
- 372 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
About this book
"A rich and entertaining biography of Broadway's first auteur [that] transports readers to the time when Times Square was just an intersection of streets." —
Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
When Florenz Ziegfeld started in theater, it was flea circus, operetta and sideshow all rolled into one. When he left it, the glamorous world of "show-biz" had been created.
His first real star attraction was the bodybuilder Eugen Sandow, who flexed his muscles and thrilled the society matrons who came backstage to squeeze his biceps. His lesson learned with Sandow, Ziegfeld went on to present Anna Held, the naughty French sensation, who became the first Mrs. Ziegfeld. He was one of the first impresarios to mix headliners of different ethnic backgrounds, and literally the earliest proponent of mixed-race casting. The stars he showcased and, in some cases, created have become legends: Billie Burke (who also became his wife), elfin Marilyn Miller, cowboy Will Rogers, Bert Williams, W.C. Fields, Eddie Cantor and, last but not least, neighborhood diva Fanny Brice.
A man of voracious sexual appetites, Ziegfeld knew what he wanted and what others would want as well. From that passion, the Ziegfeld Girl was born. Elaborately bejeweled, they wore little more than a smile as they glided through eye-popping tableaux that were the highlight of the Follies, presented almost every year from 1907 to 1931. Ziegfeld's reputation and power, however, went beyond the stage of the Follies as he produced a number of other musicals, among them the ground-breaking Show Boat. In Ziegfeld: The Man Who Created Show Business, Ethan Mordden recreates the lost world of the Follies, a place of long-vanished beauty masterminded by one of the most inventive, ruthless, street-smart and exacting men ever to fill a theatre on the Great White Way.
"Mordden strikes a fine balance, discussing with equal authority the artistic and economic sides of the business that is show." — Booklist (starred review)
When Florenz Ziegfeld started in theater, it was flea circus, operetta and sideshow all rolled into one. When he left it, the glamorous world of "show-biz" had been created.
His first real star attraction was the bodybuilder Eugen Sandow, who flexed his muscles and thrilled the society matrons who came backstage to squeeze his biceps. His lesson learned with Sandow, Ziegfeld went on to present Anna Held, the naughty French sensation, who became the first Mrs. Ziegfeld. He was one of the first impresarios to mix headliners of different ethnic backgrounds, and literally the earliest proponent of mixed-race casting. The stars he showcased and, in some cases, created have become legends: Billie Burke (who also became his wife), elfin Marilyn Miller, cowboy Will Rogers, Bert Williams, W.C. Fields, Eddie Cantor and, last but not least, neighborhood diva Fanny Brice.
A man of voracious sexual appetites, Ziegfeld knew what he wanted and what others would want as well. From that passion, the Ziegfeld Girl was born. Elaborately bejeweled, they wore little more than a smile as they glided through eye-popping tableaux that were the highlight of the Follies, presented almost every year from 1907 to 1931. Ziegfeld's reputation and power, however, went beyond the stage of the Follies as he produced a number of other musicals, among them the ground-breaking Show Boat. In Ziegfeld: The Man Who Created Show Business, Ethan Mordden recreates the lost world of the Follies, a place of long-vanished beauty masterminded by one of the most inventive, ruthless, street-smart and exacting men ever to fill a theatre on the Great White Way.
"Mordden strikes a fine balance, discussing with equal authority the artistic and economic sides of the business that is show." — Booklist (starred review)
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Yes, you can access Ziegfeld by Ethan Mordden in PDF and/or ePUB format. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
eBook ISBN
9781429951524Subtopic
Theatre Direction & ProductionTable of contents
- Cover
- Other Books By This Author
- Title Page
- Copyright
- Dedication
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Chapter One - Ziegfeld’s Chicago
- Chapter Two - The Big Blond Boy
- Chapter Three - The Exotique
- Chapter Four - Étoile de Paris
- Chapter Five - The War of the Managers
- Chapter Six - Ziegfeld’s Revue
- Chapter Seven - The Wonderful Tart
- Chapter Eight - The Wife
- Chapter Nine - The Golden Age of the Follies
- Chapter Ten - The Century Shows and the Ziegfeld Girl
- Chapter Eleven - The Dazzler
- Chapter Twelve - Known Throughout the Land
- Chapter Thirteen - Ziegfeld’s Masterpiece
- Chapter Fourteen - Daddy Has a Sweetheart and Mother Is Her Name
- Chapter Fifteen - Any Girl Who Changes or Twists Her Hat Will Be Fired
- Chapter Sixteen - Impresario Extraordinaire
- Chapter Seventeen - Ziegfeld’s Broadway
- Chapter Eighteen - The Passing of Ziegfeld
- Chapter Nineteen - Ziegfeld’s Legacy
- Sources and Further Reading
- Index