Helen Morgan - Frankie and Johnny (1934)

Helen Morgan (August 2, 1900 – October 9, 1941) was an American singer and actress who worked in films and on the stage. A quintessential torch singer, she made a big splash in the Chicago club scene in the 1920s. She starred as Julie LaVerne in the original Broadway production of Hammerstein and Kern's musical Show Boat in 1927, as well as in the 1932 Broadway revival of the musical, and appeared in two film adaptations, a part-talkie made in 1929 (prologue only) and a full-sound version made in 1936, becoming firmly associated with the role. She suffered from bouts of alcoholism, and despite her notable success in the title role of another Hammerstein and Kern's Broadway musical, Sweet Adeline (1929), her stage career was relatively short. Helen Morgan died of cirrhosis of the liver at the age of 41. She was portrayed by Polly Bergen in the Playhouse 90 drama The Helen Morgan Story and by Ann Blyth in the 1957 biopic based on the television drama.

She was born Helen Riggin in 1900 in Danville, Illinois. Her father, Frank Riggin, was a farmer in Davis Township, Fountain County, Indiana. After her mother, Lulu Lang Riggin, divorced and remarried, she changed her last name to Morgan. Her mother's second marriage ended in divorce, and she moved to Chicago with her daughter. Helen never finished school beyond the eighth grade, and worked a variety of jobs just to get by. She worked as an extra in films. By the age of 20, Morgan had taken voice lessons and started singing in speakeasies in Chicago. Her voice was not fashionable during the 1920s for the kind of songs in which she specialized; nevertheless, she became a wildly popular torch singer. A draped-over-the-piano look became her signature while performing at Billy Rose's Backstage Club in 1925. In spite of the National Prohibition Act of 1919 outlawing alcohol in the United States, Morgan became a heavy drinker and was often reportedly drunk during these performances.

Morgan was noticed by Florenz Ziegfeld while dancing in the chorus of his production of Sally in 1923, and she went on to perform with the Ziegfeld Follies in 1931, the Follies' last active year. During this period, she studied music at the Metropolitan Opera in her free time.

In 1927, Morgan appeared as Julie LaVerne in the original cast of Show Boat, her best-known role. She sang "Bill" (lyrics by P.G. Wodehouse, music by Jerome Kern) and "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" in two stage runs and two film productions of Show Boat over a span of 11 years.

During the run of Show Boat, however, Morgan's stardom led to difficulties. Her prominence in the world of New York nightclubs (actually illegal speakeasies in the era of Prohibition) led to her fronting a club called Chez Morgan, at which she entertained. On December 30, 1927, only days after the opening of Show Boat, she was arrested at Chez Morgan for violation of liquor laws. Charges were dropped in February 1928, and the club reopened as Helen Morgan's Summer Home, but she was arrested again on June 29 and this time indicted.

Helen Morgan, geborene Helen Riggins (* 2. August 1900 in Danville, Illinois; † 9. Oktober 1941 in Chicago, Illinois) war eine US-amerikanische Jazz-Sängerin und Schauspielerin.

Über Helen Morgans Kindheit und Jugend gibt es verschiedene Versionen. Die meisten biografischen Quellen sprechen vom 2. August 1900 als ihrem Geburtsdatum, doch Gilbert Maxwell gab in der Biografie Helen Morgan: Her Life and Legend den Oktober als Geburtsmonat an. Auch sei sie in Toronto, Kanada auf die Welt gekommen. In beiden Versionen gibt es auch unterschiedliche Angaben über Mutter und Vater. Nach der üblichen Version wuchs Helen Morgan als Tochter eines Farmers und einer Lehrerin im ländlichen Illinois auf. Nach der Scheidung ihrer Mutter nahm sie den Nachnamen Morgan an. Nach Maxwells Version wuchs sie als Tochter der Kellnerin Lulu Morgan auf. Diese wurde von ihrem Vater, einem Feuerwehrmann namens Thomas Morgan, verlassen. Das Ehepaar kam allerdings 1904 wieder zusammen und zog nach Danville, Illinois.

Helen Morgan zog mit ihrer Mutter nach Chicago und besuchte dort die Crane High School, die sie jedoch vorzeitig verließ. Mit kleinen Jobs hielt sie sich über Wasser, bis sie Ende der 1910er Jahre ihre Karriere als Sängerin begann.

Ihre erste größere Musical-Rolle spielte sie im Musical Sally, wobei unklar ist, ob sie bei der Aufführung am Broadway oder auf der Tour mitspielte. Ansonsten trat sie weiterhin in Nachtclubs auf. Ihr Durchbruch kam mit einem Auftritt in Billy Roses Backstage Club in New York City. Dort trat sie wegen der Enge des Raumes häufig auf einem Klavier auf, was sich später zu ihrem Markenzeichen entwickeln sollte. Dort wurde sie von George White entdeckt, der sie für eine Reihe von Boadway-Revuen verpflichtete. Dies begann 1925 mit Scandal, mit der sie 169 Auftritte hatte. 1926 folgte Americana, bei der sie das Lied Nobody Wants Me sang. Mit dieser Revue hatte sie 224 Auftritte.