Florenz Ziegfeld

Florenz Ziegfeld Jr.
Florenz Ziegfeld in 1928
Born	Florenz Edward Ziegfeld Jr. (1867-03-21)March 21, 1867 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	July 22, 1932(1932-07-22) (aged 65) Hollywood, California, U.S.
Occupation	Producer, impresario
Spouse(s)	Billie Burke (married 1914–1932)
Partner(s)	Anna Held (1897–1913)

Florenz Edward Ziegfeld Jr. (March 21, 1867 – July 22, 1932), popularly known as Flo Ziegfeld, was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the Ziegfeld Follies (1907–1931), inspired by the Folies Bergère of Paris. He also produced the musical Show Boat. He was known as the "glorifier of the American girl". Ziegfeld is a member of the American Theater Hall of Fame.

Florenz Edward Ziegfeld Jr. was born on March 21, 1867, in Chicago, Illinois. His mother, Rosalie (née de Hez), who was born in Belgium, was the grandniece of General Count Étienne Maurice Gérard. His father, Florenz Ziegfeld, Sr., was a German immigrant whose father was the mayor of Jever in Friesland. Ziegfeld was baptized in his mother's Roman Catholic church. His father was Lutheran.

As a child Ziegfeld witnessed first-hand the Chicago fire of 1871. His father ran the Chicago Musical College and later opened a nightclub, the Trocadero, to obtain business from the 1893 World's Fair. To help his father's nightclub succeed, Ziegfeld hired and managed the strongman, Eugen Sandow.

During a trip to Europe, Ziegfeld came across a young Polish-French singer by the name of Anna Held. His promotion of Anna Held in America brought about her meteoric rise to national fame. It was Held who first suggested an American imitation of the Parisian Follies to Ziegfeld. Her success in a series of his Broadway shows, especially The Parisian Model (1906), was a major reason for his starting a series of lavish revues in 1907. Much of Held's popularity was due to Ziegfeld's creation of publicity stunts and rumors fed to the American press.