Description
Book Synopsis After a meteoric ascent on Broadway that began with Ziegfeld''s 1910 Follies, Lillian Lorraine went on to become one of the most famous entertainers in America. Her passionately lived life made her a prime target for the tabloid gossip doyens of the day. This biography recounts the early West Coast life of this superstar as well as her coronation on Broadway, her work in silent film, and her sexual liaisons that helped her gain her notoriety. It also covers her eventual disappearance from public life, her alcoholism and her death, which went largely unnoticed. She was buried in 1955 in a pauper''s grave. The book includes first-hand personal anecdotes and observations from recently discovered tapes, which were recorded by a confidante of Lorraine''s.
Trade Reviewby interviewing some of the last survivors of the Ziegfeld days and carefully combing through secondary sources with a critical eye, Hanson has created an excellent biography that not only examines a fascinating subject but also explores an era a century past."" -
Library Journal.
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments vii
- Foreword by Richard Ziegfeld 1
- Preface 5
- 1. The Trunk 7
- 2. The Early Years 10
- 3. Coast to Coast 15
- 4. Broadway Bound 17
- 5. The Promoter 20
- 6. Ill- Fated Triangle 24
- 7. The Breakthrough: Up, Up and Away—with Sophie 27
- 8. Affair of the Necklace 35
- 9. Enter Bert Williams, Fanny Brice and the Blonde Venus 37
- 10. The Ziegfeld Follies of 1910—Atlantic City and Beyond 41
- 11. Enter Nanny Johnson, My Mother 48
- 12. PR Woes and the Denver Caper 53
- 13. Anna-Liane-Flo: The Ansonia 56
- 14. Canadian Getaway 60
- 15. A Split and Trouble in Paradise 77
- 16. Ziegfeld vs. Gresheimer 83
- 17. Catch- Up Time on the Rumor Mill 86
- 18. Live Reflections 91
- 19. Enter Billie Burke and the Ghost of the New Amsterdam 96
- 20. Lillian, on Her Own 102
- 21. Ziegfeldian Potpourri 106
- 22. Hollywood Beckons 109
- 23. The Broadway Fast Track and Ziegfeld’s Frolic 120
- 24. The Follies of 1918 125
- 25. Ziegfeld’s Roof Garden and Lillian’s Blue Devil 140
- 26. Detour and Scandal on the Fast Track 146
- 27. Marilyn Miller and Frank Carter—Broadway’s Golden Couple 155
- 28. Lillian Faces Financial Ruin and a Fleeting Comeback 158
- 29. Dimming Footlights and the Bessie Poole Affair 161
- 30. End of an Era and Beyond 170
- 31. Frazzled Silver Lining 176
- 32. Lillian Hits the Skids—Ziegfeld Redux 181
- 33. Excommunication 185
- 34. Final Curtain—Oblivion 186
- 35. Coda to Lillian and Her Times 191
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- Epilogue 195
- Lillian Lorraine Stage Credits and Filmography 197
- Bibliography 201
- Index 203
