Who is Ethel Merman?

After her split with Desi Arnaz, "Lucille Ball at last realized her dream of Broadway success, opening in the musical comedy Wildcat on Dec. 16, 1960" (Moritz 34). Clearly her talents were varied.

Agatha Christie, full name Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller, was born on September 15, 1890 in Torquay, England. Agatha Christie’s mother’s name is Clarissa Margaret Boehmer. She was an English woman

To begin, Dolly Parton was born on January 19, 1946 in Sevier County, Tennessee. She is the fourth of twelve children of Robert and Avie. Furthermore, Dolly Parton described her family as dirt poor, which is expressed in her song “A Coat of Many Colors” (Perone, James). From the start, music was extremely important to Dolly Parton. She first started performing in Church with her family. It has even been noted that she, “…loved performing since [she] was big enough to wrestle [her] little brothers and sisters into sitting long enough for [her] to sing them [her] latest musical masterpiece.” Also, as a child she sang on the local radio and television program in Eastern Tennessee. At the age of thirteen, she recorded her single “Puppy Love” and appeared at the Grand Ole Opry. You know that someone is going to go far in life if they are that young and have already accomplished what most wish they could.

Broadway was one of the first forms of entertainment. Before there were television programs, or movies, there was Broadway. Broadway originated in New York in 1750, when actor-manager Walter Murray built a theatre company at the Theatre on Nassau Street. A musical would show about once every weekend. The shows were very male based, and would commonly show a relationship between young boys and their fathers. Women were slowly integrated into Broadway, and as society changed its point of view on women, so did theatre.

Sarah Willis Parton was born July 9, 1811 in Portland, Maine. She was the fifth of nine children born to Nathaniel and Hannah Parker Willis. Her father was the editor of two news publications in Boston. Her brother, Nathaniel Parker Willis, was an accomplished journalist. As a young woman, Sarah attended a boarding school in Hartford, Connecticut. It was at this school

Bessie Smith was born around 1894 in Chattanooga, Tennessee to a poverty stricken family. First orphaned at a young age then adopted by relatives, she took to singing on the streets as a way to make extra money. At nine years old, she made her first appearance on stage at the Ivory Theater.3 By her late teens, she was performing in Moses Stokes's traveling minstrel show; later, in 1912, she joined the famous Rabbit Foot Minstrels. It was here that she met Ma Rainey, who took Smith under her wing and became her

Meriwether Lewis was born on August 18th, 1774 near Ivy, Virginia. His mom was named Lucy Meriwether and his dad who was named William Lewis, who later died in 1779 serving in the Continental Army. Meriwether grew up where he was born most of his life. His family's farm was in Ivy Creek, Virginia. When he was just a little kid, he was always outside exploring the woods and got a passion of hunting. He attended a school and his two teachers were named William Parsons and Matthew Maury. Meriwether went to Washington and Lee university where

In detail, Anne Hutchinson was first born as Anne Marbury, and she was a daughter of an Anglican clergyman and an herbalist. In 1591, Anne Marbury was born in a town named Alford in Lincolnshire, England. However, according to Biography.com, her birth date was not exact, and the only evidence of her birth was her a record of her baptism on July 20, 1591. Anne Marbury grew up in an usual environment for a little girl. “Her father instilled her

She was born in 1937 in Jacksonville, Florida, to Billy Daniels a jazz musician. Growing up she was always surrounded by music. She has said that her dad influenced her taste in music from an early age. He would play soothing blues and jazz tunes during her early life. When she was 17, Daniels decided to get her first radio job at a rhythm and blues station in Jacksonville. While at night she would sing at locals nightclubs. Daniels was popular for her

She was born in 1855 in Toledo, Ohio. She was born as Sarah Elizabeth Jacobs. She was the second of seven children. After the American Civil War, her and her family moved to Chicago, Illinois.

| |24, 1862 in New York, New York. She came from an upper-class New York family and |

State Fair The first musical created by Rodgers and Hammerstein that was made especially for the screen was State Fair. The source came from the novel of the same name by Phil Stong. The release date was August 20, 1945.

Gertrude “Ma” Rainey is a pivotal figure in the history of American music. She was the first person to ever perform blues and the first internationally known African American female blues singer. Her music acted as inspiration for many distinguished figures during the Harlem Renaissance, and continues to influence contemporary music and art.

Loretta Lynn was born Loretta Webb on April 14, 1932, in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky. Lynn grew up in a small poor Appalachian coal-mining community and was the second of eight children. Loretta’s career began when she started singing in church as a child. When she was 16, she married Oliver Lynn. The couple soon moved to Custer, Washington. During their first four years in Washington Lynn has four children, Betty Sue, Jack Benny, Ernest Ray and Clara Marie. Lynn was still passionate about music and began to play at local venues. By 1960, she had released her first single, “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl.” She moved to Nashville, where she continued to perform and promote her music. Moving to Nashville was arguably one of Lynn’s best decisions. That is where she met one of her best friends and role models, Patsy Cline, as well as find fame and recognition there. During her career Lynn has garnered an impressive release of more than 160 songs, 60 albums, a total sale of 45 million records, ten Number 1 albums and sixteen Number 1 singles on the country charts, and was the first women to win the the CMA’s Entertainer of The Year.

Smith remained popular throughout the rest of the 1920’s and maintained an active schedule of touring and recording. Most of her releases were credited to either “Bessie Smith and Her Blue Boys” or “Bessie with Her Band,” (NNDB). Other than being a vocalist, Bessie was still apart of vaudeville and musical comedy. She performed in “Mississippi Days” in 1927 and the “Jazz Regiment and “Late Hour Dancers” in 1929. Her first and only screen appearance also took place in 1929, she starred in “St. Louis Blues,” a short film that was given a critical reception (NNDB).