Born today 118 years ago … The always LOUD Ethel Merman!
She holds her own on screen with some of the biggest names in comedy in It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. On Broadway she starred in Hello Dolly, Anything Goes, Gypsy, and Annie Get Your Gun. She has been called “the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage.”
Fun fact: Her real last name was Zimmerman. Her stage name came about by trimming off the “Zim” at the beginning.
It was Ethel who introduced the world to some of the greatest songs. Those included: There’s No Business Like Show Business, Friendship, and You’re the Top.
She appeared in movies like Happy Landing and Alexander’s Ragtime Band. On television she popped on the variety shows of Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, Red Skelton, Carol Burnett, and Perry Como. She also appeared in the shows, Match Game, The Lucy Show, That Girl, The Muppet Show, The Love Boat, and Batman.
She wrote two autobiographies. The first, Who Could Ask For Anything More in 1955 and the second in 1978 entitled Merman.
Her last on screen appearance was the fantastic cameo in 1980’a Airplane! It is one of my favorite gags in the film.
Happy Ethel Merman Day! Make it swell! Make it great! Have the whole world on a plate!!
Today I took down the Christmas tree. I wrapped the ornaments in tissue paper and boxed them up. I packed away the stockings. I took the door decorations down. If it hadn’t been raining, I probably would have taken down the outdoor stuff, too.
I suppose that is the bad thing about putting up the holiday stuff early – it comes down early. Sam told me that she was ready to have our living room back. Everything is now back in the basement. I need to get down and organize it a bit, but that is for a later day.
As I said yesterday, we had a good Christmas. However, when everything comes down I feel this deep sadness. I’m not even sure what that is about. I’ve always been a sentimental guy and sometimes I find myself lost in a thought or memory during and after the holidays. I don’t want to call it depression, but it feels like that at times. It is hard to shake.
You can look up “How to get over the post-Christmas blues” online and there is article after article telling you to exercise, make a plan, and countless other things. I try to get lost in a good book, listen to upbeat music, or find things that make me laugh. I had two true guffaws today.
The first was something that I suppose only I would find funny. If you are familiar with Ethel Merman and her music, maybe you’ll chuckle, too. She was big on Broadway and in musicals. One of her songs was “Everything’s Coming Up Roses.” She sings it in her cameo in the movie Airplane! Anyway, someone sent me this:
Hilarious – if you get it.
The second source of laughter came from my son. Before bed, the kids called me to show me that they colored some dinosaurs for me. They want me to bring them to work. I only have a cubby that I can put them in, as I don’t have a desk. They colored them with markers and were so happy to show me.
After I hung up, Sam sent me a picture of Andrew with one of the markers in his nose. I laughed and immediately thought of the scene in Animal House where John Belushi has pencils in his nose in the Dean’s office. Putting them together only made me laugh harder.
Channeling his inner comedian!
Speaking of comedians, I was sad to hear of the passing of Tommy Smothers. He and his brother, Dick, were one of the great comedy teams back in the day. ”Mom always liked you best,” was one of their staple routines. I found a clip of them on Johnny Carson that I remembered watching live the night it aired.
Thanks for the laughs Tommy!
A radio buddy of mine once told me to always “find the funny” when prepping my show. ”Laughter is important” he told me. It is far from a New Year’s Resolution, but I do plan on finding the funny in the days and years ahead. Life has too many things to bring us down.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 