#ethel merman

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Deborah Kerr (Bonjour Tristesse, An Affair to Remember, The King and I)— For several decades she held the record for most Oscar nominations without a win (6 in total), and she was a prolific leading lady throughout the 40s and 50s. She's best known today for the romance An Affair to Remember with Cary Grant, and as the governess in The King and I. Many people have this erroneous perception of her as extremely prim, proper, and virginal, but this could not be further from the truth. When she first came to Hollywood under MGM she was typecast into boring decorative roles, but broke sexual boundaries for herself and Hollywood generally in From Here to Eternity, when she made out (horizontally!) with Burt Lancaster (on top of him!) in the famous Beach Scene. She went on to play many sexually conflicted women, a character type that would define most of her post- Eternity work. She continued to break Hays Code boundaries with Tea and Sympathy, which addresses homosexuality/homophobia head-on, and even did a topless scene in The Gypsy Moths 1969!! One of the only classic stars to do so. She deserves a more nuanced and frankly a hotter legacy than she currently has!!!

Ethel Merman (Anything Goes, Call Me Madam)— Possessed of a bold, brash voice, and an even bolder and brasher presence, Ethel Merman might be more well known for her stage roles, but she made several movies, and was bold and brash in them as well. Also I think if I don't submit her, she's going to come back and haunt me.

This is round 1 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut]

Ethel Merman:

You've gotta love any woman who got typecast as lead-MILF

Deborah Kerr:

I think she was one of my first crushes before I realised I was bi in The King and I when I watched it as a kid honestly. The kissing scene in From Here to Eternity is iconic for a reason. Actually tried to learn the accents for the characters she was playing if they weren't English which is more than pretty much anyone else was doing then. Played very restrained characters who frequently seemed to be desperate not to be so restrained. Did horror movies without venturing into hagsploitation tropes. Gave Marni Nixon the credit she deserved for her share of the singing in The King and I.

Anne Larsen is a peak late 1950s bisexual with big MILF energy. Have you seen the behind the scenes pics of her wearing a suit?? Have you????? Vote Deb as Anne Larsen.

Nominated for an Oscar six (6) times and never won, but besides her having actual talent (hot), and besides her looking Like That (very hot, also beautiful), she was always playing women who are, like, crazy repressed. Which makes it fun and easy for me to read these characters as queer. Icon!!!! You know what's hot? Playing ambiguously gay in vintage Hollywood.

Her face and talent and body, yes, ofc, duh. But also!!! Her HANDS!!!! I may be but a simple lesbian, but she is the best hactor (hand actor) that ever lived and that's HOT! For propriety's sake I feel I must redact a large portion of my commentary on this subject. Anyway. She's hot in her most famous roles (mentioned above), and also some of her sexiest hacting is on display in An Affair to Remember (her hand on the bannister when Cary Grant kisses her off-screen??? HELLO???), Tea and Sympathy (when she's trying to persuade Tom not to go out and she keeps flexing her hands like she wants to reach out to him but can't??? ALLY BEHAVIOR! WE STAN!), and The Innocents (which opens and closes with extended shots of her hands bc director Jack Clayton was also an ally and he did that for ME). Much of her appeal also lies in the fact that she often played deeply repressed characters and you know what's hot? When those uptight characters finally unravel. It's sexy. It's cathartic. It's erotic. Plus, she's beautiful to look at in both black & white and technicolor, and the more of her films you see, the more you can't help but fall in love!

Literally is in thee most famously sexy scene of all time (or maybe just during the hays code era which is what we're talking about HELLO), which is the beach scene with Burt Lancaster in from here to eternity. To quote a tumblr post of a screen capture of a tweet of a video of joy behar on the view: "y'know, there used to be movies where they were kissing on the beach... From Here to Eternity. They're kissing-- Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr are Kissing on the Beach and then the WAVES crash!! You know exactly what they did!"

She might have a reputation of being chaste and virginal or whatever, but we all know it's the quiet ones who are certifiable FREAKS

#ethel merman #deborah kerr #hotvintagepoll #ladies 1 #fuck that old woman

[gifs-of-puppets]

A Special Sesame Street Christmas (1978)

#sesame street #a special sesame street christmas #christmas #christmas special #big bird #barkley #barkley the dog #maria #sonia manzano #bob #bob mcgrath #david #northern calloway #ethel merman #muppet #muppets #gif #muppet gif #muppets gif #gifs of puppets

[atomic-chronoscaph]

Dorothy Provine, Ethel Merman and Edie Adams - It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)

#dorothy provine #ethel merman #edie adams #it's a mad mad mad mad world #60s comedies #60s movies #stanley kramer #sixties #1963

[citizenscreen]

Ethel Merman (January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984)

#ethel merman

[vintage-every-day]

Ethel Merman performing First 'You Have Me High (Then You Have Me Low)' in 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝑴𝒆 𝑷𝒊𝒏𝒌, a 1936 American musical comedy film directed by Norman Taurog, starring Eddie Cantor and Ethel Merman, and produced by Samuel Goldwyn.

#vintage #old hollywood #movies #golden era #ethel merman

[vintagestagehotties]

Hot Vintage Stage Actress Round 1

Ethel Merman: Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes (1934 Broadway); Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun (1946 Broadway); Mrs Sally Adams in Call Me Madam (1951 Broadway); Liz Livingstone in Happy Hunting (1957 Broadway); Rose Hovick in Gypsy (1960 Broadway)

Juanita Hall: Bloody Mary in South Pacific (1949 Broadway); Madame Tango in House of Flowers (1954 Broadway); Madam Liang in Flower Drum Song (1958 Broadway)

Propaganda under the cut

Ethel Merman:

She is THE star!

She doesn’t even need propaganda so here’s a story copied from wikipedia about an absolutely iconic comeback she had to her fourth husband, the big dick energy is off the charts: An oft recounted story from their short marriage demonstrated the volatility of their relationship. When Borgnine asked Merman how her audition had gone, she replied: "Well, they were mad about my 35-year-old body, my 35-year-old voice, and my 35-year-old face." "Is that so?" Borgnine responded. "And what did they think of your 65-year-old cunt?" Without missing a beat, Merman retorted: "You weren’t mentioned once."

I know this song is having a moment on TikTok with a different singer, but considering she's been bumped from the film bracket and really is better known for her theatre work, it IS her turn!

From a movie role but shows the kind of presence she could have in stage settings!

Juanita Hall:

#vintagestagehotties #vintagestagepoll #vintage tournament #vintage poll #ethel merman #juanita hall #ladies round 1 #vintage ladies

[armandjolras]

#i made this back in December but never posted it #I’m usually not a big tagger but I feel like I have to tag everyone for fairness #ethel merman #chita rivera #barbra streisand #patti lupone #bernadette peters #liza minnelli #audra mcdonald #pia douwes #(who is not really a Broadway diva but I feel is well worthy of the title) #lea salonga #elaine stritch #julie andrews

[littlegreenfag]

you have not LIVED until you’ve heard ethel merman shout out a disco version of Everything’s Coming Up Roses

#adina's originals #ethel merman #Spotify

[fuckyeahdonnasummer]

Donna Summer at the Ethel Merman tribute in 1984 Oscars

#donna summer #ethel merman

[oldshowbiz]

1962.

Obscure singing impressionist Linda Bishop did Lucille Ball, Sophie Tucker, and Ethel Merman.

#Lucille Ball #Sophie Tucker #Ethel Merman #who the fuck #canada #toronto

[operaqueen]

Ethel Merman, the last Dolly during the original run of Hello Dolly! New York, 1970.

#ethel merman #jerry herman #hello dolly #broadway #musical #broadway musicals #musical theater #musicals #musical theatre

[emeraldexplorer2]

Ethel Merman

#vintage #beauty #smoking #smoking cigarette #sexy smoking #cigarette #sexy smoker #actress #hollywood #singer #ethel merman

[citizenscreen]

George and Ira Gershwin's musical “Girl Crazy” opened at the Alvin Theatre in New York on October 14, 1930. The show starred Ginger Rogers and Ethel Merman in her stage debut. The two are pictured with George Gershwin.

#ginger rogers #george gershwin #ethel merman

[emailsfromanactor]

Two brief anecdotes from Letters from an Actor:

Some years ago, Alfred Lunt—a smashingly fine actor—was appearing in one of many plays with his wife, the formidable Lynn Fontanne. As always, the couple continued to work on this and that detail of their performances long after the success of the production had been assured. Mr. Lunt was especially concerned with a moment when he asked for a cup of tea. Under the circumstances of the scene, “May I have a cup of tea?” was an absurd request, and Lunt believed the line should get a laugh. Night after night he failed. He experimented with different readings, bizarre inflections. He tried shouting the words. He tried whispering. He made his hands shake. He stood stiffly. He stood limply. He spoke quickly, then slowly. Nothing worked. He was desperate. He was frustrated. At last, he was enraged. His wife endured several weeks of his agony. One magic night, she took him by the hand to soothe his shattered nerves. “Alfred,” she suggested, “tomorrow night, instead of asking for a laugh, why don’t you just ask for a cup of tea?” Mr. Lunt did so. And yes, he got a laugh. Simplicity is a wonderful thing.

...

On the opening night of Annie Get Your Gun in New York, Ethel Merman stood casually in the wings of the Imperial Theatre listening to the overture and waiting for the curtain to rise. Some say that she was chewing a stick of Juicy Fruit gum, and I wouldn’t be a bit surprised, since the lady’s relaxation is as notorious as her performing. Nearby, a chorus girl—less than twenty years old—was busily grinding her dance slippers into a resin box and alternately bouncing up and down in second position. She was candidly terrified and apparently trying to bump and grind her fears away. Eventually she forgot her horrors long enough to notice Miss Merman: dead-pan, fist-in-hip, jaws-slowly-working-gum, and looking altogether like a well-fed policeman off-duty. “Oh, Miss Merman!” the girl cried. “You look so, so—unperturbed! Aren’t you nervous?” Miss Merman removed a wad of exhausted gum from her mouth and dropped it precisely into a trash can. “Why should I be nervous?” she said. “I know my lines.”

Join Emails from an Actor for more!

#alfred lunt #lynne fontanne #ethel merman #annie get your gun #emails from an actor

[scottheim]

#ethel merman #cocteau twins #4ad #heaven or las vegas #sugar hiccup #robin guthrie #elizabeth fraser

[newyorkthegoldenage]

Jimmy Durante and Bob Hope fool around with Ethel Merman during the production of the Cole Porter musical "Red, Hot and Blue," 1936.

Photo: Underwood Archives/Fine Art America

#vintage New York #1930s #Jimmy Durante #Ethel Merman #Red Hot and Blue #Bob Hope #Cole Porter #backstage #vintage Broadway #vintage theater