Ethel Merman: The Biggest Star on Broadway Review

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Ethel Merman: The Biggest Star on Broadway ReviewThis is a ghastly book. Ethel Merman deserves better. Leaving aside all the errors in grammar and puncutation, and the endless repetition of phrases and words, there is little to admire in this book. Ironically, Geoffrey Mark, enthusiastically thanks his editor in an early chapter. For what? Had this been a student paper I would have handed it back full of red ink. Among the many glaring problems with grammar, the most obvious is the lack of footnotes. Story after story, anecdote after anecdote are repeated with no attribution. There are those who would consider this plagiarism, but apparently the folks at Barricade Books do not.
The author criticizes the other books on Merman that are out there, at the same time helping himself liberally to everything that is in them. For example, in Merman's autobiography she writes that she bled "like a stuck pig" during a filming accident in Hollywood in the 1930s. Mark uses the same exact words to describe the same incident. More than 90 percent of what you read has been written before and is available from previously published sources and from the Internet.
Mark makes astounding claims, such as Merman's birthday really being 1906 and not 1908, and does not bother to substantiate this claim or reveal his source material. Another odd claim is that she sang with the Ziegfeld Follies in 1934 and that a recording exists. Sure the recording is out there, but no one has ever written that it is Ethel Merman. People have written that it "sounds" like Merman, but another singer is always credited. Another odd claim is that one of the songs from "Call Me Madam" was recorded in 1955 and not at the time of the original Decca recording. The recording dates, which have been published, do not substantiate that fact. As a further example of the inaccuracy of the author, he writes that Merman first did the television program, "The Match Game" between 1967 and 1969. The show aired for the first time in 1973. These are facts that would have been easy to check and correct.
It is also interesting to note that there are no quotations from Ethel Merman's son or her grandchildren. It is quite unusual that there are no contributions from these individuals.
The author has a rather odd fascination with Merman's hairstyles, her weight, her breasts, her sex life, her gowns and her makeup, while revealing little of her magic as a performer. He uses the words "point her massive breasts" in two consecutive paragraphs in an early chapter of the book. Why could not an editor have caught this? There is also a great lack of critical commentary in this book. We get no idea of what critics thought of Ethel Merman and why she was so successful as a performer. And the author's habit of referring to Ethel Merman as Miss Zimm, Mermo, the Merm, Mermsky, etc etc does not make for scholarly reading. Also the author doesn't have much knowledge of vocal terminology. He misuses the terms "quaver" and "vibrato" continuously, even going so far as to say that Merman had a "quaver in her vibrato" -- which makes no sense.
Throughout the book the author is coy towards his subject and rather disrespectful, openly criticizing Merman for her behavior and condemning her for things she did or did not do during her career. The author is an arm chair psychologist and offers many (unfounded) observations about his subject, including a supposed "oral fixation" that he felt was part of Merman's psyche. On the same token the author does stick up for Merman when he states that she wasn't the "bitch" that she was supposed to be, but that doesn't give him the liberty of telling the reader all the mistakes Merman made with her life and how could have done better by doing this or that.
What does work, and the only thing that does work in this book, is the detailed analysis Mark offers of Merman's radio, film, television appearances and recordings. Despite some factual errors, this is an interesting section and well written. It is a shame the rest of the book isn't like this.
I am told that there is to be a scholarly treatment of Merman's life to published at a later date. That would be a welcome "antitode" to this gossipy and in the long run very silly book.
Very very disappointing. Would give it zero stars if I could.Ethel Merman: The Biggest Star on Broadway Overview

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