Did Ethel Merman ever guest on the Monte Carlo Television Show hosted by Patrick Wayne?

Answer 1

Yes, she did, because I was there. I worked for the producer, Marty Pasetta. I had to show her to her room and couldn't find the light switch. After waiting a minute for me to find it, she and the man she was traveling with (grey haired and wearing a red jacket) tried to help. We expected the switch to be somewhere on an inside wall and were groping around in the dark for it. One of us -- not me -- finally found the switch on the outside wall in the hall (go figure) where anybody passing by could turn the light off. She definitely wasn't the "grande dame" type as she never lost patience with me or stormed out saying "Call me when you find it." I was impressed by her lack of self-importance. I did hear that she claimed she never rehearsed. She did for that show and in the dress she would wear because her appearance had to be timed and the camera man had to know the settings for and reflectiveness.