# Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.
**Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.** (March 21, 1867, Chicago, Illinois – July 22, 1932, Hollywood, California) was an American theatrical impresario and producer whose annual revues, the [Ziegfeld Follies](https://www.edgepedia.org/ziegfeld-follies), set the standard for the Broadway musical revue in the early twentieth century, and who produced the landmark musical *Show Boat* in 1927.[1](https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/march-21/?loclr=blogtea) • [2](https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt14tqd2z) Some reference works give his birth year as 1869 rather than 1867; the Library of Congress records the date as March 21, 1867 (possibly 1869), while IBDB, the [Harry Ransom Center](https://www.edgepedia.org/harry-ransom-center), and the biographical literature use 1867.[1](https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/march-21/?loclr=blogtea) • [3](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/florenz-ziegfeld-jr-5539) • [4](https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/florenz-ziegfeld/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | March 21, 1867, Chicago, Illinois (some sources say 1869); July 22, 1932, Hollywood, California[3](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/florenz-ziegfeld-jr-5539) • [4](https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/florenz-ziegfeld/) |
| First success | Managed the strongman Eugen Sandow from 1893 at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago[1](https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/march-21/?loclr=blogtea) |
| First Broadway production | *A Parlor Match* (1896), starring Anna Held[5](https://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/stars/florenz-ziegfeld/) |
| Ziegfeld Follies | Launched with *Follies of 1907*; presented annually until 1931[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/florenz-ziegfeld) • [7](https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv11sn2hq) |
| Production costs | The first Follies cost $13,000; preproduction costs of the 1927 Follies totaled nearly $300,000[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/florenz-ziegfeld) |
| Signature productions | *Show Boat* and *Rio Rita* (both 1927), *Sally* (1920), *Whoopee!* (1928)[2](https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt14tqd2z) |
| Marriages | Anna Held, 1897–1913 (divorced); Billie Burke, 1913 until his death[3](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/florenz-ziegfeld-jr-5539) |
## Early life and family
Ziegfeld was the son of Florenz Ziegfeld Sr., a German-born musician who founded the Chicago Academy of Music in the year of his son's birth; the school survives as the Chicago Musical College and was among the first five music conservatories in America.[8](https://playbill.com/article/on-march-21-1867-impresario-florenz-ziegfeld-jr-was-born) His mother, Rosalie de Hez, was a French immigrant who claimed descent from Count Étienne-Maurice Gérard, one of Napoleon's generals.[9](https://www.immigrantentrepreneurship.org/entries/florenz-ziegfeld-jr/) Trained in the piano and raised in a musical household, the younger Ziegfeld reportedly developed no interest in classical music.[9](https://www.immigrantentrepreneurship.org/entries/florenz-ziegfeld-jr/) The family survived the great Chicago fire of 1871, an episode his father's Trocadero nightclub later turned to business advantage as the foundation for his son's career.[8](https://playbill.com/article/on-march-21-1867-impresario-florenz-ziegfeld-jr-was-born) As a young man, Ziegfeld worked at his father's conservatory, rising to assistant manager in 1885.[10](https://norman.hrc.utexas.edu/fasearch/pdf/00249.pdf)
## Sandow and the first "glorification"
Ziegfeld's first theatrical triumph came not with showgirls but with a strongman. In 1893 he became the manager of [Eugen Sandow](https://www.edgepedia.org/eugen-sandow), a German strongman and early weightlifter with a European reputation, and brought him to the [World's Columbian Exposition](https://www.edgepedia.org/worlds-columbian-exposition) in Chicago, where Sandow's physique drew such crowds that the two toured the United States for several years afterward.[1](https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/march-21/?loclr=blogtea) Theater historians credit this episode as the origin of the promotional techniques later applied to women: as Ziegfeld's daughter Patricia wrote in her autobiography, "Eugene [sic] Sandow was Daddy's first experiment in the fine art of glorification."[11](https://starkcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/IGH1998_05_v05n01-Complete.pdf)
On a talent-scouting trip to Europe, Ziegfeld met the French actress Anna Held and brought her to New York, where she made her American stage debut in his first Broadway production, *A Parlor Match*, in 1896.[5](https://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/stars/florenz-ziegfeld/) He publicized her with front-page advertising and press releases describing her milk baths, a device that became his hallmark.[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/florenz-ziegfeld) IBDB records a marriage to Held in 1897 ending in divorce in 1913, but research published by the German Historical Institute found that despite reports of a wedding in Paris, the two had in fact maintained a fifteen-year companionship constituting a common-law marriage and never wed in an officiated ceremony.[3](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/florenz-ziegfeld-jr-5539) • [12](https://www.ghi-dc.org/fileadmin/publications/Bulletin_Supplement/Supplement_12/Supp12.pdf) In 1913 he married the actress [Billie Burke](https://www.edgepedia.org/billie-burke), who remained his wife until his death.[3](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/florenz-ziegfeld-jr-5539)
## The Ziegfeld Follies
After a visit to Paris, where the Folies-Bergère provided the model, Ziegfeld opened *Follies of 1907* on the roof of the New York Theater in July 1907.[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/florenz-ziegfeld) The show was conceived as a light, inexpensive summer entertainment, but its success led Ziegfeld to attach his own name to it and mount it annually as a mainstay of the Broadway season.[13](https://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/feature/ziegfeld-follies/index.html) The revues emphasized glamour and beauty, presenting elaborate chorus lines advertised as "the most beautiful women in the world," in costume designs that grew increasingly opulent; the showgirls, known as the Ziegfeld Girls, became cultural figures in their own right, and guessing which one would become a star became a popular pastime.[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/florenz-ziegfeld) • [13](https://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/feature/ziegfeld-follies/index.html) Among the onetime Follies showgirls who became stars were [Barbara Stanwyck](https://www.edgepedia.org/barbara-stanwyck), Paulette Goddard, Gypsy Rose Lee, Josephine Baker, and Marilyn Miller.[13](https://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/feature/ziegfeld-follies/index.html)
The Follies gave stage careers to a generation of performers, including [Fanny Brice](https://www.edgepedia.org/fanny-brice), Bert Williams, Nora Bayes, Ed Wynn, W. C. Fields, [Olive Thomas](https://www.edgepedia.org/olive-thomas), Marilyn Miller, Eddie Cantor, and [Will Rogers](https://www.edgepedia.org/will-rogers).[10](https://norman.hrc.utexas.edu/fasearch/pdf/00249.pdf) In 1915 Ziegfeld hired the scene designer Joseph Urban, whose lavish sets suited the productions through Ziegfeld's peak period from 1915 to 1919.[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/florenz-ziegfeld) • [10](https://norman.hrc.utexas.edu/fasearch/pdf/00249.pdf) Composers associated with his productions included Irving Berlin and George Gershwin, and his writers included Ring Lardner; the shows cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to mount.[4](https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/florenz-ziegfeld/) Beyond the Follies, Ziegfeld instigated the Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic in 1914's aftermath as a late-night revue and training ground for Follies talent, which ran until Prohibition ended the refreshments it depended on; a brief revival followed in 1928.[10](https://norman.hrc.utexas.edu/fasearch/pdf/00249.pdf)
## Business practices and conflicts
**Control of talent.** Ziegfeld's contracts sometimes cost him the very performers he cultivated: by demanding [Eddie Cantor](https://www.edgepedia.org/eddie-cantor)'s "exclusive services," he lost management of the performer altogether, and unions restricted his control further. When the [Actors' Equity Association](https://www.edgepedia.org/actors-equity-association) began a strike in 1919, Ziegfeld obtained an injunction on August 11, four days into the strike, restraining the union from interfering with his shows at the [New Amsterdam Theatre](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-amsterdam-theatre) and prohibiting individual cast members from striking.[9](https://www.immigrantentrepreneurship.org/entries/florenz-ziegfeld-jr/) In December 1921 he blamed high costs and the union for a decision to leave production in the United States, telling reporters he had put $200,000 into a production only to have Equity tell him how to run it.[9](https://www.immigrantentrepreneurship.org/entries/florenz-ziegfeld-jr/) He also competed intensely with the Shubert brothers and their annual *Passing Show* revues, a rivalry that turned from neutral to spiteful as the two camps fought over stars, staff, and theatrical techniques.[14](https://academic.oup.com/book/4336/chapter-abstract/146269963)
## *Show Boat* and the later career
Ziegfeld's most celebrated non-revue production was *Show Boat* (1927), with music by [Jerome Kern](https://www.edgepedia.org/jerome-kern) and lyrics and book by [Oscar Hammerstein II](https://www.edgepedia.org/oscar-hammerstein-ii), which transformed American musical theater.[2](https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt14tqd2z) He opened his newly built Ziegfeld Theatre in 1927 with *Rio Rita*, which ran for nearly 500 performances, and followed with hits including *Rosalie*, *The Three Musketeers*, and *Whoopee!* (1928).[5](https://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/stars/florenz-ziegfeld/)
The [Depression](https://www.edgepedia.org/depression) ended this run of success. *Show Girl* (1929) lasted only 111 performances, Ziegfeld suffered heavy losses in the Wall Street crash of the same year, and *Bitter Sweet* (1929) disappointed; *Simple Simon*, with a Rodgers and Hart score, *Smiles*, with Fred and Adele Astaire, and *Hot-Cha!* (1932) also failed to take off.[5](https://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/stars/florenz-ziegfeld/) He abandoned the Follies in 1927 and returned for a final edition in 1931, by which time the country's mood under the Depression had changed and the formula had lost its force.[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/florenz-ziegfeld)
His fortunes were partly rescued by the revival of *Show Boat*, which opened at the Casino on May 12, 1932 and ran as a substantial hit.[5](https://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/stars/florenz-ziegfeld/) Ziegfeld, whose health had been failing, died of pleurisy on July 22, 1932 in Hollywood, two months into the revival's run.[5](https://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/stars/florenz-ziegfeld/) • [3](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/florenz-ziegfeld-jr-5539)
## Assessment and afterlife
Contemporaries ranked Ziegfeld with P. T. Barnum and David Belasco among America's canniest impresarios, and he was known as "the glorifier of the American girl."[15](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/book-review-ziegfeld-and-his-follies/2015/07/17/ef3095e2-2a1f-11e5-a5ea-cf74396e59ec_story.html) • [6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/florenz-ziegfeld) Historians of immigration and business credit him with establishing the modern Broadway show, using standardized beauty as an integrating marker in a rapidly changing immigrant society, and helping build American leadership in global entertainment.[9](https://www.immigrantentrepreneurship.org/entries/florenz-ziegfeld-jr/) His life was filmed at least three times: *The Great Ziegfeld* (1936) with William Powell, which won two Oscars; *Ziegfeld Follies*, again with Powell alongside Fred Astaire; and the 1978 television movie *Ziegfeld: The Man and His Women*.[5](https://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/stars/florenz-ziegfeld/)
## References
1. [On March 21, 1867, Impresario Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. Was Born, Playbill](https://playbill.com/article/on-march-21-1867-impresario-florenz-ziegfeld-jr-was-born)
2. [Ziegfeld and His Follies: A Biography of Broadway's Greatest Producer, Cynthia and Sara Brideson, University Press of Kentucky (JSTOR)](https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt14tqd2z)
3. [Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. – Broadway Cast & Staff, IBDB](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/florenz-ziegfeld-jr-5539)
4. [Ziegfeld, Florenz, Treccani Enciclopedia on line](https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/florenz-ziegfeld/)
5. [Florenz Ziegfeld, Broadway: The American Musical, PBS](https://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/stars/florenz-ziegfeld/)
6. [Florenz Ziegfeld, Encyclopedia of World Biography, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/florenz-ziegfeld)
7. [Ziegfeld Girl: Image and Icon in Culture and Cinema, Linda Mizejewski, Duke University Press (JSTOR)](https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv11sn2hq)
8. [Today in History – March 21: Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/march-21/?loclr=blogtea)
9. [Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., Immigrant Entrepreneurship, Heather Hester, GHI Washington](https://www.immigrantentrepreneurship.org/entries/florenz-ziegfeld-jr/)
10. [Florenz Ziegfeld Collection, Performing Arts Collection PA-00103, Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin](https://norman.hrc.utexas.edu/fasearch/pdf/00249.pdf)
11. [Sandow: No Folly with Ziegfeld's First Glorification, Josh Buck, Iron Game History (May 1998)](https://starkcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/IGH1998_05_v05n01-Complete.pdf)
12. [Bulletin Supplement 12, German Historical Institute Washington](https://www.ghi-dc.org/fileadmin/publications/Bulletin_Supplement/Supplement_12/Supp12.pdf)
13. [Feature: Ziegfeld Follies, History Detectives, PBS](https://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/feature/ziegfeld-follies/index.html)
14. [America's Foremost Musical Institution: The Shuberts, Ziegfeld, and Their Battle for Supremacy, Jonas Westover, Oxford Academic](https://academic.oup.com/book/4336/chapter-abstract/146269963)
15. [Book review: 'Ziegfeld and His Follies', The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/book-review-ziegfeld-and-his-follies/2015/07/17/ef3095e2-2a1f-11e5-a5ea-cf74396e59ec_story.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Theater and dance › Stage practitioners and craft › Directors, producers, and managers › Theater producers and impresarios*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license