Theatre Register

Muriel Smith

Shows · Muriel Smith

Actor 1923–1985 On stage 19431947

Muriel Burrell Smith (February 23, 1923 – September 13, 1985) was an American singer. In the 1940s and 1950s, she was a star of musical theater and opera, and was also the off-film ghost singer in several hit movies. She is perhaps best known in the UK for her 1953 number 3 hit single "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me", which was first covered in 1965 by Mel Carter (and which remains a staple of easy listening and oldies radio to this day) and later in 1994 by Gloria Estefan.

On stage 5 productions, 4 years

1943 Carmen Jones Broadway Theatre · Original · directed by Hassard Short, Charles Friedman 502 perf.
1945 Carmen Jones City Center · Revival · directed by Hassard Short 21 perf.
1946 Carmen Jones City Center · Revival · directed by Hassard Short 32 perf.
1947 Our Lan' Royale Theatre · Original · directed by Edward R. Mitchell 41 perf.
1947 The Cradle Will Rock Mansfield Theatre · Revival · directed by Howard Da Silva 34 perf.

Each row is a staging this name appears in the cast list of, read from the production record rather than from the person record. The person record names works instead, and a work cannot say which run somebody was in — that is how Elaine Stritch ends up filed under Show Boat 1927 when she was in the 1994 revival. No row here says what part was played, because no cast list records it.

Worked with more than once12 names

Napoleon Reed 4 productions
Sibol Cain 3 productions
Ruth Crumpton 3 productions
Jack Carr 3 productions
Glenn Bryant 3 productions
George Willis 3 productions
Erona Harris 3 productions
Elton J Warren 3 productions
Elijah Hodges 3 productions
Edward Roche 3 productions
Edward Christopher 3 productions
Bill O Neil 3 productions

Both names in the same cast list, more than once. It is not evidence of a partnership — a long-running company puts the same forty people together every night — but it is where one would start looking. 9 of these names are not links because we hold no record behind them; the name is set from the identifier and its punctuation may be wrong.

In the literature8 passages

  • Act Two: “Western People Funny” (Muriel Smith, Wives); “I Have Dreamed” (Christine Mathews, Philip Wentworth); “Hello, Young Lovers!” (reprise) (Jan Clayton); “The Small House of Uncle Thomas” (ballet) (Narrator: Christine Mathews; Uncle Thomas: Bettina Dearborn; Little Eva: Wonci Lui; Topsy: Alice Uchida; Eliza: Yuriko; King Simon: Mario…ebooks/Dietz, Dan/Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals, The - Dan Dietz.txt
  • Act One: Prelude (Orchestra); Opening Scene (Sherman Sneed, Reri Grist, Male Chorus); “Lift ’Em Up an’ Put ’Em Down!” (Street Boys); “Honey Gal o’ Mine” (Male Chorus); “Good Luck, Mr. Flyin’ Man!” (Female Singers and Dancers); “Dat’s Love” (Muriel Smith, Chorus); “You Talk Jus’ Like My Maw” (William DuPree, Reri Grist); “Murder-Murder!” (…ebooks/Dietz, Dan/Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals, The - Dan Dietz.txt
  • Act Two: Entr’Acte (Orchestra); “De Cards Don’ Lie” (Delores Martin, Audrey Vanterpool, Chorus); “Dat Ol’ Boy” (Muriel Smith); “Poncho de Panther from Brazil” (Delores Martin, Audrey Vanterpool, Jimmy Randolph, Joseph James, Chorus); “Dance Roma Suite” (ballet) (Dancers); “My Joe” (Reri Grist); Finale of Scene One (Muriel Smith, William D…ebooks/Dietz, Dan/Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals, The - Dan Dietz.txt
  • The musical was revived at City Center three times, the first on May 2, 1945, for twenty-one performances (Muriel Smith and Inez Matthews, and Napoleon Reed and LeVern Hutcherson) and the second on April 7, 1946, for thirty-two performances (Muriel Smith and Urylee Leonardos, and Napoleon Reed and LeVern Hutcherson). The current 1956 revi…ebooks/Dietz, Dan/Complete Book of 1950s Broadway Musicals, The - Dan Dietz.txt
  • Cast: Muriel Smith (or Inez Matthews), Luther Saxon, Carlotta Franzell, Glenn Bryant, June Hawkins, Cosy Coleebooks/Green, Stanley/Broadway Musicals, Show By Show - Seventh Edition - Stanley Green & Cary Ginell.txt
  • It was at Curtis that Bernstein became friends with mezzo-soprano Muriel Smith, who would soon be singing in Carmen Jones for Billy Rose.ebooks/Oja, Carol J_/Bernstein Meets Broadway_ Collaborative Art in a Time of War (Broadway Legacies) - Carol J. Oja.txt

Passages naming this person, found by keyword across 178 books. A keyword match is not a biography, and a common name will pull in the wrong one.

What this page does not know

  • What this person played. No cast list we hold records a character against a performer.
  • Which of the credits above the roles on this record — actor — apply to. The roles sit on the person and never on a credit, so a director who also acted looks the same here as one who did not.

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