Died On This Date (February 15, 1984) Ethel Merman / Singing Star Of Stage And Screen
themusicsover Ethel Merman
January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984
Ethel Merman was a singer and actress who was one of the biggest stars of the Broadway stage and screen during the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s. Her break came in the fall of 1930 when she was cast to star in the Gershwin musical, Girl Crazy. Her performances made her an instant star. In 1934, she starred in Cole Porter’s Anything Goes, the first of five Porter shows she would star in. Throughout the rest of her career, she helped make hits out of such musicals as Annie Get Your Guns, Red, Hot and Blue, and Gypsy. And songs that she made into hits include “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” “Anything Goes,” and her signature song, “There’s No Business Like Show Business.” Ethel Merman was 76 when she died as a result of a brain tumor on February 15, 1984.
Percy Faith was a Canadian composer and band leader who has been called “The Father of Easy Listening.” His compositions, many for film soundtracks, were very popular during the ’50s and ’60s, with many becoming standards in later years. Faith also worked as an arranger for the likes of Tony Bennett and Doris Day. Over the course of his career, Faith released over 80 albums. His popular recordings during that time included “Song From The Moulin Rouge,” and the 1961 Grammy-winning “Theme From A Summer Place.” Percy Faith was 76 when died of cancer on February 9, 1976.
Jimmy Van Heusen was an Emmy nominated, Golden Globe nominated and multi-Academy Award winning composer of film and television music. After college, Van Heusen went to work playing the piano for several publishers of the storied Tin Pan Alley. During that time, he became an extremely prolific tunesmith, ultimately penning the music for over 800 songs. More than 50 of those have become standards. Over the course of his career, he collaborated with the likes of 
Hugo Montenegro was a popular film score composer and orchestra leader whose most popular work came out during the ’60s and ’70s. His use of synthesizers became a major influence upon contemporary electronic musicians. He was also embraced by fans of space pop and lounge music during the ’90s. Montenegro had several hits with his interpretations of film scores of the time. His cover of the theme song of Clint Eastwood’s The Good The Bad and The Ugly made it to #2 on the Billboard pop chart. Montenegro also created the theme songs for I Dream Of Jeannie and Here Come the Brides for television. He died of emphysema on February 6, 1981.
