Ethel Merman: A Life (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780143114208)

"Kellow's chronology is dishy and seamless; he understands the dynamics of the theater world and makes you feel the exhilaration of an evolving hit and the frustrations inherent in working with a performer like Merman."--The New York Times Book Review

" Kellow] has painted a vivid portrait of a Broadway diva who shone brighter and sang louder than anyone else."--The Washington Post BookWorld

More than twenty years after her death, Ethel Merman continues to set the standard for American musical theater. The stories about the supremely talented, famously strong-willed, fearsomely blunt, and terrifyingly exacting woman are stuff of legend. But who was Ethel Agnes Zimmermann, really? Brian Kellow's definitive biography of the great Merman is superb, and the first account to examine both the artist and the woman with as much critical rigor as empathy. Through dozens of interviews with her colleagues, friends, and family members, Kellow (author of Can I Go Now?: The Life of Sue Mengers, Hollywood's First Superagent) traces the arc of her life and her thirty-year singing career to reveal many surprising facts about Broadway's biggest star.

Author: Brian Kellow
ISBN-10: 0143114204
ISBN-13: 9780143114208
Publisher: Penguin Books
Language: English
Published: 10/28/2008
Pages: 352
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.69lbs
Size: 8.42h x 5.46w x 0.79d

Review Citation(s):
New York Times Book Review 12/07/2008 pg. 68