Florenz Ziegfeld

Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. (✦March 21, 1867 - †July 22, 1932) was an American Broadway theatre impresario, also known as Flo Ziegfeld. He is best known for his series of theatrical revues, the Ziegfeld Follies, inspired by the Folies Bergère of Paris.

His first foray into the entertainment world 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 choreographed to the works of such prominent composers as Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, and Jerome Kern.

His promotion of the Polish-French dancer 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

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 in 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 Wall Street Crash of 1929, 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 from a lung infection related to pleurisy. [1] Ziegfeld is interred in Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York (Westchester County). His death left Billie Burke with substantial debts, driving her toward better remunerating film acting in an effort to settle them.

Broadway

• A Parlor Match - 1893
• The French Maid - 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 Ziegfeld Follies 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
• Night in Spain - 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 - 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 - 1923
• Ziegfeld Follies of 1924 - 1924
• Annie Dear - 1924
• Louis the 14th - 1925
• Ziegfeld's Revue 'No Foolin' - 1926
• Betsy - 1926
• Rio Rita (musical) - 1927
• Ziegfeld Follies of 1927 - 1927
• Show Boat - 1927
• Rosalie - 1928
• The Three Musketeers - 1928
• Whoopee! - 1928
• Show Girl - 1929
• Bitter Sweet - 1930
• Simple Simon (musical) - 1930
• Smile - 1930
• Ziegfeld Follies of 1931 - 1931
• Hot-Cha! - 1932
• Show Boat - 1932

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 (Link valid as of 04/20)

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