Beatrice Arthur (1922-2009) - actress, comedian and singer, perhaps best known as Dorothy on TV's The Golden Girls, she won a Tony Award for originating the role of Vera Charles in Mame on Broadway.

Ethel Merman (1908-1984 ) - Broadway legend, known for her powerful voice, retired from Broadway in 1970, when she appeared as the last Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly!, in a part that Jerry Herman had originally written for her.

Pearl Bailey (1918-1990) - multi-award winning actress and singer, she won a Tony Award for the title role in the African-American production of Hello, Dolly! on Broadway in 1968.

Bernadette Peters (1948- ) - acclaimed Broadway, TV and film performer, seven time Tony Award nominee and two time winner. She was nominated for a Tony for originating the role of Mabel Normand in Mack & Mabel.

Angela Lansbury (1925- ) - stage, film and TV legend, and five time Tony Award winner. She won two Tonys for originating leading roles in Jerry Herman shows on Broadway: Mame and Dear World.

Phyllis Diller (1917- ) - legendary actress and comedian, she played Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly! ! on Broadway for several months in 1969.

Phyllis Newman (1933- ) - Tony Award winning actress and singer, who first met Jerry Herman when he was still an unknown composer. She starred in Herman's first Off-Broadway musical I Feel Wonderful.

Ann Miller (1923-2004) - legendary film musical star of Easter Parade, Kiss Me Kate, On The Town. Known primarily as a dancer, she turned to the stage late in her career. She played the title role in Mame on Broadway for a short while in 1969, in which she wowed the audience in a tap number created just for her.

Lisa Kirk (1925-1990) - actress, singer and dancer who originated the role of Lottie Ames in Mack & Mabel in which she sang "Tap Your Troubles Away".

Ginger Rogers (1911-1995) - legendary Oscar winning actress, singer and dancer, best known for her role as Fred Astaire's romantic interest/dancing partner in a series of Hollywood musical films that revolutionized the genre. She played the role of Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly! on Broadway in 1966.

Betty Grable (1916-1973) - actress, singer and dancer noted for having the most beautiful legs in Hollywood and being the No.1 pin-up girl during World War II. She played Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly! on Broadway in 1967.

Susan Hayward (1917-1975) - mostly known as a film actress, she originated the title role in a 1968 production of Mame at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.

Dody Goodman (1914-2008) - stage, film and TV character actress, singer and dancer, she headlined in Herman's 1960 Off-Broadway review Parade, with Charles Nelson Reilly. Younger audiences may remember her in small, but memorable, movie roles in Grease and Splash.

Mary Martin (1913-1990) - legendary Tony Award winning leading lady, she originated many roles on Broadway during her long career including Nellie Forbush in South Pacific and Maria in The Sound of Music. She played the role of Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly! in London and in a World Tour in 1965, including special performances for troops serving in Vietnam.

Lucie Arnaz (1951- ) - daughter of legendary actors and TV pioneers Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz , Arnaz is an actress, singer and dancer with a considerable stage career of her own. She has been singing Jerry Herman music for decades and has recently headlined several musical tributes to Herman on stage and TV.

Lucille Ball (1911-1989) - legendary stage, screen and TV actress/comedian, best known as Lucy on the I Love Lucy show. She played the title role in the 1974 film version of Mame.

Janis Paige (1922- ) - film, stage and TV actress, she played the title role in Mame on Broadway in 1968.

Janet Blair (1921-2007) - film and TV actress, toured in the title role in Mame, opposite Elaine Stritch as Vera Charles in the 1960s.

Martha Raye (1916-1994) - film, stage and TV actress/comedian, she played Dolly Levi in Hello, Dolly! ! on Broadway in 1967.

Mimi Benzell (1924-1970) - soprano who performed with the Metropolitan Opera before establishing herself as a Broadway musical theatre, television, and nightclub performer. In 1961 she appeared in Jerry Herman's first book musical, Milk and Honey, which proved to be her only Broadway production. Her romantic co-star was the opera singer Robert Weede, hence the reference to "wooing Weede" in the opening sequence.

Celeste Holm (1917- ) - legendary stage, film, and TV actress, known for her Oscar winning performance in Gentleman's Agreement (1947), as well as her Oscar-nominated performance in All About Eve (1950). She played the title role in Mame on Broadway in 1967.

Eydie Gormé (1931- ) - singer, specializing, with her husband, Steve Lawrence, in traditional pop music, in the form of ballads and breezy swing. "If He Walked into My Life" from Mame which she recorded in 1967, won her a Grammy Award for Best Female Vocal Performance.

Eileen Brennan (1932- ) - stage, film and TV actress/comedian, perhaps best known to contemporary audiences for her role as Goldie Hawn's nasty commanding officer in Private Benjamin. She created the role of Irene Malloy in the original Broadway production of Hello, Dolly! in 1964, in which she sang "Ribbons Down My Back", hence the reference to "her ribbons" in the opening number.

Kitty Carlisle (1910-2007) - (aka Kitty Carlisle Hart), singer, actress and spokeswoman for the arts. She is best remembered as a regular panelist on the television game show To Tell the Truth. She sang Jerry Herman music regularly in various cabaret/night club acts throughout her career and at one point was seriously considered for the title role in Mame on Broadway, but never got to play it.

Molly Picon (1898-1992) - actress of stage, screen and TV, as well as a lyricist. She was first and foremost a star in Yiddish theatre and film. She received a 1962 Tony Nomination for originated the role of Clara Weiss in Jerry Herman's Milk and Honey on Broadway.

Barbra Streisand (1942- ) - well-known singer, songwriter, film producer, director and actress. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. She played Dolly Levi in the 1969 film version of Hello, Dolly! directed by Gene Kelly.

Hermione Gingold (1897-1997) - actress known for her sharp-tongued, eccentric persona, an image enhanced by her strong nose and chin, as well as her deep voice. Played memorable supporting roles in film musicals Gigi and The Music Man. She replaced Molly Picon as Clara Weiss in Milk and Honey on Broadway.

Ann Southern (1909-2001) - film and TV actress with a career that spanned six decades. She played the title role in a 1968 touring production of Mame, including performances at Hawaii's Civic Light Opera .

Eve Arden (1908-1990) - film, stage and TV actress who specialized in playing acid-tongued supporting roles. Younger audiences might recognize her as the Rydell High School principal in the films Grease and Grease 2. She played Dolly Levi in one of many National Tours of Hello, Dolly!

Juliet Prowse (1936-1996) - a performer whose four decade career included stage, film and TV, but dancing remained her true love. She was known for her striking beauty, sultry smile and famous long legs. She played the title role in the International Tour of Mame.

Dorothy Lamour (1914-1996) - film actress, probably best-remembered for appearing in the Road to... movies, co-starring Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. She played Dolly Levi in one of the National Tours of Hello, Dolly! ! in 1968.

Jane Russell (1921- ) - buxom film actress and singer, perhaps best known for starred opposite Marilyn Monroe in the film version of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. She played the title role in one of the many National Tours of Mame.

Loretta Swit (1937- ) - stage and TV actress known for her character roles. She is perhaps best-known for her two-time Emmy-winning portrayal of Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan on M*A*S*H. She played Agnes Gooch in the Las Vegas production of Mame, starring Susan Hayward and later, Celeste Holm. In 2003, she starred as the title character in North Carolina Theatre's production of Mame in Raleigh.

Elaine Stritch (1926- ) - stage, film and TV actress and singer, best known for her performance of "The Ladies Who Lunch" in Stephen Sondheim's 1970 musical Company and most recently for her role as Jack Donaghy's mother Colleen on NBC's 30 Rock. She played both the title role and Vera Charles in the 1967 National Tour of Mame. To this day, she often performs "Song on the Sand" from La Cage Aux Folles in her live concerts.

Sylvia Syms (1917-1992) - a well respected cabaret/jazz singer who also performed lead roles in many touring productions of Broadway musicals. She played Dolly Levi in one of the National Tours of Hello, Dolly!

Barbara Cook (1927- ) - singer and actress who first came to prominence in the 1950s after starring in a string of Broadway musicals. In the mid 1970s, she began a second career that continues to this day as a cabaret and concert singer. She often sings Jerry Herman songs in her concerts, most recently in Barbara Cook's Broadway. Her rendition of "Time Heals Everything" from Mack & Mabel is a crowd favorite.

*biographical information culled from various sources including Internet Broadway Database and Wikipedia.

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Characters from Jerry Herman Musicals Mentioned in Opening Sequence

Vera Charles — character in Mame originally played by Beatrice Arthur

Clara Weiss — character in Milk and Honey originally played by Molly Picon

Ernestina Money — character in Hello, Dolly! who does the "hoochie coochie" on a chair at the Harmonia Gardens embarrassing Horace Vandergelder.

Agnes Gooch — character in Mame

Mrs. Levi — Dolly Levi, title character originally played by Carol Channing in Hello, Dolly!

Mother Burnside — character in Mame.

Mabel Normand —character in Mack & Mabel originally played by Bernadette Peters.