Ziegfeld Follies

The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They 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 revues, 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, Gilda Gray, Nora Bayes, The Tiller Girls, and others) appeared in the shows. The Ziegfeld Follies were also famous for many beautiful chorus girls commonly known as Ziegfeld girls, 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 Ziegfeld'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

*"Follies of 1907" at the "Jardin de Paris"
*"Follies of 1908" at the "Jardin de Paris"
*"Follies of 1909" at the "Jardin de Paris"
*"Follies of 1910" at the "Jardin de Paris"
*"Ziegfeld Follies of 1911" at the "Jardin de Paris"
*"Ziegfeld Follies of 1912" at the Moulin Rouge (New York)
*"Ziegfeld Follies of 1913, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919, 1920" at the New Amsterdam Theatre
*"Ziegfeld Follies of 1921" at the Globe Theatre
*"Ziegfeld Follies of 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927" at the New Amsterdam Theatre
*"Ziegfeld Follies of 1931" at the Ziegfeld Theatre
*"Ziegfeld Follies of 1934" at the Winter Garden Theatre
*"Ziegfeld Follies of 1936" at the Winter Garden Theatre
*"Ziegfeld Follies of 1943" at the Winter Garden Theatre
*"Ziegfeld Follies of 1957" at the Winter Garden Theatre

Performers: Year-By-Year

;1907
*Anna Held & Her Girls
*Grace Larue
*Emma Carus
*Harry Watson
*Helen Broderick
*Nora Bayes (joined cast at end of run)

;1908
*Nora Bayes
*Grace LaRue
*Mlle. Dazie
*Harry Watson
*The Ziegfeld Girls

;1909
*Lillian Lorraine
*Bessie Clayton
*Sophie Tucker
*Nora Bayes
*Jack Norworth
*Eva Tanguay (joined cast in mid-run)
*The Ziegfeld Girls

;1910
*Fanny Brice
*Bert Williams
*Lillian Lorraine
*Anna Held (in a filmed sequence)
*The Ziegfeld Girls

;1911
*Fanny Brice
*Bert Williams
*The Dolly Sisters
*Lillian Lorraine
*Leon Errol
*Vera Maxwell
*Bessie McCoy
*The Ziegfeld Girls

;1912
*Bert Williams
*Elizabeth Brice
*Leon Errol
*Ray Samuels
*Lillian Lorraine
*Harry Watson
*The Ziegfeld Girls

;1913
*Leon Errol
*Frank Tinney
*Jose Collins
*Ann Pennington
*The Ziegfeld Girls;1914
*Ed Wynn
*Leon Errol
*Bert Williams
*Annette Kellerman
*Vera Maxwell
*Ann Pennington
*The Ziegfeld Girls

;1915
*Leon Errol
*W.C. Fields
*Ann Pennington
*Ed Wynn
*Bert Williams
*Ina Claire
*Justine Johnstone
*The Ziegfeld Girls (including Olive Thomas and Mae Murray)

;1916
*Bert Williams
*Fanny Brice
*W.C. Fields
*Ina Claire
*Will Rogers
*Ann Pennington
*The Ziegfeld Girls (including Marion Davies and Olive Thomas)

;1917
*Bert Williams
*Fanny Brice
*Eddie Cantor
*Will Rogers
*Dolores
*William E. Ritchie [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=William E. Ritchie, Trick Bicyclist, 70?. Vaudeville and Revue Artist Dies Here. Had Played With Will Rogers, W. C. Fields. In Stage Team with Wife. He and May Villion on Tour for Many Years. Were in 'The Follies' of 1917-1918 |url= |quote= |publisher=New York Times |date=May 13, 1943, Thursday |accessdate=2007-08-21 ]
*The Fairbanks Twins
*The Ziegfeld Girls (including Peggy Hopkins Joyce)

;1918
*Eddie Cantor
*W.C. Fields
*Marilyn Miller
*Ann Pennington
*Lillian Lorraine
*Frank Carter
*Joe Frisco
*Bert Savoy
*Jay Brennan
*The Fairbanks Twins
*The Ziegfeld Girls (including Doris Eaton)

;1919
*Marilyn Miller
*Eddie Cantor
*Bert Williams
*Eddie Dowling
*John Steel
*Johnny and Ray Dooley
*Van and Schenck
*The Fairbanks Twins
*The Ziegfeld Girls (including Billie Dove and Doris Eaton);1920
*Fanny Brice
*W.C. Fields
*Mary Eaton
*Jack Donahue
*Bernard Granville
*Charles Winninger
*Van and Schenck
*Ray Dooley
*Moran and Mack
*Art Hickman's Orchestra
*The Ziegfeld Girls (including Doris Eaton)

;1921
*Fanny Brice
*W.C. Fields
*Raymond Hitchcock
*Van and Schenck
*Mary Eaton
*The Ziegfeld Girls (including Anastasia Reilly)

;1922
*Gallagher and Shean
*Jack Whiting
*Will Rogers
*Mary Eaton
*Olsen & Johnson
*Gilda Gray
*Nervo and Knox
*The Ziegfeld Girls (including Barbara Stanwyck and Anastasia Reilly)

;1923
*Fanny Brice
*Bert Wheeler
*James J. Corbett
*Ann Pennington
*Paul Whiteman
*The Ziegfeld Girls (including Anastasia Reilly)

;1924-25
*Will Rogers
*Ann Pennington
*Frank Tinney
*Lupino Lane
*Ethel Shutta
*Vivienne Segal
*Ray Dooley (joined the cast later in run)
*W.C. Fields (joined the cast later in run)
*Dorothy Wegman
*The Ziegfeld Girls (including Louise Brooks, Paulette Goddard, Claire Dodd, and Anastasia Reilly);1927
*Eddie Cantor
*Cliff Edwards
*Ruth Etting
*The Brox Sisters
*Clair Luce
*Dorothy Wegman
*Billie Burke
*The Ziegfeld Girls (including Joan Blondell and Paulette Goddard)

;1931
*Harry Richman
*Jack Pearl
*Ruth Etting
*Helen Morgan
*Hal LeRoy
*Mitzi Mayfair
*Albert Carroll
*John Bubbles
*The Ziegfeld Girls (including Iris Adrian)

;1934
*Fanny Brice
*Jane Froman
*Buddy Ebsen (with sister Vilma)
*Eugene Howard
*Willie Howard
*The Ziegfeld Girls

;1936
*Fanny Brice
*Bob Hope
*Josephine Baker
*The Nicholas Brothers
*Eve Arden
*Gertrude Niesen
*Gypsy Rose Lee (replacement)
*Bobby Clark (replacement)
*The Ziegfeld Girls

;1943
*Milton Berle
*Arthur Treacher
*Ilona Massey
*Dean Murphy
*Jack Cole
*The Ziegfeld Girls

;1956 (Boston)
*Tallulah Bankhead
*Carol Haney
*Bea Arthur
*Julie Newmar
*The Ziegfeld Girls

;1957
*Beatrice Lillie
*Jane Morgan
*Billy DeWolfe
*Harold Lang
*The Ziegfeld Girls (including Carol Lawrence)

ee also

*Ziegfeld Theatre
*Joseph Urban
*Encores!
*Esther's Follies

Links to popular culture

*Mentioned by Holden Caulfield in chapter four of "The Catcher in the Rye" while he is tap dancing, watching Stradlater shave.

*In the Japanese RPG "The Legend of Dragoon", a character is named Zeig Feld.

References

External links

* [http://www.musicals101.com/ziegfeld.htm Ziegfeld on Musicals101.com]
* [http://www.ibdb.com/search.asp?SearchBy=Show&SearchFor=ziegfeld%20follies Ziegfeld Follies at Internet Broadway Database]