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 W.C. Fields, Eddie Cantor, Fanny Brice, Ann Pennington, Bert Williams, Will Rogers, Ruth Etting, Ray Bolger, Helen Morgan, Marilyn Miller, Ed Wynn, Gilda Gray, Nora Bayes, Sophie Tucker, 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
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
Nat M. Wills
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
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
Kay Laurell
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
Ernest McChesney
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
Judy Canova
Gertrude Niesen
June and Cherry Preisser
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)

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.
In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby
The Tony Award-winning musical, The Will Rogers Follies, uses the Ziegfeld Follies as a basis for the show.

Translation

The phrase "Ziegfeld Follies" occurs as such in the following languages: English, German, Spanish, French, Italian.