Merrill may refer to:

Places[link]

In the United States:

• Merrill Airfield, Anchorage, Alaska
• Merrill, Iowa
• Merrill, Maine
• Merrill, Michigan
• Merrill, Mississippi, an unincorporated community near Lucedale in George County
• Merrill, Oregon
• Merrill, Wisconsin
• Merrill (town), Wisconsin
• Merrill Township, Michigan
• Merrill Township, North Dakota
• Merrill College at the University of California, Santa Cruz

People[link]

• Merrill (surname)

Other uses[link]

• Merrill Lynch, a division of Bank of America
• Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, architectural firm
• USS Merrill (DD-976)
• Nine Men's Morris, a strategy board game also called Merrills

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Robert Merrill (June 4, 1917 – October 23, 2004) was an American operatic baritone, who was also active in the musical theatre circuit.

Early life[link]

Merrill was born Moishe Miller, later known as Morris Miller, in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, New York, to tailor Abraham Miller, originally Milstein, and his wife Lillian, née Balaban, immigrants from Warsaw, Poland.

His mother claimed to have had an operatic and concert career in Poland (a fact denied by her son in his biographies) and encouraged her son to have early voice training: he had a tendency to stutter, which disappeared when singing. Merrill was inspired to pursue professional singing lessons when he saw the baritone Richard Bonelli singing Count Di Luna in a performance of Il Trovatore at the Metropolitan Opera, and paid for them with money earned as a semi-professional pitcher.^{[citation needed]}

Radio and recordings[link]

In his early radio appearances as a crooner he was sometimes billed as Merrill Miller. While singing at bar mitzvahs and weddings and Borscht Belt resorts, he met an agent, Moe Gale, who found him work at Radio City Music Hall and with the NBC Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Arturo Toscanini. With Toscanini conducting, he eventually sang in two of the maestro's NBC broadcasts of famous operas, La traviata (with Licia Albanese, in 1946), and Un ballo in maschera (with Herva Nelli, in 1954). Both of those broadcasts were eventually released on both LP and CD. His ranking as an important NBC performer is evidenced by his inclusion in NBC's 1947 promotional book, NBC Parade of Stars: As Heard Over Your Favorite NBC Station, displaying Sam Berman's caricatures of leading NBC personalities.

Merrill's 1944 operatic debut was in Verdi's Aida at Newark, New Jersey, with the famous tenor Giovanni Martinelli, then in the later stages of his long operatic career. Merrill, who had continued his vocal studies under Samuel Margolis made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1945, as Germont in La traviata. Also in 1945, Robert Merrill recorded a 78rpm record set with Jeanette MacDonald featuring selections from the operetta Up In Central Park; MacDonald and Merrill did two duets together on this album.

In 1951, Merill did a series of duet recordings together with the Swedish tenor Jussi Björling, including the world-renowned recording of "Au fond du temple saint" from the opera Les pêcheurs de perles by Georges Bizet.

Again in 1952 Merill and Björling, as well as Victoria de los Ángeles made a widely admired recording of Puccini's La bohème, conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham. In 1953, Merrill, Björling, de los Angeles and Zinka Milanov recorded the complete Pagliacci and Cavalleria rusticana.

Films[link]

His role in the musical comedy film Aaron Slick from Punkin Crick (1952) led to a conflict with Sir Rudolf Bing and a brief departure from the Met in 1951. Merrill sang many different baritone roles, becoming, after the untimely on-stage death of the celebrated Leonard Warren in 1960, the Met's principal baritone. In the late 1950s and early 1960s he appeared under the direction of Alfredo Antonini in performances of arias from the Italian operatic repertoire for the open air Italian Night concert series at Lewisohn Stadium in New York City.^[1][2][3][4]

He was described by Time as "one of the Met's best baritones". Yet reviews were not consistently good: Opera magazine reported on a Metropolitan Opera performance of Barber of Seville in which Merrill delivered "by all odds the most insensitive impersonation of the season". He was accused by the reviewer of "loud, coarse sounds" and "no grace, no charm, as he butchered the text and galumphed around the stage".^[5]

Merrill also continued to perform on radio and television, in nightclubs and recitals. In 1973, Merrill teamed up with Richard Tucker to present a concert at Carnegie Hall—a first for the two "vocal supermen" (as one critic dubbed them), and a first "for the demanding New York public and critics" Merrill recalled. The event marked a precedent that would lead eventually to the "Three Tenors" concerts many years later. Merrill retired from the Met in 1976. For many years, he led services, often in Borscht Belt hotels, on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.

In honor of Merrill's vast influence on American vocal music, on February 16, 1981 he was awarded the prestigious University of Pennsylvania Glee Club Award of Merit.^[6] Beginning in 1964, this award "established to bring a declaration of appreciation to an individual each year that has made a significant contribution to the world of music and helped to create a climate in which our talents may find valid expression."

In 1996, at a reception at Lincoln Center, Merrill was presented with The Lawrence Tibbett Award from the AGMA Relief Fund, honoring his fifty years of professional achievement and dedication to colleagues. (The AGMA Relief Fund, award sponsor, provides financial assistance and support services to classical performing artists in need.)

Relatively late in his singing career, Merrill also became known for singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Yankee Stadium. He first sang the national anthem to open the 1969 baseball season, and it became a tradition for the Yankees to bring him back each year on Opening Day and special occasions. He sang at various Old Timer's Days (wearing his own pinstriped Yankee uniform with the number "1¹⁄₂" on the back) and the emotional pre-game ceremony for Thurman Munson at Yankee Stadium on August 3, 1979, the day after the catcher's death in a plane crash. He would also sing at one World Series game in each year the Yankees played the Fall Classic at the stadium, starting in 1976. A recorded Merrill version is sometimes used at Yankee Stadium today. He preferred a traditional approach to the song devoid of additional ornamentation, as he explained to Newsday in 2000, "When you sing the anthem, there's a legitimacy to it. I'm extremely bothered by these different interpretations of it." Merrill appeared as himself in a cameo role, singing the national anthem, in the 2003 film Anger Management. Merrill joked that an entire generation of people know him as "The 'Say-Can-You-See' guy!" (Agmazine, April 1996).

Merrill received the National Medal of Arts in 1993.

Personal life[link]

While there has been dispute regarding his birth year (some^[who?] claim he was born in 1919), the Social Security Death Index,^[7] his family, and his gravestone state that he was born in 1917.

Merrill married soprano Roberta Peters in 1952. They parted amicably; he had two children, a son David and a daughter Lizanne, with his second wife, Marion (d. March 20, 2010), née Machno, a pianist. Merrill liked to play golf and was a member of the Westchester Country Club in Rye, New York, for many years.

He always maintained a warm sense of humor and once recalled the time a young contractor was working in his New Rochelle, NY home. Surveying the photos, posters, plaques and other music memorabilia in the Merrill home, the young man asked Merrill, "You're a singer, aren't you?" "Yes," he responded. "You sing opera, don't you?" the worker asked. "A little," replied Merrill. (Agmazine, April 1996).

He wrote two books of memoirs, Once More from the Beginning (1965) and Between Acts (1976), and he co-authored a novel, The Divas (1978). Merrill toured all over the world with his arranger and conductor, Angelo DiPippo, who wrote most of his act and performed at concert halls throughout the world. He always donated his time on the Cerebral Palsy telethon with Dennis James.

Death[link]

Robert Merrill died at home in New Rochelle, New York, while watching Game 1 of the 2004 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals. He is interred at the Sharon Gardens Cemetery in Valhalla, New York, which is a subdivision of the Kensico Cemetery. His headstone features an opera curtain that has been drawn open. The small rocks on the headstone pertain to the Jewish tradition that a visitor to someone's grave-site places one as a sign of the visit.

His epitaph states:

Like a bursting celestial star, he showered his family and the world with love, joy, and beauty. Encore please.

Performances with the Metropolitan Opera[link]

Robert Merrill made 769 performances with the Metropolitan Opera in the following 21 roles:^[8]

Studio recordings[link]

Robert Merrill made at least 23 studio recordings of complete operas:^[9]

Listen to[link]

• WNYC Soundcheck: Robert Merrill Remembered (October 26, 2004)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Robert Merrill official site
• Robert Merrill at Findagrave.com
• Discography of opera recordings (Capon's Lists of Opera Recordings)
• The New York Times, Obituary, October 26, 2004
• "Great Singers Remembered: Robert Merrill" by Philip Ehrensaft. La Scena Musicale, May 14, 2005

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Buddy Merrill (born July 16, 1936) is an American guitar player and musician who was best known as a regular on The Lawrence Welk Show. His style of guitar playing is known as multi-tracking.

Early Beginnings[link]

The oldest of four children whose father was also a musician, he was born in Torrey, Utah. At age eight, he got his first guitar and soon enough, began performing live with his father's band, The Fremont River Rangers. When he was eleven, he even appeared with his dad live on local television station KDYL in Salt Lake City.

When the family moved out to Los Angeles, California in the early 1950s, Buddy continued to perfect his musical skills, playing both the acoustic guitar and the steel guitar. He also began to do home recordings of himself playing rhythm guitar to a song, which was how the legendary Les Paul did in the recording studios, though Paul overdubbed multiple guitar parts. He also continued to perform live throughout high school in dances, social functions and at clubs.

On the Lawrence Welk Show[link]

Merrill joined the Lawrence Welk Show in 1955, the same year it first went national on ABC. At nineteen his youth and energy made him very popular with the ladies and his artistry with the guitar made him highly-sought after as a live performer, studio musician and also garnered him respect within the music industry. He briefly left the show from 1959 to 1962 when he was drafted by the Army. On his return to the Music Makers he was joined in the band's rhythm section with fellow guitarist Neil Levang. For the next twelve years the two would be television's most dynamic guitar duo, attracting a whole legion of fans and admirers.

Accomplishments after Welk[link]

In 1974, Buddy left the Welk orchestra to devote more time to writing music and recording for Accent Records (US). He had signed with the latter in 1964, creating a lasting partnership with owner Scott Seely on both a personal and professional level. Buddy continued to perform live, either as a solo artist or with a band, until 1988 when he retired from the road. He also continued to perform as a studio musician. He even penned a symphonic work, "Living Sea," as well as original compositions for tape programmers and television commercials. Today he lives in Lake Elsinore, California with his wife Connie, whom he married in 1983.

Discography[link]

• Classics in Rhythm, Accent ACD 5054, 2001
• Classic Guitars, Accent ACD 6042, 2001
• Guitars Express, ACD 6041, 1998
• The Exciting Guitars of Buddy Merrill, ACD 5038, 1998
• World of Guitars, ACD 6030, 1994 (sampler of Buddy's compositions)
• Beyond the Reef, ACD 5034, 1992
• Classics in Rhythm, ACS 5054, 1980
• Guitar Sounds of Buddy Merrill, ACS 50100, 1977
• Buddy Merrill Today, ACS 5052, 1975
• Upbeat M.O.R., ACS 5048, 1975
• World of Guitars, ACS 5042, 1972
• Country Capers, ACS 5040, 1972
• 25 Great All-Time Hits, ACS 5038, 1971
• Steel Guitar Country,ACS 5036, 1970
• Beyond the Reef,ACS 5034, 1970
• Guitar Sounds of the 70's, ACS 5032, 1970
• The Best of Buddy Merrill, ACS 5034, 1969
• Electrosonic Guitars, ACS 5028, 1969
• Land of a Thousand Guitars, ACS 5026, 1967
• Sounds of Love, ACS 5024, 1967
• The Many Splendored Guitars of Buddy Merrill, ACS 5022, 1967
• Guitars on Fire, Accent SQBO 91997
• The Exciting World of Buddy Merrill, ACS 5020, 1966
• Latin Festival, ACS 5018, 1966
• Holiday from Guitars, Accent AC 5016, 1965
• The Guitar Sounds of Buddy Merrill, ACS 5010, 1965
• Songs of the Islands (with Lawrence Welk), Dot DLP 3251, 1960 (re-issued by Ranwood R 8022 and R 2007)

External links[link]

• Official Website
• Buddy Merrill Music
• Accent Records (US)
• Biography at Space Age Pop.com
• Buddy Merrill & Neil Levang: Guitar Heroes

Brodie Merrill
Born	(1981-11-05) November 5, 1981 (age 30) Orangeville, ON, CAN
Position	Defense
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
MSL Team	Brampton Excelsiors
NLL Team F. Teams	Philadelphia Wings Edmonton Rush Portland LumberJax
MLL Team F. Teams	Hamilton Nationals Rochester Rattlers Baltimore Bayhawks
Nationality	Canada
Pro Career	2005–present
Shoots	Left

Brodie Merrill (born November 5, 1981 in Orangeville, Ontario) is a Canadian lacrosse player. He currently plays in the National Lacrosse League for the Philadelphia Wings and Major League Lacrosse for the Hamilton Nationals.

High school career[link]

Merrill attended the Salisbury School in Connecticut. While attending Salisbury, he was a standout lacrosse player, and was named the New England Defensive Player of the Year, was selected to the All-New England team, and was selected as a First Team High School All-American.

College career[link]

Merrill attended Georgetown University from 2002 to 2005. During his final two years, he was a First-team All-American, and won the Schmeisser Award in his senior year for defensive player of the year.

Professional career[link]

Merrill (left) in 2009

NLL[link]

Merrill was also the first player taken overall in the 2005 National Lacrosse League Draft by the Portland LumberJax, and in 2006 was named both the NLL's Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. During the 2009 NLL season, he was named a starter to the All-Star Game.^[1]

When the LumberJax left Portland at the end of the 2009 season, the league held a dispersal draft. Merrill was selected with the first overall pick in the draft by the Edmonton Rush.

On August 9, 2011, he was traded to the Philadelphia Wings, along with Rush forwards Dean Hill, Mike McLellan, and Edmonton's 41st selection in the 2011 entry draft, and the 4th round selection in 2013. In return, Philadelphia sent Athan Iannucci with teammates Alex Turner and Brodie McDonald, along with Philadelphia's first round draft picks in 2012, 2013 and 2014.^[2]

MLL[link]

He was the MLL Rookie of the Year in 2005 as a member of the Baltimore Bayhawks. From 2006 to 2007, he played for the Rochester Rattlers. For four consecutive years he was awarded the Major League Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Year Awards.^[3] He then helped the Toronto Nationals win their first MLL championship in their inaugural season, and won the defensive player of the year award for a record fourth consecutive year.

Canadian Box career[link]

Junior[link]

Merrill played his junior lacrosse with the Orangeville Northmen of the OLA Junior A Lacrosse League. In 2000, Merrill lead the Northmen to a league championship. In 2001, Merrill was awarded the "John McCauley Award" for Best Defesive Player, and shared the "B.W. Evans Award" for Top Graduating Player with Dan Bowman the following year.^[4]

Senior[link]

Merrill began his senior career with the Coquitlam Adanacs of the Western Lacrosse Association, and later the Brampton Excelsiors of Major Series Lacrosse, winning two consecutive Mann Cup championships (2008–2009). Merrill is currently playing for the Kahnawake Mohawks in the Quebec Senior Lacrosse League.

International career[link]

In 2006, he helped the Canadian national lacrosse team to an historic win at the World Lacrosse Championship in London, Ontario. He had an outstanding tournament, being named Best Defender and earning All-World honours.

Personal[link]

Brodie's brother Patrick is a member of the Toronto Rock. Both Brodie and Patrick are members of the Brampton Excelsiors in the Major Series Lacrosse as well as the Hamilton Nationals of Major League Lacrosse. He was named by Inside Lacrosse as "The Best Player in the World."-Inside Lacrosse.^[5] He is also the Dean of Students and head men's lacrosse coach at The Hill Academy in Vaughan, Ontario. At a very young age, he was best friends with lacrosse player Kyle Miller. Both loved the game but went into different colleges. Kyle Miller was also in the Canadian roster for the 2006 World Lacrosse Championships but retired very early because of a knee surgery.

Statistics[link]

National Lacrosse League[link]

Major League Lacrosse[link]

Canadian Lacrosse Association[link]

Awards[link]

References[link]

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Merrill Reese
Reese in August 2008 at Eagles Training Camp
Background information
Birth name	Merrill Alan Reese
Born	(1942-09-02) September 2, 1942 (age 69) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Team(s)	Philadelphia Eagles
Genre(s)	Play-by-Play
Sports	Football

Merrill Alan Reese (born September 2, 1942) is an American sports radio announcer best known for his role as the play-by-play radio announcer for the Philadelphia Eagles on SportsRadio 94.1 WIP-FM. He has been the voice of the Eagles since 1977.

Biography[link]

Early years[link]

Reese is a graduate of Temple University earning a Bachelor's degree in Communications and Broadcasting. While in college, he learned his craft by doing play-by-play over the college's radio station, WRTI FM. At WRTI, Reese also had a music show every Wednesday afternoon where he spun 45-rpm records from his own personal collection.

After college and a stint in the United States Navy, Reese set out to obtain his first paid broadcasting gig auditioning at WCOJ in Coatesville, Pennsylvania and WPAZ in Pottstown, Pennsylvania.

Radio career[link]

Reese eventually landed a job in Philadelphia as a newscaster and sportscaster at WHAT and its FM companion WWDB. After a few years he moved on to WIP as a backup for that station's Sports Director, Charlie Swift, who did drive-time sportscasts and Philadelphia Eagles play-by-play. While Swift was vacationing, Reese began doing the pre-game and post-game shows for the Eagles on WIP and later was assigned to do color commentary during the games. He became the voice of the Eagles in the middle of the 1977 season, after Swift committed suicide. Herb Adderly took over the color commentary for the remainder of the season. His 30 years of service as the voice of the Eagles makes him the longest-serving current announcer in the NFL, tied with Gil Santos of the New England Patriots.

Reese's current broadcast partner is former Eagles wide receiver Mike Quick, who joined Reese in the booth in 1998. Aside from Swift and Adderly, Reese has previously been joined in the booth by Jim Barniak (1978–82), Bill Bergey (1982–83, also filled in when Quick had knee surgery during the 2004 preseason), and Stan Walters (1984–97).

In addition to his play-by-play radio coverage of the Eagles, Reese hosts an interview show on WIP the day following Eagles games with current Eagles coach Andy Reid, Eagles players and other guests.

Personal[link]

Reese is co-owner of 1490 WBCB (AM) in Levittown, Pennsylvania, a Bucks County suburb north of Philadelphia.

Reese's autobiography, It's Gooooood!, was published in 1998. The title is a reference is to his distinctive and well recognized "field goal" call, which is usually delivered in a highly excited falsetto, in stark contrast to his baritone broadcasting voice.

His wife Cynthia is a sixth grade science teacher at Keith Valley Middle School in Horsham, Pennsylvania, a Philadelphia suburb. His son Nolan has been an assistant editor of such films as Avatar, Iron Man 2 & the muppets. His daughter Ida is a graphic designer.

External links[link]

• Merrill Reese biography at IMDB.