Ziegfeld Girls were the chorus girls from Master Showman Florenz Ziegfeld's theatrical spectaculars known as the Ziegfeld Follies (1907–1931), which were based on the popular Folies Bergère of Paris.
SYNCHRONIZED BEAUTY
These Broadway beauties, bedecked in Erté designer gowns, gained many male admirers of all ages and they became objects of popular adoration. Most the showgirls looked quite similar, both in appearance and in stature. Dancing in complete synchronization, they were the only continuing act that was uniform in the Ziegfeld Follies. Many were persuaded to leave the show to marry, some to celebrities and some to men of substantial wealth.
STEPPING STONES
Over the years, many Ziegfeld Girls graduated to become major motion picture stars, such as Marion Davies, Paulette Goddard, Joan Blondell, Olive Thomas, Barbara Stanwyck, Billie Dove, Louise Brooks, Nita Naldi, Julanne Johnston, Mae Murray, Dorothy Mackaill, Odette Myrtil, Lilyan Tashman, Claire Dodd, Cecile Arnold, Dolores Costello, Dorothy Sebastian, Juliette Compton, Iris Adrian and Anna Mae Wong; and others moved on to society and business successes, such as Peggy Hopkins Joyce, Helen Gallagher, Anastasia Reilly, and Irene Hayes.
HEROINES
Ziegfeld girl Mona Louise Parsons became a member of a resistance movement in the Netherlands, fighting against Nazi Occupation during World War II and working to return downed Allied airmen to England. She was eventually arrested by the Gestapo and became the only Canadian female civilian to be imprisoned by the Nazis, and one of the first (and few) women ever to be tried by a Nazi military tribunal in the Netherlands. Though her original sentence was death by firing squad, her sentence was commuted to life with hard labor. She later escaped from her captors and again helped the resistance until the end of the war.
REJECTED
Although many future stars started out as Ziegfeld girls, many more were turned down by Florenz Ziegfeld: Norma Shearer (twice), Alice Faye, Joan Crawford, Gypsy Rose Lee, Lucille Ball (twice), Phyllis Haver, Eleanor Powell, Ruby Keeler, Hedda Hopper, and June Havoc (twice) were among the many hopefuls that the master showman rejected, sometimes after multiple auditions.
ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL
In this book you will find many of Florenz Ziegfeld’s “Keepers” along with a better understanding, after so many years, of what the fuss (and attraction) was all about.
Released: 2016
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