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Ziegfeld: The Man Who Invented Show Business

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Author: Ethan Mordden
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Category: Book

List Price: ~~$32.95~~
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Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.9
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.5 x 1.3

ISBN: 0312375433
Dewey Decimal Number: 792.0232092
EAN: 9780312375430
ASIN: 0312375433

Publication Date: November 11, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
DIVPBAny girl who twists her hat will be fired! #8211; Florenz Ziegfeld/B/PPAnd no Ziegfeld girl ever did as she made her way down the gala stairways of the IZiegfeld Follies/I in some of the most astonishing spectacles the American theatergoing public ever witnessed. 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. Though many know him as the man who "glorified the American girl," 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 when it came to beautiful women, 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 IFollies,/I presented almost every year from 1907 to 1931. Ziegfeld's reputation and power, however, went beyond the stage of the IFollies/I as he produced a number of other musicals, among them the ground-breaking IShow Boat/I. In IZiegfeld: The Man Who Created Show Business/I, Ethan Mordden recreates the lost world of the IFollies/I, 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 : Florenz Ziegfeld./P/DIV

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars

fascinting theatre history December 28, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

I loved the book Ziegfeld. It is a fascinating history of theatre in New York and America generally. My only criticism not enough photos of the wonderful productions staged by an early master of lavish musical shows.

5 out of 5 stars

Everything Old Is New Again December 17, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

I was surprised how immediate all this old show business seemed. It starts in the 1890's! Yet we get a real feeling for what Fanny Brice, Eddie Cantor, and Bert Williams were like in the Follies, and how this secret and almost invisible man became the best known producer on Broadway. I have read three other books on him, but this is the first one that actually explained why they called him the *great* Ziegfeld, after all. The way the author narrates, it could almost be a novel, with cliffhanger chapter closings, plot twists, and a lot of odd little jokes about what all these high and mighty stars are really up to. The best line was where one Ziegfeld girl is so dumb, "she had the content of a confetti cannon."

3 out of 5 stars

A decent book but misrepresenting its focus December 17, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful

In the middle of this book there is a half page describing Ziegfeld taking his daughter backstage to introduce her to the Follies star, Marilyn Miller. Unfortunately Ms. Miller was angry at Ziegfeld and throws a jar of cold cream at him as he backs out the door with his daughter. I cite this episode, presumably from his daughter's book about her parents, for the simple reason that it appears to be the only personal story about Flo Ziegfeld in the book. Oh yes, we're told when and where he was born, etc. but when it comes to his character, thoughts etc. we are left with bare declarative sentences. For example we're told, as a fact, that Ziegfeld had no sense of humor but we are not given a single story to illustrate this. While I can accept the author's statement that Ziegfeld did not divulge much personal information the fact is that he was surrounded by collaborators for three decades. The whole purpose of a biographer is to research those secondary sources to reveal the enigma. Unfortunately this author does not appear to have undertaken that effort. That being said, I must acknowledge that the author is extremely knowledge in musical theater history and evokes the period and setting well. The author is also a fluid writer and the book is quite readable. As a book about the Ziegfeld Follies in the Arts section of the bookstore I would rate this volume a four if not a five. However, as a book about Ziegfeld himself in the Biography section of the bookstore I would rate this volume as a one but have generously upgraded to a three in appreciation of the informative musical theater details.

4 out of 5 stars

Mordden meets the eye December 3, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

When Ethan Mordden writes about theater, especially musical theater, he has no peer. So if you approach this book as a survey of Ziegfeld's WORK, you will not be disappointed. However, from the outset Mordden tells us how little is really known or understood about the private life, the internal life, if you will, of Ziegfeld the man. He then proceeds to live up to this caveat by telling us as much, or as little, as he promises. The general feeling of the book is: we may not know how a man who grew up with classical music as his background ended up starting in Burlesque or, looked at another way, how a man whose very being was wrapped up in revue and burlesque gave us "The Follies" or how the "Follies" man gave us "Show Boat", but who cares, he did! Mordden is right! The only real flaw in the book is Mordden's referral to pictures, posters, artwork, etc. that we never get to see. How about a revised, illustrated, edition!

4 out of 5 stars

A light and breezy read November 22, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

An enjoyable book. Ethan Mordden digs into the archival material relating to all things Ziegfeld and presents us with a leisurely account of the rise and fall of this formidable showman. It is a 21st century perspective, and reflects the culture of celebrity and American dream that was no different in the 1890s. Typical of Mordden's style are the many footnotes filled with interesting trivia. Untypical of the author, is the inclusion of a concluding bibliographical chapter. br /

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