Page "Ethel Merman" Paragraph 3

After graduating from Bryant in 1924, Merman was hired as a stenographer by the Boyce-Ite Company.

One day during her lunch break, she met Vic Kliesrath, who offered her a job at the Bragg-Kliesrath Corporation for a $ 5 increase above the weekly $ 23 salary she was earning, and Merman accepted the offer.

She was eventually made personal secretary to company president Caleb Smith Bragg, whose frequent lengthy absences from the office allowed her to catch up on the sleep she had lost the previous night when she was out late performing at private parties.

During this period Merman also began appearing in nightclubs, first hired by Jimmy Durante's partner Lou Clayton.

It was at this time she decided that the name Ethel Zimmermann was too long for a theater marquee.

She considered combining Ethel with Gardner or Hunter, her grandmother's maiden name, but finally abbreviated Zimmermann to Merman to appease her father.