Virginia Biddle Virginia began her theatrical career at age thirteen in Independence, Kansas. Her first break came in 1921, when she was spotted dancing at the College Inn Club in Chicago. She was immediately signed for Ziegfeld’s Rio Rita, Show Boat, Hot-Cha, Smiles, and the last true Ziegfeld Follies in 1931. She died in 2003, following an automobile accident.

Fanny Brice An enormously popular comedienne, immortalized by Barbra Streisand in the film Funny Girl. Fanny performed on the local vaudeville circuits until hired by Ziegfeld for the 1910 Follies, where she was an instant hit. Between 1910 and 1923, she appeared in eight editions of the Follies, and then appeared in one more in 1936 – four years after Ziegfeld’s death. A major star in film and radio, Fanny died in Hollywood in 1951, at the age of 59.

Eddie Cantor Born in 1892 on New York City’s Lower East Side. Over a span of sixty years, Eddie Cantor was a giant force in the field of musical comedy. Ziegfeld hired him for the 1916 Midnight Frolic, and he also appeared in the 1917-1918 Follies. Eddie left Ziegfeld in 1919, due to controversy over the Actors’ Equity struggle. He returned to Ziegfeld in 1927, at which time he was already well on his way to superstar status in films and radio. Eddie died in California in 1964, at the age of 72.

Eleanor Dana London-born in 1904, Eleanor Dana O’Connell was president of the Ziegfeld Club from 1996 to 1998. Her Ziegfeld debut was in the 1921 Midnight Frolic. The following two years she was a featured Follies dancer. Appearances on national television and at numerous benefits shortly before her death once again made her a familiar figure in Broadway theatrical circles. “Dana” died in 1998, at the Actors’ Fund Home in Englewood, New Jersey.

Dolly Sisters Born in Hungary in 1892, Jenny and Rosie Dolly were identical twins. Famous headliners in vaudeville of the early 1900’s, they appeared in the 1911 Ziegfeld Follies and 1916 Midnight Frolic. Both girls spent most of the 1920’s in European music halls, and became international celebrities. In a deep depression, Jenny hung herself in 1941. Rosie died in 1970.

Dolores English-born Kathleen Mary Rose was professionally known as “Dolores,” the lady of White Peacock fame. She did not sing or dance but would glide across a stage with such elegance and regal bearing that she became a principal with her first Follies appearance in 1917. She was also in the 1918-1919 editions. Retiring from the stage in 1923, she returned to Europe, married an American millionaire, and lived in Paris for the rest of her life. She died there in 1974, at the age of 85.

Marcelle Earle A nine-year Follies-Frolic veteran, Marcelle Earle, “the girl with the long dark curls” was the cover girl for many illustrations by the noted artist Raphael Kirchner. Her son, Arthur Homme, Jr, published her autobiography, Midnight Frolic, posthumously in 1999.

Charles Eaton Youngest of the five Eaton siblings, Charles joined the 1921 Follies at the age of ten in the title role of Dauphin in Birthday of the Dauphin. As a young adult, he went on to a successful film career in Hollywood. In 1929, he shared over-the-title billing with Helen Twelvetrees in Fox’s first sound film, The Ghost Talks. Charles passed away at the Travis Ranch in Norman, Oklahoma, in 2004, at the age of 93.

Doris Eaton Doris Eaton joined the 1918 Ziegfeld Follies in 1918 at the age of 14. Born in 1904, she was possibly the youngest dancer ever hired for the Follies by Florenz Ziegfeld. She had begun performing in stock companies at the age of four and made her last stage appearance in New York City two weeks before her death at the age of 106. She appeared three successive years in the Follies and went on to a successful Hollywood and British film career. Exiting show business in the late 20's she secured the first Arthur Murray dance studio franchise. This led to a long and successful businesss career. She married a dance student, entrepreneur Paul Travis. Together they owned and operated a horse ranch in Norman, Oklahoma. Doris sold the ranch in 2009.

Mary Eaton She joined the 1920 Follies, and was almost immediately heralded as the successor to Marilyn Miller. Blonde and petite, she was an accomplished ballerina. She was a principal Follies attraction for three years, and went on to star in several other Broadway musicals. Heeding the call of Hollywood, Mary starred in Ziegfeld’s movie production of Glorifying the American Girl. She was born in Norfolk, Virginia, and died in Hollywood in 1948, at the age of 47.

Pearl Eaton Eldest of the Eaton girls, Pearl was born in 1898. She arrived in New York at an early age, studied dance, and appeared in several Ned Wayburn productions. She and her sister Doris first appeared with Ziegfeld in the 1918 Follies. Pearl was a featured dancer in the Midnight Frolic between 1918 and 1920. Her professional career ended in Hollywood, where she was a dance director and choreographer at RKO Studios.

W. C. Fields Born in Philadelphia in 1879. A professional juggler at age fourteen, at age twenty-one, W. C. Fields was a major headliner. He was a principal Follies attraction from 1915 to 1925. Later, in Hollywood, he made over forty films. To the day of his death in Pasadena, California, in 1946, he remained a top box-office attraction.

Flo Hart A Follies showgirl from 1912 to 1917, Flo Hart was known as a girl of great independence whose natural attractiveness was matched by her generosity to fellow performers and humanitarian causes. Leaving the stage in the early 1920’s, Flo, financially secure, departed for an ill-fated attempt to establish a Hollywood career.

Madeleine Janis A native of Montclair, New Jersey, Madeleine made her Follies debut in 1927. She subsequently appeared in a succession of Broadway hits including Lady Be Good and Four Coconuts. She was one of the main organizers of the Ziegfeld Club in 1936, and served as its president from 1968 to 1971. Her son James was a member of Congress and a candidate for Governor of New Jersey. Madeleine died June 15, 1983, in Essex Falls, New Jersey.

Lucile Layton Born in New York City in 1903. Lucile’s Ziegfeld debut was in the 1922 Midnight Frolic. She then toured with the Follies road companies in 1922 and 1923. Although she was not a trained dancer, she was nevertheless a favorite of Ziegfeld’s dance director Ned Wayburn. She died at her home in Yonkers, New York, in 2004, at the age of 102.

Lillian Lorraine “She is the most beautiful woman in the world…” So spoke Ziegfeld of his first American-born superstar, long the elusive love of Ziegfeld’s life. From 1909 to 1920, Lillian Lorraine was a major headliner in four editions of the Follies and several of the Midnight Frolics. A fast-living, free spirit, Lillian was almost a daily regular in the gossip columns. She was one of the highest paid stage and screen actresses of her time. Born in San Francisco in 1892, she died in New York in 1955, in obscure poverty. Buried in a Potter’s Field grave, she was rescued from that ignominious end by friends. She was age 63 at the time of her death.

Marilyn Miller Joining the 1918 Follies, twenty-year-old Marilyn brought a youthful exuberance to the Ziegfeld fold, and was a major star in Ziegfeld's constellation of beautiful women. With the Follies only two years, she starred in three additional Ziegfeld productions and three Hollywood musical extravaganzas. She was first married to Frank Carter, a Ziegfeld principal who was killed in a motoring accident. Her second marriage was to Jack Pickford, wastrel younger brother of Mary Pickford. This marriage ended in divorce. Her third matrimonial venture was with dancer Chet O'Brien. She died at the age of 37, and is buried with Frank Carter in Woodlawn Cemetery, the Bronx, and New York.

Jessie Reed Among the highest paid of the Ziegfeld showgirls, Jessie Reed played in the Follies from 1919, when she was named “Follies Girl of the Year,” to 1923. After three failed marriages and heavy alcohol abuse, Jessie died in 1940, destitute and in poor health.

Anastasia Reilly The green-eyed dream girl of the mid-1920’s made her Ziegfeld Follies debut in 1922. Marjorie Farnsworth wrote of her that “The dreams she evoked among males are better imitated than explicitly described…” Retiring from the stage, she married a Ziegfeld nephew and lived out her life in the Middle West.

Harry Richman For his time of celebrity, Harry Richman was “Mr. Broadway.” Known for his trademark straw hat, cane and wing-tipped shoes, he appeared in George White’s Scandals from 1916 to 1928. He was Master of Ceremonies for the last authentic Ziegfeld Follies in 1931. “Club Richman” on Park Avenue was a café society magnet throughout the 1920’s. His second wife was Ziegfeld showgirl Hazel Forbes. He died in Los Angeles in 1972.

Will Rogers American Folk Hero and Legend, and a native of Oklahoma. Will Rogers made his Ziegfeld Follies debut in 1916, after earlier years as a cowhand and circus performer. He was personally very close to Ziegfeld. He performed in seven editions of the Follies from 1916 to 1925. From 1918 to 1935, he made over sixty films. Will Rogers died with his co-pilot, Wiley Post, in an Alaskan plane crash in 1935.

Savoy and Brennan This immensely popular comedy team joined the Follies in 1916 at the New Amsterdam Theatre. They were also featured in the 1918 edition and several of the Midnight Frolics. Bert Savoy was born in Boston in 1888, and made his mark on the musical comedy stage playing to his straight-man partner, Jay Brennan. In 1923, Savoy was struck and killed by lightning on a Long Island Beach. Brennan continued as a solo act until 1945, and died in 1961, a lifelong bachelor.

John Steel “Prince of American Tenors,” John Steel, much married, man-about-town, was a featured principal in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1919, 1920 and 1921. He was best known for his introduction of Irving Berlin’s “A Pretty Girl Is Like A Melody,” in the 1919 Follies. Born of Scottish-Irish parents in Montclair, New Jersey, he died in 1971.

Ruby Stevens Brooklyn-born in 1907, Ruby Stevens made her Ziegfeld Follies debut in 1922. She toured with the 1922-1923 road companies. As Barbara Stanwyck, she was one of a handful of Ziegfeld graduates to achieve superstardom in films and, later, in television. Her first silent film was in 1927, and she went on to make over eighty movies. She died in Hollywood in 1990, at the age of 82.

Avonne Taylor Born Evangeline Taylor in Springfield, Ohio, in 1899. She was one of the ravishing beauties of the 1920’s Follies. She appeared in as many as three shows at one time, including ongoing roles in Sally and Kid Boots. She was also featured on the Ziegfeld Roof in the Midnight Frolic. Avonne was a tabloid favorite, often referred to as the prettiest of Ziegfeld’s glamorized showgirls. Her beauty led her to Hollywood, where she was chosen by Mary Pickford to co-star in My Best Girl, a 1927 film. She chalked up six marriages, the most notable being to asbestos heir Tommy Manville. She lived abroad for many years and, also, in California, as well as Manhattan. Illness prompted her return to Ohio in 1989, where she spent her last years with her nephew’s family. In 1992, she was one of nine surviving, original Follies girls. She passed away in 1993, at the age of 93. Her grandnephew, Kirk, is, presently involved in research for a possible book on her life story.

Norma Terris Creator of the roles of “Magnolia” and “Kim” in Ziegfeld’s 1927 production of Show Boat. Earlier she had performed in vaudeville under the aegis of Gertrude Hoffman. She appeared in the 1920 Follies and Midnight Frolic as well as Ziegfeld’s 1921 Nine O’Clock Revue. Possessor of a magnificent voice, Norma had numerous starring roles with the St. Louis Municipal Opera Company. Long active in many philanthropic endeavors and, particularly, the U.S. Humane Society, Norma Terris died in 1989.

Olive Thomas Theatrical folklore describes Olive Thomas as legendary “ghost of the New Amsterdam Theatre.” She was a Follies girl for both the Follies and Midnight Frolic of 1915 and 1916. Her beauty carried her to Hollywood and a brief, highly successful film career. Married to Jack Pickford, Olive died a tragic and painful death in Paris at the age of 22. The circumstances surrounding the nature of her death still swirl in controversy. She is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, the Bronx, New York –a stone’s throw from the Marilyn Miller–Frank Carter mausoleum.

Dorothy Van Alst Brooklyn-born Dorothy Van Alst was a featured dancer in the Follies from 1922 through 1925. She joined the Follies when Ziegfeld bought the show Keep Cool and combined it with his Follies of 1922 touring road company. A popular headliner in vaudeville and cabarets, Dorothy’s show business career spanned thirteen years. She was born in 1904, and died in Florida in 1997.

Bert Wheeler First appeared on the vaudeville stage at the age of thirteen in Gus Edwards’ Revues. With his wife Betty, he appeared in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1922 and 1923. Ziegfeld brought him together with Robert Woolsey and the team of Wheeler & Woolsey was born. Together with Astaire & Rogers, the team of Wheeler & Woolsey is credited with saving the RKO Studios from financial disaster.

Bert Williams Born in the West Indies in 1874, Bert Williams appeared in eight editions of the Follies from 1910 to 1919. His trademark song was “Nobody” which, by popular demand, he sang in seven of the eight editions. He was the first African-American to truly achieve stardom in Broadway musical theater. Even at the height of his fame, he was subjected to many instances of racial prejudice. Always a heavy drinker and smoker, he developed severe cardiac problems. Bert died in New York on March 4, 1922.