Extra Ethel

I was in a bookstore recently (still a place to be, though who knows how much longer) and saw a biography of Ethel Merman. As a fan of Broadway, I thought I'd pick it up--she's the biggest star in the history of musicals, having introduced major hits by Gershwin, Berlin, Styne/Sondheim and, above all, Cole Porter. Yet I didn't recall ever seeing a bio of her.

But then I noticed there are two new Ethel books. I had no idea which is better, and I wasn't gonna buy both, so the upshot is I bought nothing.

PS Someone asks: "What about Mary Martin? Gwen Verdon? Bernadette Peters? Audra McDonald? That's just for women."

Here's how I count it.

Mary Martin: Six musical hits, three legendary, five Tony nominations, four wins.

Gwen Verdon: Six musical hits, three legendary, six Tony nominations, four wins.

Bernadette Peters: four musical hits (plus off-Broadway stuff), two legendary, seven Tony nominations, two wins.

Audra McDonald: two musical hits (plus straight drama), two legendary, six Tony nominations, four wins

Ethel Merman: Ten musical hits, five legendary, four Tony nominations, two wins (except most of her hits came before the Tonys were around, and people are still outraged about how Mary Martin in Sound Of Music beat out Merman in Gypsy)