Ziegfeld, Florenz, Jr.

(1869-1932)

   Born in Chicago, Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. began his legendary producing career by bringing variety amusements to the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Ziegfeld began producing plays in 1896 with Charles Hoyt's A Parlor Match for his first wife, Anna Held. This was followed by plays and musicals for Held, including The French Maid (1897), Papa's Wife (1899), and The Little Duchess (1901). His most significant producing achievement, the annual revue that became known as the Ziegfeld Follies, began in 1907 and continued annually to 1925, with final editions in 1927 and 1931. The lavish, tasteful, spectacular Follies became the pinnacle of Broadway glamour in its time. Ziegfeld, who conceived the producer's role as an artistic one, discovered or nurtured the talents of some of Broadway's greatest entertainers, including Nora Bayes, Bert Williams, Eddie Cantor, W. C. Fields, Marilyn Miller, Leon Errol, Will Rogers, and many others. The Follies were usually staged at the lavish New Amsterdam Theatre with scene designs by Joseph Urban, who also designed the Ziegfeld Theatre in 1927. Ziegfeld also produced book musicals, including Sally (1920), Whoopee (1928), and, most importantly, Show Boat (1927), a landmark achievement in the evolution of musical theatre. Ziegfeld's second wife was actress Billie Burke.