UNA MERKEL , AMERICAN STAGE /SILENT MOVIE ACTRESS BORN 1903 DECEMBER 10
UNA MERKEL , AMERICAN STAGE /SILENT MOVIE ACTRESS BORN 1903 DECEMBER 10 Una Merkel (December 10, 1903 – January 2, 1986) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress. Merkel was born in Kentucky and acted on stage in New York in the 1920s. She went to Hollywood in 1930 and became a popular film actress. Two of her best-known performances are in the films 42nd Street and Destry Rides Again. She won a Tony award in 1956, and was nominated for an Academy Award in 1961. Life and career[edit source] Una Merkel was born in Covington, Kentucky, to Arno Merkel and Bessie Phares,[1] but in her early childhood, she lived in many of the Southern United States due to her father's job as a traveling salesman. At the age of 15, her parents and she moved to Philadelphia. They stayed there a year or so before settling in New York City, where she began attending the Alviene School of Dramatic Art. Because of her strong resemblance to actress Lillian Gish, Merkel...