Esau Morman is arguably one of the greatest actresses on Broadway in the 20th century. Her moving voice reverberated on Broadway for more than half a century. Her Broadway debut was "I Got Rhythm" in Gershwin's "Crazy Girls" in 1930, and her last appearance in New York was at a Carnegie Hall concert in 1982.

Aisol Morman, who starred in 16 films, established herself in the acting world after the hit of "Girl Crazy," starring in "Annie Get Your Gun" and "Gypsy."

Born Jan. 16, 1908, in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens Avenue, New York, to a German father and a Scottish mother, Ms. Morman had grown up in political clubs and assemblies with her politically inclined father, and by then she had developed a penchant for singing, with nursery rhymes and popular short songs on her lips.

After completing high school business studies, she found a job as a stenographer. But Moman firmly believed that she could not spend her life so ordinary. She always had firm confidence in becoming a singer or even a singer in the future. So, after hearing that the owner of another company had dealings with figures in the entertainment industry, she immediately quit her job as a stenographer and moved to that company.

The owner of the company wrote a letter of recommendation for Morman, and a Broadway producer agreed to let her join the chorus. Morman, who had no ambition, immediately turned down the offer. She aspired to be a great singer. When she went to the theater with friends to see popular musicals, she became more determined in her direction. She often imitated the singing and dialogue of the characters in the play herself, feeling that she sang much better than them.

While serving as a secretary, Moman also found a job opportunity to sing in a nightclub. At this time, an agent, Lou Irwin, helped Morman sign a six-month singing contract with Time Warner. But Hollywood will not cultivate this unknown person as a singer. In order to get better performance opportunities and get Time Warner to agree that he could sing Moman elsewhere during the contract period, he would give up his own remuneration in exchange for it. This way, she can continue to sing in the nightclub after work.

In this way, Morman received only half of Warner's salary-US$85 a week and sang in several nightclubs. Her singing skills and psychological quality have been greatly improved during this period, laying a solid foundation for her future fame. Moman's good luck also gradually came. She was invited to sing at the Paramount Theater in Brooklyn and quickly became a star here.

By 1930, after several years of practicing nightclub singing and performing in Brooklyn, Morman was very familiar with the performance stage. She stood on the stage of the Paramount Theater. As soon as she opened her mouth, her charming and clear singing would flow out and spread throughout every corner of the theater. Vinton Freedley, the producer of Girls Crazy, convinced George Gershwin to give her a audition after accidentally watching Morman perform. Gershwin was immediately conquered by her outstanding voice and timbre and asked her to participate in this new play, starring Willie Howard and Ginger Rogers.

Morman's first appearance on Broadway was an unprecedented success, which also brought her a legendary start to her successful acting career. On the stage of the premiere, in front of a discerning audience, Morman, who made her debut on the stage of a musical, was unafraid. As she sang in the past, she dedicated the song "I Got Rhythm" as her "introduction letter" to the audience. When her high-pitched but not harsh high-pitched voice drifted over the theater, everyone in the audience couldn't help but give heartfelt praise. When the curtain had just fallen, Gershwin rushed backstage and said happily: "Don't let anyone teach you singing skills anymore, it will only set you back."

After achieving huge success in "Crazy Girl", Morman continued to perform in a number of plays, including George White's "Scandal", Cole Porter's "Red Hot and Blue","Seize the Opportunity" and others.

Morman gained greater fame in 1946's Alvin Berlin's "Annie, Pick Up Your Gun", which was performed more than 1000 times, and Morman's singing "There's No Business Like Show Business" became a classic in musicals.

In 1959, Rose Lee in "Queen of the Rose Dance" was another important role for her. Morman's mother, Rose, in "Queen of the Rose Dance," was also her favorite stage character. "Mama's Turn," a song by Steyn and Sondheim at the end of the play, brought the play to a climax. The complex, dramatic dialogue in the song was Morman's favorite. Morman thought the nearly 11-minute song was "like singing an opera," and it was easy to get into the role, and she sang it with emotion and tears at each point.

When she finished performing "The Rose" in 1959, many people thought her acting career had come to an end, because she had appeared in 13 works, each of which was a hit. So when she returned to the stage in 1966 and participated in the re-enactment of "Annie, Pick Up Your Gun", although public opinion generally believed that her clear voice still existed, she was not very much in favor of playing a girl in love at the age of 59.

After the production of "Queen of the Rose", Hollywood director and producer Mervyn LeRoy came to the theater more than once to see the work, and in the process of contacting Morman, she kept talking about wanting to adapt the work into a movie. Morman was convinced that if it were to be turned into a movie, she would be the heroine of the play. But when the camera was turned on, she learned that the heroine was not her but Rosalind Russell, an unexpected decision that made Morman very disappointed. But in 1954, Morman's regret was finally compensated, and she participated in the film "There's No Business Like Show Business" based on the music of Alvin Berlin.

For nearly a quarter-century, starting in 1930, the Broadway stage seemed incomplete without Morman's performance. This plump and enterprising actress conquered the director and the audience with her loud voice, distinctive personality, keen artistic sense and strong will. During her long acting career, she has collaborated with many famous composers and directors, from George Gershwin to Irwin Berlin, from Cole Porter to Julie Steyn to Sondheim.

Off-stage Morman was a Broadway icon of her era, and her New York accent, jeweled attire, and even gum-chewing habits were all well-known. Composers rushed to cast Morman as the heroine of their plays, knowing that by branding her a "Morman", they would make their creations a hit.

The self-taught Morman does not think he has any special performance skills. Every time he answers people's similar questions, Morman always says: "Every time I sing, I sing loudly, hoping to express my voice completely."

Her long-term collaborators may be more aware of her artistic talents. The composer Alvin Berlin's words best illustrate Morman's ability: "A bad song, sung by her, will become a good song, and a good song will become a classic when interpreted by her. Write her songs, preferably with the best lyrics, so that audiences in every corner of the theater can clearly hear every syllable she utters."

Moman's cold personality made her only believe in her artistic intuition and never superstitious or worshiped any authority. For example, just as "Call Me Madam" was about to be released on Broadway, Morman, as usual, informed the creative team that she would not allow any changes to her scenes one week before the performance. This was her performance habit and principle. But on the eve of the performance, Berlin came to tell her that some words in the song "The Hostess With the Mostes 'on the Ball" needed to be changed, but Morman flatly refused the request of the big-name composer, her artistic persistence and even "stubbornness" can be seen from this.

After becoming famous, Morman has a lot of autonomy in the selection of works and songs, and sometimes has a lot of say in the production of a musical. "Queen of the Rose Dance" is a good example. When Robbins first took over the production, he wanted to put Sondheim, who was up and running on "West Side Story," as the composer, but Morman immediately rejected his idea and insisted that the experienced Julie Steyn replace him, but she agreed to let Sondheim write the play poems and dialogue. Robbins created a creative team according to her wishes, and produced many popular songs for her.

In order to maintain her performance state, whether it is a preview or a formal performance, she is fully committed, so that for a long time, Morman can appear on the stage in the best condition. Of course, Morman's return is also huge, her salary can often reach more than 10% of the total income of the play.

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Morman has appeared in a total of 14 film productions, some of which coincided with her conquest of the Broadway stage and were based on her successful musicals. These include "Alexander's Ragtime Band," "There's No Business Like Show Business," and "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World," but it should be noted that Morman is far less free and starry in film performance than she is on the stage of a musical.

Murman left the world peacefully on February 15, 1984 in her Manhattan apartment, bidding farewell to the musical theater stage she had worked for all her life.

Comment: A famous actor of the last century, American Broadway singer.