Florenz Ziegfeld's Obituary

Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. was born on March 21, 1867. His father was German, and he opened and was the head of the College of Music. Ziegfeld had two brothers and one sister, with whom he was raised by his mother. His mother was a strict but loving person (Kenrick). According to Kenrick, Ziegfeld had a knack for creative publicity; he once sold tickets to people so they could see an invisible goldfish, however, it was only a bowl full of water. When he was younger, Ziegfeld was sent briefly to a cattle ranch, but he returned home soon after. In Ziegfeld’s obituary, it is said that he was raised around with a background of Beethoven, Schumann, and Bach.
Florenz Ziegfeld’s career highlights include his annual Follies, with the slogan “Glorifying the American Girl,” along with the musicals Sally (1920) and Show Boat (1927). His start with production was making Eugene Sandow the star of his father’s exhibit for the World’s Fair (Kenrick). The Ziegfeld Follies ran for a total of twenty-three years. There were four more productions after his death in 1932 (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica). He stopped the showing of the Follies during 1927, however, he resumed production during 1930, just as the Great Depression was starting. During the hiatus, Ziegfeld produced shows such as Rio Rita and Show
He was said to have won large sums and lost equivalent or more of those same sums. Ziegfeld returned to America with inspiration from the Parisian Folies Bergére. However, the Follies that Ziegfeld produced were less risqué (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica). His father could also be considered an influence because he taught music at a collegiate level, so music was a constant surrounding, however, the younger Ziegfeld chose to go the theatrical route whereas the elder taught classically