On 8th June, 1907 Florenz Ziegfeld produced the first Ziegfeld Follies revue on Broadway in New York City and the combination of seminudity, pageantry, and comedy proved successful until the 1930s when the Great Depression ended the show. Ziegfeld required that every woman in the Follies have a 36-inch bust, a 26-inch waist, and 38-inch hips. Some famous Ziegfeld girls include Eve Arden, Nora Bayes, Fanny Brice, Billie Burke, Paulette Goddard, Anna Held, Marilyn Miller, Ann Pennington, and Barbara Stanwyck.

Ziegfeld Midnight Frolic of 1920

Ziegfeld Beauties - Photos by Alfred Cheney Johnston

The Ziegfeld Showgirls - Photos by Alfred Cheney Johnston

Alfred Cheney Johnston's Ballerinas - Ziegfeld

Jazz Age Beauties - Alfred Cheney Johnston's Ziegfeld Photos

The Search For Beauty with Florenz Ziegfeld on Brunettes

"Hey Feller!" - Showboat (1929)

Very rare footage of the original Broadway production of Showboat at the Ziegfeld Theatre, which played from 27 December, 1927 to 4 May, 1929. This segment (along with the "Queenie's Ballyhoo" clip) was filmed for a special prologue to the 1929 Universal film version of the musical - one of three film adaptations of the show.

Labels: broadway, celebrity, follies, new york, showboat, usa, zeigfeld

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