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The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. It became a Radio Program in 1932 and 1936 as '' The Ziegfeld Follies Of The Air ''. Inspired by the Folies Bergères of Paris , the Ziegfeld Follies were conceived and mounted by Florenz Ziegfeld , reportedly at the suggestion of his then-wife, the entertainer Anna Held . The shows' producers were Turn-of-the-century producing titans Klaw & Erlanger . HISTORY The Follies were lavish Revue s, something between later Broadway shows and a more elaborate high class Vaudeville Variety Show . Many of the top entertainers of the era (including Eddie Cantor , Fanny Brice , Ann Pennington , Bert Williams , Will Rogers , Ruth Etting , Helen Morgan , Marilyn Miller , W.C. Fields , Ed Wynn , Nora Bayes , and others) appeared in the shows. The Ziegfeld Follies were also famous for many beautiful chorus girls commonly known as Ziegfeld Girl s, which, over the years, included many future stars such as Marilyn Miller , Marion Davies , Mae Murray , Paulette Goddard , Joan Blondell , Nita Naldi , Dorothy Mackaill , Eve Arden , Billie Dove , Gilda Gray , Barbara Stanwyck , and Louise Brooks . ( Norma Shearer and Alice Faye were turned down by Ziegfeld for being "not up to standards".) The girls were usually decked in elaborate costumes by designers such as Erté , Lady Duff Gordon or Ali Ben Hagan , which became the talk of Broadway the following day. After Ziegfeld's death, his widow Billie Burke authorized use of his name for Ziegfeld Follies in 1934 and 1936 . The name was later used by other promoters in New York City , Philadelphia and again on Broadway, with less connection to the original Follies. These latter efforts failed miserably. When later it toured, the 1934 edition was recorded in its entirety, from the Overture to Play-out music, on a series of 78 rpm discs, which were edited by the record producer David Cunard to form an album of the highlights of the production and which was released as a Compact Disc in 1997. The 1936 Best Picture winner was The Great Ziegfeld , starring William Powell as the master showman. Co-starring Myrna Loy (as Ziegfeld's second wife Billie Burke), Luise Rainer (as Anna Held, which won her an Academy Award For Best Actress ), and Frank Morgan (as a rival showman). Featuring numbers by Ray Bolger , Dennis Morgan , Virginia Bruce , and Harriet Hoctor , the film gave a glimpse into what the Follies were really like. The MGM blockbuster's show-stopper was "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody", which, by itself, cost more to produce than one of Ziegeld's whole shows. There was also a 1946 feature Motion Picture entitled '' Ziegfeld Follies '' with Fred Astaire , Judy Garland , Lena Horne , William Powell , Gene Kelly , Fanny Brice , Red Skelton , Esther Williams , Cyd Charisse , Lucille Ball , Kathryn Grayson , and others performing songs and sketches similar to those from the original Follies. THE FOLLIES
PERFORMERS: YEAR-BY-YEAR 1907
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1934
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1943 1956 1957 SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINK REFERENCES |
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