Ethel Merman (January 16, 1908 - February 15, 1984) was an actress and singer of stage and film, who voiced Mombi in Journey Back to Oz.
There was a popular urban legend in the 1940s, '50s, and '60s that Merman and Judy Garland were in a viciously catty rivalry for certain film roles in Hollywood. The main characters in the novel Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann are caricatures of the two. Merman and Garland spoofed this legend in an episode of The Judy Garland Show in 1963 where they "competed" in singing Annie Get Your Gun.
In Journey, Merman costarred with Garland's daughter Liza Minnelli. However, as it was all voice work, it is not clear whether the two actresses actually met during that production.