| Florenz Ziegfeld |
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| 1869 births | |
| ziegfeld, florenz | |
| 1932 deaths | |
| american businesspeople | |
| american theatre directors | |
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| ziegfeld follies | |
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His first foray into the world of entertainment was at the 1893 Chicago World's Columbian Exposition , where he managed the famous strongman, Eugen Sandow . STAGE His stage spectaculars, beginning with his ''Follies of 1907'', were produced annually until 1931. These extravaganzas, with elaborate costumes and sets, featured a bevy of beauties chosen personally by Ziegfeld in production numbers choregraphed to the works of such prominent composers as Irving Berlin , George Gershwin and Jerome Kern . His promotion of the Polish-French Anna Held , 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. ''Cambridge Guide to the American Theatre'', (New York: Cambridge UP, 1995) 511. 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. Ziegfeld married Billie Burke in 1914, and they had a daughter, Patricia. His death in 1932 left Burke with substantial debts, driving her toward better remunerating film acting in an effort to settle them. RADIO 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 , W. C. Fields , Eddie Cantor , Marilyn Miller , Will Rogers , Bert Williams and Ann Pennington . He brought his show to radio in 1932 with '' The Ziegfeld Follies Of The Air ''. Ziegfeld produced other landmarks as well, including '' Show Boat ''. 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, and in 1932, after Ziegfeld lost much of his money in the Stock Market Crash , he staged a revival of ''Show Boat''. It became the biggest grosser on Broadway, until the Great Depression affected its run. Later that same year, Ziegfeld died from a lung infection related to Pleurisy {Link without Title} . Ziegfeld is interred in Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla , Westchester Co., New York . BROADWAY PRODUCTIONS
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