Eileen Rodgers (July 10, 1930 – July 13, 2003) was an American singer and Broadway performer.

Career

Born in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

in 1930, she began her career as a nightclub performer, later singing as lead vocalist with

Charlie Spivak Charlie Spivak (February 17, 1907 – March 1, 1982) was an American trumpeter and bandleader, best known for his big band in the 1940s. Early life The details of Spivak's birth are unclear. Some sources place it in Ukraine in 1907, and that h ...

's orchestra. She later recorded more than 30 singles and two LPs for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

, her most successful single being " Miracle of Love" in 1956, which reached number 18 and 24 respectively, on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' and ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' pop charts. Her Broadway debut was in 1959's ''

Fiorello! ''Fiorello!'' is a musical about New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia, a reform Republican, which debuted on Broadway in 1959, and tells the story of how La Guardia took on the Tammany Hall political machine. The book is by Jerome Weidman and ...

'', where she sang the show-stopping "Gentleman Jimmy". In 1960, she appeared in '' Tenderloin''. Two years later, in 1962, she headed the off-Broadway revival cast of

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway and in film. Born to ...

's ''

Anything Goes ''Anything Goes'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap ant ...

'' in the role of Reno Sweeney, a recording of which is currently available on CD. The show won the New York Outer Circle Critics' Award as Best Revival of 1962. In 1965, Rodgers appeared in the infamous musical flop ''Kelly'' which closed on Broadway after one performance. The ''

Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely c ...

'' reported that Rodgers had burst into tears after a performance during the show's

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

tryout, remarking, "I wish I was back in Tenderloin. It was a flop, but at least people were friendly."Mandelbaum, Ken. ''Not Since Carrie: Forty Years of Broadway Musical Flops.'' Page 15. St. Martin's Griffin, 1991. She served as a standby for

Ethel Merman Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann, January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American actress and singer, known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and for leading roles in musical theatre.Obituary '' Variety'', February 22, 1984. ...

in the 1966 revival of '' Annie Get Your Gun''. Rodgers made frequent appearances on television variety shows and starred with

Art Carney Arthur William Matthew Carney (November 4, 1918 – November 9, 2003) was an American actor and comedian. A recipient of an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and six Primetime Emmy Awards, he was best known for his role as Ed Norton on the si ...

in a Chevrolet 50th Anniversary special.Eileen Rodgers Obituary at TheaterMania.com
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Death

Eileen Rodgers Thompson died of lung cancer on July 13, 2003 in

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, three days after her 73rd birthday. She was survived by her husband, two sons and two grandchildren.

References

External links

*
Obituary at TheaterMania.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodgers, Eileen 1930 births 2003 deaths Actresses from Pittsburgh American musical theatre actresses Deaths from cancer in North Carolina Deaths from lung cancer Musicians from Charlotte, North Carolina 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women