This book reveals how Fields became a character comedian while performing in Broadway’s most illustrious revue, the Ziegfeld Follies. As the first biography to use the recently opened Fields Papers at the Motion Picture Academy, the book explores how Fields years as a Follies entertainer portraying a beleaguered husband and a captivating conman became a landmark turning point in his career, leading to his fame as a masterful film comedian. The book also untangles a web of mysteries about Fields’s turbulent private life, from the heartrending stories about the tragic relationship with his calculating wife who refused to divorce him, to his estranged son controlled by his mother, to the seven-year extra-marital affair with a chorus girl that led to the birth of an unwanted child. This electrifying saga illuminates a complex dual personality, whirling from tenderness to brusqueness, who endured so much anguish in order to bring the gift of laughter to millions. Although vilified by Ziegfeld and assailed by demons, Fields survived the cutthroat rigors of Broadway show biz to become a legendary American iconoclast and cultural icon.

In this definitive biography, Cynthia Brideson and Sara Brideson offer a comprehensive look at both the life and legacy of Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. Drawing on a wide range of sources, they provide a lively and well-rounded account of Ziegfeld as a father, a husband, a son, a friend, a lover, and an alternately ruthless and benevolent employer. Lavishly illustrated, this is an intimate and in-depth portrait of a figure who profoundly changed American entertainment.

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.

The many con men, gangsters, and drug lords portrayed in popular culture are examples of the dark side of the American dream. Viewers are fascinated by these twisted versions of heroic American archetypes, like the self-made man and the entrepreneur. Applying the critical skills he developed as a Shakespeare scholar, Paul A. Cantor finds new depth in familiar landmarks of popular culture. He invokes Shakespearean models to show that the concept of the tragic hero can help us understand why we are both repelled by and drawn to figures such as Vito and Michael Corleone or Walter White. Beginning with Huckleberry Finn and ending with The Walking Dead, Cantor also uncovers the link between the American dream and frontier life. In imaginative variants of a Wild West setting, popular culture has served up disturbing—and yet strangely compelling—images of what happens when people move beyond the borders of law and order. Cantor demonstrates that, at its best, popular culture raises thoughtful questions about the validity and viability of the American dream, thus deepening our understanding of America itself.

Charles Spencer Chaplin was a stage performer before he was a filmmaker, and it was in English music hall that he learned the rudiments of his art. The last film he made in the United States, Limelight, was a tribute to the music hall days of his youth. As a parallel to Chaplin's past, the film was set in 1914, the year he left the stage for a Hollywood career. This collection of essays examines Limelight and the history of English music hall. Featuring contributions from the world's top Chaplin and music hall historians, as well as previously unpublished interviews with collaborators who worked on Limelight, the book offers new insight into one of Chaplin's most important pictures and the British form of entertainment that inspired it. Essays consider how and why Chaplin made Limelight, other artists who came out of English music hall, and the film's international appeal, among other topics. The book is filled with rare photographs, many published for the first time, sourced from the Chaplin archives and the private collections of other performers and co-stars.

A basic reference book for anyone interested in musical films, it contains over 1600 entries covering not only the most important actors, composers, lyricists, directors, choreographers, and producers but also the most memorable songs and films.