Ziegfeld Follies

Promotional artwork for 1912 Ziegfeld Follies

Sheet music for a song from the 1919 Ziegfeld Follies

Mlle. Dazie 1908

The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air.

Inspired by the Folies Bergère 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-twentieth-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 W. C. Fields, Eddie Cantor, Josephine Baker, Fanny Brice, Ann Pennington, Bert Williams, Eva Tanguay, Bob Hope, Will Rogers, Ruth Etting, Ray Bolger, Helen Morgan, Louise Brooks, Marilyn Miller, Ed Wynn, Gilda Gray, Nora Bayes, Sophie Tucker, and others) appeared in the shows.^[1] The Ziegfeld Follies also were famous for many, beautiful chorus girls commonly known as Ziegfeld girls,^[2] usually wearing elaborate costumes by designers such as Erté, Lady Duff Gordon or Ben Ali Haggin. The first Follies was produced in 1907 at the roof theatre Jardin de Paris.^[3]

The Ziegfeld girls "paraded up and down flights of stairs as anything from birds to battleships." The "Tableau vivants" were designed by Ben Ali Haggin from 1917 to 1925. Joseph Urban was the scenic designer for the Follies shows starting in 1915.^[4]

After Ziegfeld's death his widow, Billie Burke, authorized use of his name for Ziegfeld Follies in 1934 and 1936 to Jake Shubert, who then produced the Follies.^[5] 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.

Film

New Amsterdam Theatre, New York

The 1936 Best Picture winner was M-G-M's The Great Ziegfeld, starring William Powell as the master showman and 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. 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.

In 1941 M-G-M released Ziegfeld Girl, starring Lana Turner, Judy Garland, Hedy Lamarr, James Stewart and Tony Martin which was set in the 1920s. Celebrated numbers from Ziegfeld Revues were recreated, including the famed "Wedding Cake" set which had been used for Metro's earlier film, The Great Ziegfeld. Charles Winninger, who had performed in the Follies of 1920, appeared as "Ed Gallagher" with Gallagher's real-life partner, Al Shean to recreate the duo's famous song "Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Shean," originally part of the Follies of 1922. According to modern sources, Lana Turner's character was modeled after Ziegfeld Girl Lillian Lorraine who had a drunken fall into the orchestra pit during an extravagant number.^[6]

In 1946 M-G-M released a third feature motion picture on Ziegfeld's shows 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. Brice appeared in the Follies for more than ten years. The 1964 musical, Funny Girl^[7], starring Barbra Streisand as Fanny Brice, depicts Brice's success with the Follies. The 1968 Columbia film of the musical also starred Barbra Streisand as Brice and Walter Pidgeon as Florenz Ziegfeld.

The Follies

	Shine On, Harvest Moon One of the hits of the 1908 Follies, created by husband-and-wife team (and Ziegfeld performers) Jack Norworth and Nora Bayes. This recording was made a year later by Ada Jones and Billy Murray.
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• 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 (Manhattan)
• 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, 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 Nora Bayes (joined the cast later in run) Helen Broderick Emma Carus Mlle. Dazie Grace La Rue Edna Luby Harry Watson, Jr. 1908 Nora Bayes Mlle. Dazie Grace Larue Harry Watson, Jr. The Ziegfeld Girls (including Mae Murray) Majorie Bonner 1909 Nora Bayes Bessie Clayton Lillian Lorraine Jack Norworth Eva Tanguay (joined cast in mid-run) Sophie Tucker The Ziegfeld Girls 1910 Fanny Brice Anna Held (in a filmed sequence) Lillian Lorraine Bert Williams The Ziegfeld Girls Bobby North 1911 Fanny Brice Bert Williams The Dolly Sisters Leon Errol Lillian Lorraine Vera Maxwell Bessie McCoy Bert Williams The Ziegfeld Girls 1912 Bernard Granville [8] Leon Errol Lillian Lorraine Rae Samuels Harry Watson, Jr. Bert Williams The Ziegfeld Girls 1913 Elizabeth Brice Leon Errol Jose Collins Ann Pennington Frank Tinney Nat M. Wills The Ziegfeld Girls

1914 Leon Errol Annette Kellerman Vera Maxwell Vera Michelena Ann Pennington Bert Williams Ed Wynn The Ziegfeld Girls 1915 Bernard Granville [8] Ina Claire Leon Errol W. C. Fields Justine Johnstone Mae Murray Ann Pennington Ed Wynn Bert Williams The Ziegfeld Girls (including Helen Barnes, Marion Davies, Odette Myrtil and Olive Thomas) 1916 Fanny Brice Ina Claire W.C. Fields Allyn King Bird Millman Ann Pennington Will Rogers Bert Williams Bernard Granville [8] The Ziegfeld Girls (including Irene Hayes, Julanne Johnston and Lilyan Tashman) 1917 Fanny Brice Eddie Cantor Dolores The Fairbanks Twins Allyn King William E. Ritchie[9] Will Rogers Lilyan Tashman Bert Williams The Ziegfeld Girls (including Peggy Hopkins Joyce) 1918 Jay Brennan Eddie Cantor Frank Carter The Fairbanks Twins W.C. Fields Joe Frisco Pauline Hall Kay Laurell Lillian Lorraine Allyn King Marilyn Miller Ann Pennington Bert Savoy The Ziegfeld Girls (including Doris Eaton and Nita Naldi) 1919 Eddie Cantor Johnny and Ray Dooley Eddie Dowling The Fairbanks Twins Allyn King Marilyn Miller Van and Schenck John Steel Bert Williams The Ziegfeld Girls (including Billie Dove and Mary Hay)

1920 Fanny Brice Eddie Cantor Jack Donahue Ray Dooley Mary Eaton W.C. Fields Bernard Granville Art Hickman's Orchestra Allyn King Moran and Mack Van and Schenck Charles Winninger The Ziegfeld Girls (including Juliette Compton and Dorothy Mackaill) 1921 Fanny Brice Mary Eaton W.C. Fields Raymond Hitchcock Vera Michelena Van and Schenck The Ziegfeld Girls (including Anastasia Reilly) 1922 Mary Eaton Gallagher and Shean Gilda Gray Nervo and Knox Olsen and Johnson Will Rogers Jack Whiting The Ziegfeld Girls (including Barbara Stanwyck and Geneva Mitchell) 1923 Fanny Brice James J. Corbett Ann Pennington Bert & Betty Wheeler Paul Whiteman The Ziegfeld Girls (including Lina Basquette and Dolores Costello) 1924–25 Billie Burke Ray Dooley (joined the cast later in run) W.C. Fields (joined the cast later in run) Lupino Lane Ann Pennington Will Rogers Vivienne Segal Ethel Shutta Frank Tinney Dorothy Wegman The Ziegfeld Girls (including Louise Brooks, Claire Dodd, Peggy Fears and Dorothy Sebastian)

1927 Eddie Cantor Cliff Edwards Ruth Etting Frances Upton The Brox Sisters Claire Luce Dorothy Wegman The Ziegfeld Girls (including Joan Blondell and Paulette Goddard) 1931 Faith Bacon Virginia Biddle Buck & Bubbles Albert Carroll Dorothy Dell Ruth Etting Helen Morgan Agatha Hoff Hal Le Roy Mitzi Mayfair Ernest McChesney Jack Pearl Harry Richman Pearl E'doire The Ziegfeld Girls (including Iris Adrian, Virginia Bruce, Jean Howard and Mona Louise Parsons) 1934 Eve Arden Fanny Brice Robert Cummings Buddy and Vilma Ebsen Jane Froman Agatha Hoff Willie and Eugene Howard Everett Marshall June and Cherry Preisser The Ziegfeld Girls 1936 Eve Arden Fanny Brice Josephine Baker Judy Canova Bobby Clark (replacement) George Church Cass Daley (replacement) Harriet Hoctor Bob Hope Gypsy Rose Lee (replacement) The Nicholas Brothers Gertrude Niesen June and Cherry Preisser The Ziegfeld Girls 1943 Bil and Cora Baird Milton Berle Eric Blore (replacement) Jack Carter (replacement) Jack Cole Howard Jackson Ilona Massey Dean Murphy Arthur Treacher Tommy Wonder The Ziegfeld Girls 1956 (Boston) Bea Arthur Tallulah Bankhead Carol Haney Julie Newmar The Ziegfeld Girls 1957 Billy DeWolfe Harold Lang Carol Lawrence Beatrice Lillie Jane Morgan The Ziegfeld Girls

Ziegfeld girls

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  Ruth Etting of the Ziegfeld Follies

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  A photograph of Doris Eaton Travis (1904-2010) in about 1920, during the Ziegfeld Follies years.

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  Marion Davies, Ziegfeld girl, by Alfred Cheney Johnston, 1924

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  Fanny Brice, Ziegfeld Follies photo, 1910s or start of 1920s

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  Shannon Day

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  Mary Eaton

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  Billie Dove

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  Dancer Bee Palmer in fur

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  Barbara Stanwyck

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  Dolores Costello

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  Shirley Vernon and Nellie Savage -
  Publicity With Buck & Lardner 1923

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  DeLyle Alda

See also

• Academy of Music/Riviera Theatre
• By the Light of the Silvery Moon
• Encores!
• Esther's Follies
• The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies
• Alfred Cheney Johnston
• The Passing Show
• Joseph Urban
• Ziegfeld Theatre

References

1. "Flo Ziegfeld-Billie Burke Papers" nypl.org, accessed December 3, 2011
2. "Ziegfeld Biography" pbs.org, accessed December 3, 2011
3. "Follies of 1907"The New York Times, July 9, 1907
4. Green, Stanley."Ziegfeld"Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre (1980), Da Capo Press, ISBN 0-306-80113-2, pp.462-465
5. Bloom, Ken."Winter Garden Theatre" The Routledge Guide to Broadway (2007), CRC Press, ISBN 0-415-97380-5, p. 273
6. Source: AFI Catalog of Feature Films, 1941-1950. Entry for The Ziegfeld Girl. http://afi.com/members/catalog/DetailView.aspx?s=&Movie=27082
7. League, The Broadway. "Funny Girl | IBDB: The official source for Broadway Information". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
8. "Granville, Actor, Dies In Hollywood.". New York Times. October 7, 1936. Retrieved 2015-01-28. Film Comedian Well Known on New York Stage for Many Years Victim of Pneumonia. Long Career Included Roles in Minstrel Shows, Circuses and Outstanding Plays
9. "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". New York Times. May 13, 1943.

External links

• Ziegfeld on Musicals101.com
• Ziegfeld Follies at Internet Broadway Database