She once acknowledged after the short-lived union "I'm a lover not a fighter" so I wonder if there was any violence. I have Kellow's book but I haven't read it yet so I wonder if it will shed any light on this. Well, whatever - she was a great star and one of the true legends of the stage.

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I thought Kellow did a great job as well.
"You want a toe? I can get you a toe" ~Walter Sobchak~

I just finished the Kellow book today - it provided a good overview of Merman's career as well as some insights into her often contradictory personality. One definitely comes away from it with a new appreciation of Merman's status - to paraphrase ALL ABOUT EVE's Addison DeWitt, there never was and there never again will be an Ethel Merman - no star before or since has so dominated musical theater, been responsible for the success of as many shows, introduced as many hit Broadway standards by the best composers and lyricists, nor pleased as many audiences - not Mary Martin, not Carol Channing, not even Gwen Verdon or Angela Lansbury. Merman's Broadway career spanned exactly four decades, 1930 - 1970, four decades that saw huge changes in the style and content of Broadway musicals, but one thing didn't change: the audience was as wildly enthusiastic about Merman at the final performance of HELLO DOLLY in 1970 as they were on the opening night of GIRL CRAZY in 1930.
"I don't use a pen: I write with a goose quill dipped in venom!"
W. Lydecker

I like it when there are multiple books about a star because then you can reason who is telling the truth, who has an agenda or an axe to grind, etc. Three books in two years is pretty amazing though for today - very few biographies are written on "golden era" movie stars now much less ones on the great stage stars.

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Merman
never
acknowledged the suicide theory - it was always an accidental overdose as far as she was concerned. Her strong religious faith helped her cope with it, but the devastating loss shadowed the rest of her life. Merman's ex-husband Bob Leavitt, father of her daughter and son,
did
commit suicide.
By the way, a second Merman biography will be out in November, BRASS DIVA.
"I don't use a pen: I write with a goose quill dipped in venom!"
W. Lydecker

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