Ethel Merman, Marvin Hamlisch--Sardi's Broadway Salute, 1976 TV

Ethel Merman is joined by a young Marvin Hamlisch for this 1976 salute to Broadway musicals, broadcast from the famed Sardi's Restaurant in Shubert Alley. Also seen briefly are Hal Linden, Jule Styne, Cy Coleman, Tammy Grimes, Petula Clark, Vivian Blaine, Josephine Premice, Eve Arden, and Vincent Sardi. Merman's songs include "What I Did For Love" from "A Chorus Line" and a rare version of "All That Jazz" from "Chicago". The show was broadcast live and Ethel was literally "singing in the rain".

[@robertfishman3742]

For a man who was then not even thirty years old to be performing at Sardi’s with a grand dame of Broadway at the level of Ethel Merman speaks volumes about Marvin Hamlisch’s musical genius.

[@rr7firefly]

What an entrance. She plows right through the gusty bad weather to get to her adoring audience. She's a bonafide trouper.

[@katherinoday1458]

Ouch, my ears!

[@talkinghead2004]

I'm sure they told her, "It's raining. The wind is blowing like crazy. You don't have to do this." But she did it anyway. You have to be a real pro to pull it off like that. She made it look easy.

[@siroti6]

1:00

[@roberthenleynola]

I can remember seeing Ethel Merman in concert at New Orleans Municipal Auditorium in 1981 or '82. She sang all the Gershwin and Cole Porter songs that she had introduced, then when she came back for an encore, she said, "Now I'd like to sing two songs that I didn't introduce, but I wish I had." They were the Gershwins' "Someone to Watch Over Me" and "What I Did For Love." The audience loved every word, every note.

[@nycgar]

I totally remember watching this when it aired originally. Total schmaltz and absolutely perfect.

[@brendataylor2490]

Wish we had stars like this now.

[@robertfishman3742]

Brenda Taylor Thank God for KZbin!

[@showtunestarpower]

I LOVE watching Ethel walking up Shubert alley with that huge umbrella in that rain and with the wind blowing. Ethel is really charming as she talks to the audience. I remember how loyal Ethel was to Hamlisch - singing WHAT I DID FOR LOVE on all the TV shows she did during that period.

[@DavidLEzell]

I thought there was a wind machine at first.

[@sonofroderick4255]

What an entrance!! Classy lady! She made that entrance on a rainy day "sunshine and daffodils".

[@wilhelminabeehive4788]

And in high heels!!

[@photo161]

Since the first time, I heard Merman sing "Everything's coming up Roses" in 1960, whern I was 12 yrs old. I realized that her spectacular and unique voice had a quality of excitment about it which defined for me the essence of the Broadway musical Theater and has done so from then until forever.

[@mariemarchesani1595]

eoselan7j

[@MrRichiekaye]

What a great relic to have available to watch. Taken at the very very end of the American musical theater which no longer exists as a living breathing sophisticated creative world. Thank God we still have film of what once was.

[@dianaaljadeff2983]

What a marveleus video the great Ethel Merman and Mervyn Hamlish together

[@vino140]

This era is sadly gone.

[@TheStefanSittig]

The revelation here is hearing The Merm sing "What I Did For Love" with a softness and tenderness not often seen from her. Beautiful.

[@ozvoyager]

"Softness and tenderness" being very relative terms. Soft and tender compared to a Panzer tank, I guess.

[@brandonburrell8517]

ozvoyager Ahhh.

[@brandonburrell8517]

@@louismondelli3044 You talking to me?

[@MTknitter22]

So true. Did you think she figured if she chose a loud one there might be no glasses left intact??

[@MTknitter22]

What a great idea!! Charming!!

[@BernardProfitendieu]

the rainstorm at the beginning made her entrance very exciting!

[@softwater88]

I don't know if anyone knows this. But, Ethel Merman did a disco album of her Broadway hits. Too funny. Loved it!

[@design17]

Yes, I know. I have it. Everyone was doing disco back then, from Dolly Parton to Ann Margaret.

[@gregorypalmer5403]

backed by the Mike Curb Congregation!

[@gregorypalmer5403]

And then there was the early Seventies LP " Hey Jude..... Hey Bing ! " Just dreadful.

[@BalletBabyBoy]

You will never see great stars like this again :(

[@jaymccartney831]

Priceless talent.

[@poetcomic1]

Ethel loved 'What I Did For Love' as did all the hardcore show folk. It is NOT about romantic relations it is about the heartache and struggle to be a dancer and entertainer.

[@wotan10950]

Not only Broadway performers. Leontyne Price sang it at Beverly Sills’s farewell....in the operatic style. It was wonderful.

[@renettayorka6883]

I met her at the Shubert Theatre in Chicago during the "Gypsy" run. She was fantastic! What a career ! This is a wonderful video, thanks for the memory.

[@CarmenZynger]

Marvin Hamlisch. What a wonderful and talented man. This is a true gem of a video! Merman actually did a lovely job of singing Marvin's song from A Chorus Line. Merman had some tender and sweet moments in her rendition. It's the closest you'll hear of Merman doing tender and sweet. I always found her to be loud. Each song with the same loud voice and it's predictabilities. But this was truly very special. Thank you so much for posting!!!!

[@mariemarchesani1595]

Del Cee ye

[@rma3_3_3]

Sardi's we go to & yes Shubert Alley can be breezy at times & Shubert Alley is home sweet home to us ~

[@confessionhorrorbaby]

God, she was a treasure.

[@robertmonthe9750]

In that rain she was having no mic and she was heard so audibly ........ wow what a voice and it’s outside not in a room with reverberation

[@Chrisyt272]

I cried when she sang “What I did for love,” what’s wrong with me? 😂😭

[@DavidBensonActor]

What a fantastic double act. Wonderful to see Merman performing such unusual material and in such an informal, relaxed manner. She had lost none of her vocal power and brio.

[@brendataylor2490]

Ethel Merman, she was the Queen of Broadway.

[@MTknitter22]

She truly was @Brenda Taylor

[@hankaustin7091]

ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING!!!! I had no idea she even KNEW this song, let alone sang it with such compassion, WOW! Alan, thanks for posting this video, I'm amazed by it!

[@mrcomposer]

Fantastic ... Ethel with YOUNG Marvin.. so cool!!

[@namj8145]

Not old enough to have made it to NYC until after the 70s, but if I'd been there earlier, the opening is what I'd want to see. Ethel, walking around Times Square belting out showtunes, morning noon and night, umbrella in hand, refusing to stop even in windy downpours.

[@joeyjosephs]

This is great, and I see Petula Clark

[@karenpledder]

Great fun. Casual, relaxed, and invigorating all at once. Never thought I'd hear Ethel Merman singing "All That Jazz" from "Chicago." That, alone, makes this video something to be watched repeatedly. Thank you for this GEM!

[@mariemarchesani1595]

One of my favorites..note no script, sings carrying an unbrella in pouring rain..that is old fashioned talent and she looks like she is loving it..because she was..we will not see the likes of another Merman.Copies and wants to be, but only one MERMAN!

[@micdom43]

she makes great really great

[@uncletibs]

Mermen singing from the WIZ priceless!!!

[@louismondelli3044]

I saw her in Hello Dolly

[@elizabethf1591]

Dear Marvin .💛💜

[@andytaylor5960]

Broadway S.T.A.R !!!!! RIP

[@robparadise6099]

Such presence! (Ethel Merman)

[@jimmyfuhrman407]

Wow, great clip! thanks for posting...

[@louismondelli3044]

Beautiful!

[@teriholzberg684]

Awesome. Two beautiful entertainers wow. 😁😁😁😁😁🥰😂😂🌷🌷🌷

[@robertholliston]

Caught a glimpse of Maureen Stapleton, too!

[@bojack40]

Wow! Can you imagine any of today’s ‘Str’ performers coping with that?

[@alexandrabillings99]

This is amazing

[@95KIPPIE]

She was the greatest ever! The grand dame of broadway

[@user-ke7yx6ze2d]

Ethel Merman had a dynomite voice❤❤❤❤

[@MichaelAuthorAllAges]

What fun. A treat! :)

[@chrisn7259]

This is wonderful. Two great Americam treasures captured at their best. Thank you Alan.

[@gregorypalmer5403]

How fascinating to see her doing snippets shows that at the time, not THAT long ago were considered by the fawning as " Musts for All Time" and are totally forgotten today.

[@gregorypalmer5403]

And Hamlisch 's schtick here and elsewhere how many times back then ? No doubt " inspired" a number of SCTV parodies just a few years later on Canadian television, syndication, then NBC. And, to be fair, I don't like anyone dissing the Great Merman, but I do think some of Andrea Martin's act on that same show, SCTV ( "Tex and Edna Boil" , just maybe ?? , hint hint) came from end-of-career Ethel . Check. out KZbin for the various SCTV " channels".

[@Mamamush]

Marvin Hamlisch is so brilliant!

[@kstephen7625]

God made only one Ethel Merman and boy did he or she load her with talent. The new generations have no idea who Ethel Merman. Marvin, you are playing their songs.

[@mariemarchesani1595]

David, it was more than the voice...personality, passion....in person it all works...my first Broadway musician was Merman in the original Annie Get Your Gun never missed another of her Broadway shows saw Gypsy more than 30 times and Hello Dolly more ! I was there when because of her became the longest running musical...I was also when they closed..what a unforgettable performance and event for all of us there never to be repeated again! Merman’s Broadway,my Broadway is gone..who could write the music? Many tried to be Merman and failed! Merman was best on a Broadway stage when you could understand the voice and hear every word and see every action...yes. Recently she was still voted #1 Broadway Diva! Facebook has increased her fan base.?she lives on!

[@am-p2359]

the way the wind blew her dress around made for a perfect entrance -- LOVE her !!

[@charlescopenhagen6198]

I thank God for the fellow theater nerds that make KZbin keep and post these gems.

[@GeoStrum3]

44 years ago! Wow!

[@GeoStrum3]

I guess the stars we have today that compare to Ethel back then would be Bette Midler and Bernadette Peters.

[@wotan10950]

And Patti LuPone!

[@rebeccaquam3562]

💕💕💕

[@DavidLEzell]

Ethel Merman and Marvin Hamlisch performing at Sardis. There a lot wrong--rough recording, lip sync at the start, someone putting a pre-recorded track underneath his extraordinary piano--but amazing still. At 9:30 she sings (live) What I Did for Love. Merman had pipes but her vocal skill, valued in pre-microphone Broadway, is hard on modern ears. That said, it’s still amazing to hear these two together at a time when the Great White Way was struggling. BTW Ease on Down the Road was pure musical theater, not “rock and roll.” 😅

[@MikeThomasFaria]

Thanks, Alan! Holy Cow!

[@arnoldstollar5375]

Sardis’ restaurant nyc . 44st. W.

[@robertd.carver6240]

Who better to launch the '76 B'way season than the Merm!

[@ed9938]

MH was the rehearsal pianist for Funny Girl

[@ceasarandrepont5331]

Folks, that New York City is dead and there is no resurrection. Say farewell.

[@MTknitter22]

Yes. That street is all boarded up now in Fall 2020

[@RonGerstein-tf5tp]

Ethel Merman was botn "ETHEL ZIMMERMAN".

[@claudiacagan5280]

MERMAN IN THE RAIN!!!

[@jonmaas]

Alan, does the rest of this exist?

[@carminecarpinone712]

These where real stars

[@kareybarey13]

who was the actor in the intro? i am drawing a blank....was he in the tv show fish?

[@donnadavis9318]

Hal Linden from TVs Barney Miller show but also the stage.

[@louismondelli3044]

Hal Linden

[@LearnAboutFlow]

It's funny because around this time she did a disco album that failed. She should have done what she did here - sing contemporary stuff and put her own spin on it. That would have been interesting

[@mp2040]

Is that petula clark standing at the piano at the end?

[@arthurharrison1345]

Yes, at 13:07, she's on the right of the frame.

[@wotan10950]

My wife and I saw Petula on a tour of Sunset Blvd at the theater in West Point. She was fantastic!

[@mp2040]

Dave Glo oh wow! That would have been great 👍🏻

[@drachirzim]

left out maureen Stapleton in the audience

[@thomasbinninger1355]

She was on the judy garland show.no business like show business.

[@justinnampui4757]

I have no clue who the guy in the video is.

[@laurencemartin2797]

Wow I didn't Marvin was that good on the piano!

[@garybriankaplan]

When was this? So good!@

[@vino140]

Great pipes, fake fun. No. Skip this,

[@gioPHL]

Yeah...like Merman EVER needed a microphone. Pfft...LOL.

[@MalEvansUSA]

Ernie Borgnine divorced her within 36 hours. Not sure why?

[@mountainman4859]

I just never understood her appeal. She and Carol Channing make the muscles in the back of my neck tighten up when I hear them. Lol

[@RonGerstein-tf5tp]

Go to hell

[@Ursaminor31]

When it was done live, took talent, and wasn’t completely s@tanic ritu@ls

[@leighwinson9859]

Well she's loud...

[@usermikes]

I use to go to Sardi's, but the neighborhood is getting to look like a Third World Country..Matter of fact all of NYC is getting that way...When you have people sleeping, and begging in the streets. you have a Third World Country...

[@Lampshade51]

You don't remember Times Square in the 1960s? Was a lot worse.

[@usermikes]

I remember Times Square in the 1950, and 60's..Back in the 1960's you had all the X rated movies..But as a whole...Times Square with out the X rated crap was alot better back then...Wasn't as crowed, and people weren't begging in the streets..

[@Lampshade51]

More crowded these days? Yes. No doubt. But, I remember Times Square in the 60s with grubby X rated theaters which attracted a bunch of low class people. Beggars? Yes I remember people begging for money back then but more often someone was trying to sell you a hot watch. A lot of the area was dirty and grubby back then. The upside is that the area is generally cleaned up and more upscale and classier, but with that comes more people....more tourists...and where you have more people and more tourists you have more people trying to hustle them. It's a big city. That's what you get. The very rich and the very poor. New York City has always been like that. The Rockefellers out for a stroll while a cop runs past them chasing a thief.

[@dyerful]

reach into your pocket and have some humanity and compassion

[@usermikes]

Back in the 1960's I was homeless..I can tell who's homeless and who's scamming..Most are scamming in NY..

[@JMCNYC79]

I don’t particularly care for her voice.

[@donneuhauser7409]

I'm sorry I didn't know you guys in the 70s. We could have gone to lunch.

[@donneuhauser7409]

I suspect your fans will enjoy seeing you as Mame Denis singing "Oh we need a little Christmas"

[@CaptainSpalding72]

The old story of her yelling out a dirty joke to someone across a packed room is still greatness. What was the joke?

[@donneuhauser7409]

I guess I'm glad I was a kid in the 1970s. I had no idea the guys got rude

[@donneuhauser7409]

Want a tip. Buy a friend coffee just because. Coffee junkies will think you're the most wonderful person on earth

[@donneuhauser7409]

Did you become a manicurist?

[@donneuhauser7409]

Did you become a manicurist?