- Born
- Died
- Mabel Mercer was born on February 3, 1900 in Staffordshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Everything Is Rhythm (1936), Tropical Trouble (1936) and Men (1997). She died on April 20, 1984 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, USA.
- Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume One, 1981-1985, pages 558-560. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998.
- In the late 1960s, she gave two concerts with Bobby Short at Town Hall in New York City. Both were released by Atlantic Records: Mabel Mercer & Bobby Short at Town Hall, in 1968, (Atlantic SD 2-604) and Mabel Mercer & Bobby Short Second Town Hall Concert, in 1969 (Atlantic SD 2-605).
- She was awarded Stereo Review Magazine's first Award for Merit, for her lifetime achievement and for "outstanding contributions to the quality of American musical life." This award was officially renamed the Mabel Mercer Award in 1984.
- In 1928, she was an unknown member of the black chorus in the London production of Show Boat,[2] but she had become the toast of Paris by the 1930s, with admirers who included Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Cole Porter.
- In 1985, the Mabel Mercer Foundation was established with the efforts of her long-time friend and professional associate Donald F. Smith. This not-for-profit arts organization was formed to keep Mercer's memory alive, and to contribute to the art of cabaret performing by supporting artists and providing information resources. Its international activities include the debut of the London Cabaret Convention in 2004. The Foundation produced Noël Coward's 100th birthday celebration at Carnegie Hall. It also has a Young Person's Series to introduce young people to The Great American Songbook of popular classics.
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