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Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. (March 21, 1867 – July 22, 1932), called Flo Ziegfeld, was an American Broadway
Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City....
 impresario
Impresario

Impresario, from the Italian language impresa, an enterprise or undertaking,   Origin: mid 18th century, from Italian impresa, ?undertaking.? New Oxford American Dictionary.   Impresa: enterprise; deed; company....
. He is best known for his series of theatrical revues, the Ziegfeld Follies
Ziegfeld Follies

The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway theatre in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
 (1907-1931), inspired by the Folies Bergères
Folies Bergères

The Folies Berg?re is a Parisian music hall which was at the height of its fame and popularity from the 1890s through the 1920s. the institution is still in business....
 of Paris. He was known as the "glorifier of the American girl".

feld was born in Chicago
Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the Midwestern United States, as well as the List of United States cities by population city in the United States with more than 2.8 million residents....
 to German immigrant parents. His father, Florenz Ziegfeld, Sr., ran a successful College of Music.






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Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. (March 21, 1867 – July 22, 1932), called Flo Ziegfeld, was an American Broadway
Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 39 large professional theaters with 500 seats or more located in the Theatre District, New York in Manhattan, New York City....
 impresario
Impresario

Impresario, from the Italian language impresa, an enterprise or undertaking,   Origin: mid 18th century, from Italian impresa, ?undertaking.? New Oxford American Dictionary.   Impresa: enterprise; deed; company....
. He is best known for his series of theatrical revues, the Ziegfeld Follies
Ziegfeld Follies

The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway theatre in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
 (1907-1931), inspired by the Folies Bergères
Folies Bergères

The Folies Berg?re is a Parisian music hall which was at the height of its fame and popularity from the 1890s through the 1920s. the institution is still in business....
 of Paris. He was known as the "glorifier of the American girl".

Biography

Ziegfeld was born in Chicago
Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the Midwestern United States, as well as the List of United States cities by population city in the United States with more than 2.8 million residents....
 to German immigrant parents. His father, Florenz Ziegfeld, Sr., ran a successful College of Music. Ziegfeld's first foray into entertainment was at the 1893 Chicago
Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the Midwestern United States, as well as the List of United States cities by population city in the United States with more than 2.8 million residents....
 World's Columbian Exposition
World's Columbian Exposition

The World's Columbian Exposition , a World's Fair, was held in Chicago in 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World....
, where he managed the strongman, Eugen Sandow
Eugen Sandow

Eugen Sandow , born Friederich Wilhelm M?ller, was a pioneering bodybuilder of the Victorian era and is often referred to as the "Father of Modern Bodybuilding"....
.

His stage spectaculars, known as the Ziegfeld Follies
Ziegfeld Follies

The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway theatre in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
, began with Follies of 1907 and were produced annually until 1931. These extravaganza
Extravaganza

An extravaganza is a literary or musical work characterized by freedom of style and structure and usually containing elements of burlesque , pantomime, music hall and parody....
s, with elaborate costumes and sets, featured beauties chosen personally by Ziegfeld in production numbers choregraphed to the works of prominent composers such as Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin

Irving Berlin was a Jewish American composer and lyricist, and one of the most prolific American songwriters in history. Berlin was one of the few Tin Pan Alley/Broadway theater songwriters who wrote both lyrics and music for his songs....
, George Gershwin
George Gershwin

George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. He wrote most of his vocal and theatrical works in collaboration with his elder brother, lyricist Ira Gershwin....
 and Jerome Kern
Jerome Kern

Jerome David Kern was an American composer of popular music. He wrote around 700 songs, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A Fine Romance ", "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "All the Things You Are", "The Way You Look Tonight", and "Who? ", a 6-week #1 hit for George Olsen & his Orchestra in 1925....
.

The Follies featured many performers who, though well-known from previous work in other theatrical genres, achieved unique financial success and publicity with Ziegfeld. Included among these are Fanny Brice
Fanny Brice

Fanny Brice was a popular and influential United States comedienne, singer, theatre and film actress, who made many stage , radio and film appearances but is best remembered as the creator and star of the top-rated radio comedy series, The Baby Snooks Show....
, W. C. Fields
W. C. Fields

W. C. Fields was an United States comedian, actor and juggler. Fields created one of the great American comic personas of the first half of the 20th century: a misanthrope and hard-drinking egotist who remained a sympathetic character despite his snarling contempt for dogs, children, and women....
, Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor

Eddie Cantor was an United States comedian, singer, actor, and songwriter. Familiar to Broadway theatre, radio and early television audiences, this "Apostle of Pep" was regarded almost as a family member by millions because his top-rated radio shows revealed intimate stories and amusing anecdotes about his wife Ida and five children....
, Marilyn Miller
Marilyn Miller

Marilyn Miller was one of the most popular Broadway theatre musical stars of the 1920s and early 1930s. She was an accomplished tap dancer, singer and actress, but it was the combination of these talents that endeared her to audiences....
, Will Rogers
Will Rogers

William Penn Adair ?Will? Rogers was a Cherokee-United States cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentary, vaudeville performer and actor. He was the father of U.S....
, Bert Williams
Bert Williams

Egbert Austin Williams was the pre-eminent Black entertainer of his era and one of the most popular comedians for all audiences of his time. He was by far the best-selling black recording artist before 1920....
 and Ann Pennington
Ann Pennington (Ziegfeld star)

This article is about Ann Pennington, the stage actress. For the Playboy model of the same name, go to Ann Pennington .Ann Pennington was an actress, dancer, and singer who starred on Broadway theatre in the 1910s and 1920s, notably in the Ziegfeld Follies and George White's Scandals....
.

His promotion of the Polish-French Anna Held
Anna Held

Helene Anna Held was a Poland-born stage performer, most often associated with impresario Florenz Ziegfeld, her common-law husband....
, including press releases about her milk baths, brought her fame and set a pattern of star-making through publicity. Ziegfeld helped oversee her meteoric rise to national fame. It was Held who first suggested an American imitation of the Parisian Follies to Ziegfeld. . Ziegfeld never married Held, but they maintained a common-law relationship, outrageously scandalous in that day and age, which ended in 1913, allegedly solely because he moved his mistress into an apartment one floor up from theirs.

The following year, Ziegfeld married actress Billie Burke
Billie Burke

Mary William Ethelbert Appleton "Billie" Burke was an Academy Awards-nominated United States actress primarily known to modern audiences for her role as Glinda the Good Witch of the North in the musical film The Wizard of Oz ....
, best known for playing Glinda Good Witch
Glinda

Glinda is a fictional character in the Land of Oz created by United States author L. Frank Baum. She is the most powerful Magic of Oz, although a fairy in later books, ruler of the Quadling Country south of the Emerald City, and protector of Princess Ozma....
 in The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)

The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 in film Cinema of the United States musical film-fantasy film mainly directed by Victor Fleming and based on the 1900 Children's literature novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L....
. They had one child, Patricia Ziegfeld Stephenson
Patricia Ziegfeld Stephenson

Patricia Ziegfeld Stephenson was an United States author. Stephenson was the only child of Broadway theater impresario, Florenz Ziegfeld, and actress Billie Burke, who may be best known for portraying Glinda in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz ....
, born in 1916. The family lived on his estate in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York
Hastings-on-Hudson, New York

Hastings-on-Hudson is a Political subdivisions of New York State#Village in Westchester County, New York, United States. As a village, it is located in the southwest part of the Political subdivisions of New York State#Town of Greenburgh, New York....
, and Palm Beach, Florida
Palm Beach, Florida

The Town of Palm Beach is an upscale incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, Florida, United States. The Intracoastal Waterway separates it from the neighboring cities of West Palm Beach, Florida and Lake Worth, Florida....
.

Ziegfeld Theatre and Show Boat

Flo Ziegfeld & Sandow C
At a cost of $2.5 million, he built the 1600-seat Ziegfeld Theatre
Ziegfeld Theatre

The Ziegfeld Theatre was a Broadway theatre theatre formerly located at the intersection of Sixth Avenue and 54th Street in Manhattan, New York City....
 on the west side of Sixth Avenue between 54th and 55th Streets. Designed by Joseph Urban and Thomas Lamb, the auditorium was egg-shaped with the stage at the narrow end. A huge medieval-style mural, The Joy of Life, covered the walls and ceiling. To finance the construction, Ziegfeld borrowed from William Randolph Hearst
William Randolph Hearst

William Randolph Hearst I was an United States History of American newspapers Business magnate and leading newspaper publisher. The son of self-made millionaire George Hearst, he became aware that his father received a northern California newspaper, The San Francisco Examiner, as payment of a gambling debt....
, who took control of the theater after Ziegfeld's death.

The Ziegfeld Theatre opened February, 1927 with his production of Rio Rita, which ran until April 1928, followed by Show Boat
Show Boat

Show Boat is a musical theatre in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. One notable exception is the song Bill , which was originally written by Kern and author-lyricist P....
. Although he recognized its artistic value, he was terrified Show Boat would fail because of its unusually dramatic storyline. According to an eyewitness, the audience barely applauded on opening night, but it was not because they disliked the show, but because they were so taken aback. It was a great success, with a run from December 1927 until May 1929. In 1932, after Ziegfeld lost much of his money in the stock market crash, he staged a revival of Show Boat backed by "angels" David and Barney Warfield. It became the biggest grosser on Broadway, until the Great Depression
Great Depression

File:International depression.pngThe Great Depression was a worldwide economic Recession starting in most places in 1929 and ending at different times in the 1930s or early 1940s for different countries....
 affected its run (May to October 1932).

Death

Ziegfeld died on July 22, 1932 in Hollywood, California. He had been here only a few days after moving from a New Mexico
New Mexico

New Mexico is a U. S. State located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. Inhabited by Native Americans in the United States populations for many centuries, it has also has been part of the Spanish Empire viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S....
 sanitarium.

He died from pleurisy
Pleurisy

Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is an inflammation of the pleura, the lining of the pleural cavity surrounding the lungs. Among other things, infections are the most common cause of pleurisy....
 related to a previous lung infection. His death left Burke with substantial debts, driving her toward film acting in an effort to settle them. He was interred in Kensico Cemetery
Kensico Cemetery

File:The Lake at Kensico Cemetery.JPGFile:Kensico Grave Marker.JPGKensico Cemetery, located in Valhalla, New York, Westchester County, New York, was founded in 1889, when many New York City cemeteries were becoming full, and rural cemeteries were being created near the railroads which served the city....
 in Valhalla
Valhalla, New York

Valhalla is a Political subdivisions of New York State#Hamlet and Political subdivisions of New York State#Census-designated place located in the Political subdivisions of New York State#Town of Mount Pleasant, New York in Westchester County, New York, United States....
, Westchester Co., New York
Westchester County, New York

Westchester County is a primarily suburban Political subdivisions of New York State#County located in the U.S. state of New York with about 950,000 residents....
.

Radio

Ziegfeld brought his Follies stars to CBS Radio
CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is an American radio network and television network. The name is derived from the initials of Columbia Broadcasting System, its former legal name....
  in 1932 with The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air
The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air

The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air, broadcast on CBS during the 1930s, attempted to bring the success of Florenz Ziegfeld's stage shows to the new medium of radio....
.

Film

Screen versions of three of Ziegfeld's hit stage musicals were produced in the early sound film era: Sally (First National
First National

First National was an association of independent theater owners in the United States that expanded from exhibiting movies to distributing them, and eventually to producing them as a movie studio....
 1929) starring Marilyn Miller
Marilyn Miller

Marilyn Miller was one of the most popular Broadway theatre musical stars of the 1920s and early 1930s. She was an accomplished tap dancer, singer and actress, but it was the combination of these talents that endeared her to audiences....
; Rio Rita
Rio Rita (1929 film)

Rio Rita is a 1929 in film RKO Pictures musical comedy starring Bebe Daniels and John Boles along with the comedy team of Wheeler & Woolsey....
 (RKO 1929) starring Bebe Daniels
Bebe Daniels

Bebe Daniels was an United States actor. She began in Hollywood in the silent movie era and later gained fame on radio and television in England....
 and John Boles
John Boles

John Boles may refer to:*John Boles Jr., American baseball executive*John Boles , American actor*John Boles *John P. Boles, auxiliary bishop of Boston in the 1990s ...
; and Whoopee!
Whoopee! (film)

Whoopee is an "All-Talking All-Color" musical comedy film from 1930 in film photographed in Technicolor#Two-color Technicolor. The film closely followed the Whoopee! produced by Florenz Ziegfeld in 1928....
 (Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn Studio

Samuel Goldwyn Studio was the name that Samuel Goldwyn used to refer to the Pickford-Fairbanks Studios lot and the offices and stages that his company, Goldwyn Pictures, rented there during the 1920s and 1930s....
 1930) starring Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor

Eddie Cantor was an United States comedian, singer, actor, and songwriter. Familiar to Broadway theatre, radio and early television audiences, this "Apostle of Pep" was regarded almost as a family member by millions because his top-rated radio shows revealed intimate stories and amusing anecdotes about his wife Ida and five children....
. All were filmed in Technicolor
Technicolor

Technicolor is the trademark for a series of Color film processes pioneered by Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation , now a division of Thomson SA....
 and closely followed the original stage productions.

A semi-biographical film, The Great Ziegfeld
The Great Ziegfeld

The Great Ziegfeld is a musical film produced by MGM. Although the film is a fictionalized biography of Florenz Ziegfeld from his show business beginnings to his death, it showcases a series of spectacular musical productions....
, was produced in 1936. A film recreating the Follies in an all-star screen version, Ziegfeld Follies
Ziegfeld Follies (film)

Ziegfeld Follies is a 1946 Hollywood Musical film comedy film, directed by Roy Del Ruth and Vincente Minnelli, starring many of MGM leading talents, including Fred Astaire, Lucille Ball, Lucille Bremer, Judy Garland, Kathryn Grayson, Lena Horne, Gene Kelly, James Melton, Victor Moore, William Powell, Red Skelton, and Esther Williams....
, was produced in 1946. Both were made by MGM and featured William Powell
William Powell

William Horatio Powell was a three-time Academy Award-nominated American actor, noted for his sophisticated, cynical roles. He was a major MGM film star and is most widely known for portraying the detective Nick and Nora Charles in six The Thin Man films....
 as Ziegfeld.

Broadway productions

  • A Parlor Match - 1893
  • The French Maid
    The French Maid

    The French Maid is a musical comedy in two acts by Basil Hood, with music by Walter Slaughter, first produced at the Theatre Royal, Bath, Somerset, England, under the management of Milton Bode on the 4 April 1896....
     - 1897
  • Papa's Wife - 1899
  • The Little Duchess - 1901
  • Red Feather - 1903
  • Mam'selle Napoleon - 1903
  • Higgledy-Piggledy - 1904
  • Higgledy-Piggledy - 1905
  • The Parisian Model - 1906
  • The Follies
    Ziegfeld Follies

    The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway theatre in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
     of 1907     - 1907
  • The Parisian Model - 1908
  • The Soul Kiss - 1908
  • The Follies of 1908 - 1908
  • Miss Innocence - 1908
  • The Follies of 1909 - 1909
  • The Follies of 1910 - 1910
  • Ziegfeld Follies of 1911 - 1911
  • Over the River - 1912
  • A Winsome Widow - 1912
  • Ziegfeld Follies of 1912 - 1912
  • Ziegfeld Follies of 1913 - 1913
  • Ziegfeld Follies of 1914 - 1914
  • Ziegfeld Follies of 1915- 1915
  • Ziegfeld Follies of 1916 - 1916
  • The Century Girl - 1916
  • Ziegfeld Follies of 1917 - 1917
  • The Rescuing Angel - 1917
  • Miss 1917 - 1917
  • Ziegfeld Follies of 1918 - 1918
  • By Pigeon Post - 1918
  • Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic - 1919
  • Caesar's Wife - 1919
  • Ziegfeld Girls of 1920 - 1920
  • Ziegfeld Follies of 1920 - 1920
  • Sally
    Sally (musical)

    Sally is a musical theater with music by Jerome Kern, lyrics by Clifford Grey and book by Guy Bolton , with additional lyrics by Buddy De Sylva, Anne Caldwell and P....
     - 1920
  • Ziegfeld 9 O'clock Frolic - 1921
  • Ziegfeld Follies of 1921 - 1921
  • The Intimate Strangers - 1921
  • Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic - 1921
  • Ziegfeld Follies of 1922 - 1922
  • Rose Briar - 1922
  • Sally - 1923
  • Ziegfeld Follies of 1923 - 1923
  • Kid Boots
    Kid Boots

    Kid Boots is a musical theatre with a book by William Anthony McGuire and Otto Harbach, music by Harry Tierney, and lyrics by Joseph McCarthy ....
     - 1923
  • Ziegfeld Follies of 1924 - 1924
  • Annie Dear - 1924
  • Louis the 14th - 1925
  • Ziegfeld's Revue 'No Foolin' - 1926
  • Betsy
    Betsy

    Betsy is an English language name for females, used as a nickname for Elizabeth. It is also a surname. Famous uses or users of Betsy include:*Betsy McCaughey...
     - 1926
  • Rio Rita (musical)
    Rio Rita (musical)

    For other uses of Rio Rita, see Rio Rita Rio Rita is a 1927 stage musical theatre with a book by Guy Bolton and Fred Thompson, music by Harry Tierney, lyrics by Joseph McCarthy, and produced by Florenz Ziegfeld....
     - 1927
  • Ziegfeld Follies of 1927 - 1927
  • Show Boat
    Show Boat

    Show Boat is a musical theatre in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. One notable exception is the song Bill , which was originally written by Kern and author-lyricist P....
     - 1927
  • Rosalie
    Rosalie

    Rosalie is an United States musical theatre play first produced in 1928. It was later adapted as a musical film by MGM in 1937.The story tells of a princess from a faraway land who comes to United States and falls in love with a United States Military Academy military cadet....
     - 1928
  • The Three Musketeers
    The Three Musketeers (musical)

    The Three Musketeers is a Musical theatre with a book by William Anthony McGuire, lyrics by Clifford Grey and P. G. Wodehouse, and music by Rudolf Friml....
     - 1928
  • Whoopee!
    Whoopee!

    Whoopee! was a Broadway theatre musical comedy which debuted on 4 December, 1928. The Book is by William Anthony McGuire, featuring music by Walter Donaldson and lyrics by Gus Kahn....
     - 1928
  • Show Girl
    Show Girl

    Show Girl is a musical theatre with a book by William Anthony McGuire, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and Gus Kahn, and music by George Gershwin. Its heroine, aspiring Broadway theatre showgirl Dixie Dugan , was a character created by J....
     - 1929
  • Bitter Sweet
    Bitter Sweet

    Bitter Sweet is an operetta in three acts written by Noel Coward and first produced in 1929 at Her Majesty's Theatre in London. It ran for a very successful 967 performances....
     - 1930
  • Simple Simon
    Simple Simon (musical)

    Simple Simon was a Broadway theatre Musical theater with book by Guy Bolton, and Ed Wynn, lyrics by Lorenz Hart, music by Richard Rodgers, produced by Florenz Ziegfeld, and starring Ed Wynn....
     - 1930
  • Smiles - 1930
  • Ziegfeld Follies of 1931 - 1931
  • Hot-Cha! - 1932
  • Show Boat - 1932


External links