Anna Held And The Birth Of Ziegfeld's Broadway
by Eve Golden /
2000 / English / PDF
13.2 MB Download
" Anna Held (1870?-1918), a petite woman with an hourglass
figure, was America's most popular musical comedy star during the
two decades preceding World War I. In the colorful world of New
York theater during La Belle Époque, she epitomized everything
that was glamorous, sophisticated, and suggestive about
turn-of-the-century Broadway. Overcoming an impoverished life as
an orphan to become a music-hall star in Paris, Held rocketed to
fame in America. From 1896 to 1910, she starred in hit after hit
and quickly replaced Lillian Russell as the darling of the
theatrical world. The first wife of legendary producer Florenz
Ziegfeld Jr., Held was the brains and inspiration behind his
Follies and shared his knack for publicity. Together, they
brought the Paris scene to New York, complete with lavish
costumes and sets and a chorus of stunningly beautiful women,
dubbed ""The Anna Held Girls."" While Held was known for a
champagne giggle as well as for her million-dollar bank account,
there was a darker side to her life. She concealed her Jewish
background and her daughter from a previous marriage. She
suffered through her two husbands' gambling problems and
Ziegfeld's blatant affairs with showgirls. With the outbreak of
fighting in Europe, Held returned to France to support the war
effort. She entertained troops and delivered medical supplies,
and she was once briefly captured by the German army. Anna Held
and the Birth of Ziegfeld's Broadway reveals one of the most
remarkable women in the history of theatrical entertainment. With
access to previously unseen family records and photographs, Eve
Golden has uncovered the details of an extraordinary woman in the
vibrant world of 1900s New York.
" Anna Held (1870?-1918), a petite woman with an hourglass
figure, was America's most popular musical comedy star during the
two decades preceding World War I. In the colorful world of New
York theater during La Belle Époque, she epitomized everything
that was glamorous, sophisticated, and suggestive about
turn-of-the-century Broadway. Overcoming an impoverished life as
an orphan to become a music-hall star in Paris, Held rocketed to
fame in America. From 1896 to 1910, she starred in hit after hit
and quickly replaced Lillian Russell as the darling of the
theatrical world. The first wife of legendary producer Florenz
Ziegfeld Jr., Held was the brains and inspiration behind his
Follies and shared his knack for publicity. Together, they
brought the Paris scene to New York, complete with lavish
costumes and sets and a chorus of stunningly beautiful women,
dubbed ""The Anna Held Girls."" While Held was known for a
champagne giggle as well as for her million-dollar bank account,
there was a darker side to her life. She concealed her Jewish
background and her daughter from a previous marriage. She
suffered through her two husbands' gambling problems and
Ziegfeld's blatant affairs with showgirls. With the outbreak of
fighting in Europe, Held returned to France to support the war
effort. She entertained troops and delivered medical supplies,
and she was once briefly captured by the German army. Anna Held
and the Birth of Ziegfeld's Broadway reveals one of the most
remarkable women in the history of theatrical entertainment. With
access to previously unseen family records and photographs, Eve
Golden has uncovered the details of an extraordinary woman in the
vibrant world of 1900s New York.