ev'rything's coming up roses
Now's your inning
Stand the world on its ear
Set it spinning
That'll be just the beginning
Curtain up!
Light the lights!
You got nothing to hit but the heights
You'll be swell
You'll be great
I can tell
Just you wait
That lucky star I talk about is due
Honey, ev'rything's coming up roses and daffodils
Ev'rything's coming up sunshine and Santa Claus
Ev'rything's gonna be bright lights and lollipops
Ev'rything's coming up roses
for me
and for you!