Ziegfeld 101
A Gallery of Ziegfeld Girls
by John Kenrick
The photos below are thumbnails – click on them to see full size versions.
Much has been said and written about the Ziegfeld Girls, those now legendary ladies of beauty, elegance and glamour. Here are some memorable images from the Musicals101 archives.
 Ziegfeld
never missed an opportunity to publicize his second wife, Billie Burke. Here
she is on the playbill cover for Simple Simon – a show she had no connection
with. More photos of her appeared inside, but you won't find one of the show's star,
comedian Ed Wynn. |
 Ziegfeld
often found no-cost ways for his productions to promote each other. Marilyn
Miller never appeared in Show Boat, but this portrait of her graced that
musical's program cover. Billie Burke had a full page photo inside, but she could
not have been thrilled to see her husband's sometime-mistress on the cover. |
 As
early as the 1911 Follies, Ziegfeld spoofed his own ideas of beauty and glamour.
Note the object of this love struck beau's affections.
|
 Katherine
Burke (no relation to Billie) crowned by one of the massive headdresses designer John Harkrider turned
into a Follies trademark.
|
 Lillian Lorraine, who's heavy drinking and scandalous lifestyle took her from
Follies stardom to destitution in her later years. |
 When Marilyn Miller graduated from the Follies, toe dancer
Mary Eaton took her place. Attractive and a superior dancer, she enjoyed immediate
popularity. |
 Jean
Ackerman, Jean Audree, Myrna Darby and Evelyn Groves in costumes by
John Herkrider -- some more revealing than others. |
 Ziegfeld
had the lovely Dolores silently parade about the Follies stage in
magnificent costumes -- including this much-admired lace fan which she wore in
the Midnight Frolic. Remnants of this delicate piece still exist in
the Museum of the City of New York's costume collection.
|