Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. (March 21, 1867 – July 22, 1932), called Flo Ziegfeld, was an American Broadway impresario. He is best known for his series of theatrical revues, the Ziegfeld Follies (1907-1931), inspired by the Folies Bergères of Paris.

Ziegfeld's first foray into the world of entertainment was at the 1893 Chicago World's Columbian Exposition, where he managed the famous strongman, Eugen Sandow.

His stage spectaculars, beginning with 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. . 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.

Ziegfeld Theatre

Flo Ziegfeld and Sandow, c. 1893

At a cost of $2.5 million, he built the 1600-seat Ziegfeld Theatre 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, 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. 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 affected its run (May to October 1932).

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.

That same year, Ziegfeld died with pleurisy related to a lung infection. His death left Burke with substantial debts, driving her toward better remunerating film acting in an effort to settle them. He is interred in Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, Westchester Co., New York.

Broadway productions

References

External links

• Obituary, New York Times (July 23, 1932) "Florenz Ziegfeld Dies in Hollywood after Long Illness"
• Find-A-Grave profile for Florenz Ziegfeld
• Ziegfeld biography by John Kenrick

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Florenz Ziegfeld". Image Credit.

bookmark   email   print   tweet   facebook