Background
Florenz Ziegfeld was born on March 21, 1869 in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
His father was a German musician of the old school who eventually became president of the Chicago Musical College.
( With Joseph and Charles Eaton As Told to J.R. Morris A...)
With Joseph and Charles Eaton As Told to J.R. Morris At age fourteen, Doris Eaton was the youngest performer in the Ziegfeld Follies, appearing with such legends as Eddie Cantor, Fanny Brice, Will Rogers, and Marilyn Miller. With two sisters and two brothers also appearing in the Follies in the years between 1918 and 1923, the Eatons became a well-known Broadway family. Beginning their careers in the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore area, the "Seven Little Eatons" became seasoned performers, working the stock-company circuit before arriving in New York City and being caught up in the golden age of Broadway. Doris and her two sisters, Pearl and Mary, became popular dancers, and throughout the twenties they were never out of work. Doris was the first Eaton to go to Hollywood, and there in 1929 she introduced the song "Singing in the Rain" in the Hollywood Music Box Review. Later, Doris left show business and went on to great success building a chain of eighteen Arthur Murray studios in Michigan, which she owned and operated for thirty years. In a refreshingly wise voice, The Days We Danced introduces readers to the successes and poignant sorrows of the Eaton family, including alcoholism, professional failures, early death, and even a tragic murder. With memories that span almost a century, Doris recalls the state of the American theater during World War I, the "roaring twenties," the Great Depression--as well as the legendary names of the rich and famous celebrities with whom the Eatons worked and played. Accompanied by scores of unique period photographs, this memoir details the life of a woman who never stopped dancing--even when the curtain fell.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0806199504/?tag=2022091-20
(A look at the life and work of the legendary Broadway pro...)
A look at the life and work of the legendary Broadway producer traces his life, his triumphs and failures, and his lavish productions
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0810939665/?tag=2022091-20
Florenz Ziegfeld was born on March 21, 1869 in Chicago, Illinois, United States.
His father was a German musician of the old school who eventually became president of the Chicago Musical College.
During the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, Ziegfeld managed Sandow, the strong man. In 1896 he turned to theatrical management. His promotion of a French beauty, Anna Held, with press releases about her milk baths brought her fame and set a pattern of star making through publicity. In 1907 he produced in New York City his first revue, The Follies of 1907, modeled on the Folies-Bergère of Paris but less risqué. The revue’s combination of seminudity, pageantry, and comedy was repeated successfully for 23 more years, until the advent of the Great Depression ended the annual spectacles. Four other editions appeared after his death, the last in 1957.
Among the stars developed by Ziegfeld were Marilyn Miller, Will Rogers, Leon Errol, Bert Williams, Fanny Brice, and Eddie Cantor. In addition to the Follies, Ziegfeld also produced the stage successes Sally (1920), Show Boat (1927), Rio Rita (1927), and Bitter Sweet (1929). Ziegfeld married Anna Held in 1897 and, after their divorce in 1913, the actress Billie Burke.
(A look at the life and work of the legendary Broadway pro...)
( With Joseph and Charles Eaton As Told to J.R. Morris A...)
Ziegfeld is a member of the American Theater Hall of Fame.
Ziegfeld and Held commenced a common-law marriage in 1897, but she divorced him in 1913, according to her obituary in The New York Times dated August 13, 1918. Held served Ziegfeld with divorce papers on April 14, 1912, and their divorce became final on January 9, 1913. Held had submitted testimony about Ziegfeld's relationship with another woman. The unnamed party in this romantic triangle was showgirl Lillian Lorraine, an entertainer of limited talent but charismatic stage presence and beauty whom Ziegfeld discovered in 1907 when she was a 15-year-old performer in a Shubert production. Ziegfeld spent years promoting her career, transforming her into one of the most popular attractions in his Follies 18–19 and establishing her in an apartment two floors above the residence he shared with Held. He remained in love with Lorraine for the rest of his life.
However, Ziegfeld and actress Billie Burke were married April 11, 1914, after meeting at a party on New Year's Eve. They had one child, Patricia Ziegfeld Stephenson (1916–2008). The family lived on his estate in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, and in Palm Beach, Florida.
