Blanche L. Merrill (born Blanche V. Dreyfoos; July 22/23, 1883Biography, ragpiano.com. Accessed January 1, 2023."Blanche Merrill," U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 on Ancestry.com accessed June 5, 2018 (access by subscription). – October 5, 1966) was a songwriter specializing in tailoring her characterizations to specific performers. She is best known for the songs she wrote for Fanny Brice.
Early life Biographical information on Blanche Merrill is scarce. The only reference source that provides even a tiny bit of biographical information is partially questionable."Merrill, Blanche," ASCAP Biographical Dictionary, 4th edition (New York: R.R. Bowker Co., 1980), p. 343; This biography had to be constructed primarily from notices appearing in Variety and Billboard. These also must be read critically.
Blanche V. Dreyfoos was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Sigmund A. Dreyfoos (1855 – January 12, 1899"Sigmund A. Dreyfoos" in Robert W. Dreyfoos family tree, available on Ancestry.com (available with subscription), accessed July 8, 2018.), a bookkeeper,Occupation listed on city directories for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1880-1886 on Ancestry.com (available through subscription). and his wife, Lizzie (born Catherine Elizabeth Murphy; January 6, 1860 – January 17, 1921)."Dreyfoos, Elizabeth" certificate 286, Queens, death record on ItalianGen.com accessed July 8, 2018.) Although most sources are in agreement with the date of Blanche's birth (July 23), many provide conflicting evidence with regard to the year.
The 1892 New York State census dated February 16, 1892, indicates that Blanche was 8 years old, making her born in 1883;E.D. 06,"New York, State Census, 1892" available on Ancestry.com, p. 86 (access by subscription). In the 1920 U.S. Federal census, her age is listed as 25, making her born in 1895;U.S. Federal Census, 1920, Manhattan Assembly District 11, New York City; Roll: T625_1204; Page: 11A; Enumeration District: 811, available on Ancestry.com (available through subscription). According to the ASCAP Biographical Dictionary (based on her membership form filled when she became a member in 1936), she was born July 23, 1895. The ASCAP source was used by the Library of Congress in establishing her date of birth. According to the 1940 U.S. Census she was born in 1900.1940 United States Federal Census, New York, Queens, New York; Roll: m-t0627-02732; Page: 10B; Enumeration District: 41-619, [Ancestry.com] (available through subscription). In this census, she is listed as "Blanche O. Dreyfuss." According to the Social Security Death Index and Philadelphia hospital records, she was born July 22, 1883.Biography, ragpiano.com. Accessed January 1, 2023.
Evidence leans toward 1883 as the correct year of her birth, particularly in light of her educational pursuits.
Her siblings were Nellie (born approximately 1879), Theresa (sometimes called Tessie) (born approximately 1890,), Clara (sometimes spelled Claire) (born February 15, 1881),"Claire Kissane," Social Security Death Index available on Ancestry.com (available through subscription), accessed July 11, 2018.) and W. Wallace (born approximately 1888). Though census records indicate all the children were born in Philadelphia except W. Wallace, by the time of the New York State census of 1892 the family had relocated to Queens. On January 21, 1899, Sigmund died in Brooklyn, age 43.Certificate No. 889, Kings County, "Records Search: Deaths," ItalianGen.org. Accessed July 7, 2018. By 1900, a year after Sigmund's death, the family was living with the family of Elizabeth's sister at 147 5th Street in College Point, Queens.1900 census.
The details of her education are also problematic. In the 1917 interview, Merrill claimed to have received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University, after which she took a city examination and received her license to teach "five years" prior to the interview. However, in another profile published later that year, the unnamed author describes Merrill as having attended Barnard College.Since Wikipedia is based on tertiary sources, this article cannot include an editor's May 2018 inquiry to the Registrar of Barnard College, which revealed that Merrill was not a student at Barnard and took teacher training courses at Columbia. However, Merrill does not appear in any class lists of the many yearbooks Columbia has posted on its website. If she was born in 1895, it is improbable that she would have graduated from college and achieved teacher training by 1912, when she would have been 17. Although her college education remains mysterious, in 1906 she apparently passed her teacher training and was assigned to teach at Public School 84 in Queens.School 18, no. 3 (September 20, 1906), p. 69.The City Record vol. 34 (November 2, 1906), p. 10674. Apparently, she maintained this job until 1915, when she requested a sabbatical and apparently did not return.Minutes of the Board of Superintendents (New York: Board of Education, 1915), pp. 252, 716.
Career
Although Merrill claimed to have begun her theatrical career by sending an unsolicited song to Eva Tanguay, her interest in theater seems to have predated that event. In a 1917 interview, Merrill described attending theater with her mother while in high school: "I never missed a Saturday matinee".Mary B. Mullett, "Still in Her Twenties She Has Won Fame and Fortune as Songwriter" The Sun (February 11, 1917), p. 7. A 1906 review of a production of The Jolly Bachelors put on by St. Mary's Catholic Club in Brooklyn is probably one of the earliest mentions of Merrill (still under her birth surname) in print. A reviewer for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported: "There were many musical numbers. Charles Bill, William Morrison and Blanche V. Dreyfoos managed to take one step higher in the art with which they have been so generously endowed." (Blanche's sister Clara Dreyfoos played the small role of Constance.)"'Jolly Bachelors' Were Entertainers," Brooklyn Daily Eagle (no date, probably February 1, 1906), no page number indicated. Scanned image at: https://fultonhistory.com/Newspapers%2023/Brooklyn%20NY%20Greenpoint%20Daily%20Star/Brooklyn%20NY%20Greenpoint%20Daily%20Star%201906/Brooklyn%20NY%20Greenpoint%20Daily%20Star%201906%20-%200164.pdf.
1910-1915
In 1910 she saw Eva Tanguay in a vaudeville performance.Untitled article, Literary Digest (October 13, 1917), p. 88. She was so taken with the performance that she wrote her first song, "Give an Imitation of Me," and then filed it away. A friend convinced her to send it to Tanguay for her consideration. Tanguay liked it and accepted it, leading Merrill to write an additional four songs for Tanguay. Although she didn't accept remuneration for her first effort, that changed when songwriter and music publisher Charles K. Harris signed Merrill to a contract and published her songs."Harris Signs Newcomer," Variety (July 16, 1910), p. 5. Among those songs was "Egotistical Eva", which Tanguay used to open her appearances for the 1910–11 season.notice in Billboard (September 10, 1910), p. 56. With her first publication, virtually all professional mentions refer to her as Blanche Merrill. The Trained Nurses, a vaudeville act written by and featuring Gladys Clark and Henry Bergman, was produced by Jesse L. Lasky at the Colonial Theatre in New York City on September 16, 1912.https://catalog.nypl.org/record=b19275651~S1 Songs in the Music Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, call number M.C. (Trained nurses). The act's success appears to have prompted Lasky to consider a new edition for the following year (the new version does not appear to have materialized)."Second Trained Nurses," Variety (February 21, 1913), p. 8.
By 1913, Merrill was being noticed. "Several music publishing firms have been after the services of Blanche Merrill... who has gained a big reputation for her age within the past couple of years." Her work for Tanguay and Shaw as well as The Trained Nurses attracted "considerable attention from the profession to her jingling lyrics and ofttime melodies.""Blanche Merrill Locates," Variety (June 6, 1913), p. 8. She eventually signed with Waterson, Berlin & Snyder, Inc. This gave her the opportunity to collaborate with Irving Berlin. The single result of their collaboration was "Jake, the Yiddisher Ball Player.""Max Says It's a Hit," Variety (June 13, 1913), p. 7.
The beginning of 1915 saw Eva Tanguay making her first appearance at The Palace in New York.Sime Silverman, "Show Reviews: Palace," Variety (January 1, 1915), p. 20. Among the many interpolations was "Whistle and I'll Come To You" by Merrill and Leo Edwards, whose performance by Nora Bayes did not go unnoticed."Show Reviews: Maid in America," Variety (February 27, 1915), p. 18."Bayes Sings Harris' Songs," Billboard (March 6, 1915), p. 12. Another one of Merrill's and Edward's songs, "Here's to You, My Sparkling Wine," made its way into the musical The Blue Paradise, which opened at the Casino Theatre on August 5, 1915, and then toured."The Blue Paradise," Internet Broadway Database.Foster, "New Plays: The Blue Paradise," Billboard (June 19, 1915), p. 4.
Merrill wrote the song "Broadway Sam" for comic Willie Howard, who performed it in The Passing Show of 1915."Passing Show of 1915," Internet Broadway Database, accessed July 13, 2018.Sime, "Passing Show of 1915," Variety (June 4, 1915), p. 14.
Beginning mid-1915, there are notices of Merrill not just composing songs but also writing vaudeville acts.Thomas J. Gray, "Tommy's Tattles," Variety (July 16, 1915), p. 9. A Variety notice near the end of October 1915 indicates that an act, "The Musical Devil", featuring a performer ("Yvette") was written by Merrill."Vaudeville: New Acts," Variety (October 22, 1915), p. 6. One of the first of Merrill's vaudeville acts to be reviewed was The Burglar, a 15-minute skit written for Maurice Burkhardt."Maurice Burkhardt, 'The Burglar'," Variety (October 29, 1915), p. 16. Advertising for the act also included Merrill's name."Maurice Burkhardt in a brand new idea by Miss Blanche Merrill entitled "The Thief," Variety (October 29, 1915), p. 35.
Cooperation with Fanny Brice, 1915-1925
"In 1915 Fanny Brice was already a noted comedienne."Barbara Wallace Grossman, Funny Woman: The Life and Times of Fanny Brice (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1991), p. 237. By 1915 Merrill had established a strong reputation as a songwriter who catered to the individual characteristics of specific performers, women in particular. In July 1915, Brice began to work with Merrill in what Grossman calls the "turning point in [Brice's] career and the beginning of a productive professional relationship. During their association, Merrill created some of Brice's most distinctive material and freed her from the problem that had always plagued her: finding songs that really suited her."
The first results of their collaboration resulted in Brice's act opening on September 6, 1915, at The Palace.Barbara Wallace Grossman, Funny Woman: The Life and Times of Fanny Brice (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1991), p. 85. After touring with and refining the material, Brice returned to The Palace in February 1916. The act had four songs, the last three of which had lyrics by Merrill: "If We Could Only Take Their Word," "The Yiddish Bride" (which critic and Variety founder Sime Silverman called "a gem"), and "Becky Is Back in the Ballet." The performance was favorably reviewed.Sime, "Fannie Brice," Variety (February 11, 1916), p. 18.
Brice's next major appearance was in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1916. Opening on June 12, 1916, among the songs Brice sang were two with lyrics by Merrill, "The Hat" and "The Dying Swan."Syme, "Ziegfeld Follies," Variety (June 16, 1916), p. 13."Ziegfeld Follies of 1916," Internet Broadway Database accessed June 17, 2018.full-page advertisement, Variety (June 16, 1916), p. 29.