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Friday, May 14, 2010

The Last of the Ziegfeld Follies Girls Dies at 106


For a quarter century, Florenz Ziegfeld auditioned hundreds of thousands of young women vying to become chorus girls, the Ziegfeld Girls, those lace and chiffon visions of glamour who were as much a part of the Jazz Age as Stutz Bearcats, the Charleston and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
In all, from 1907 to 1931, he picked about 3,000, and on Tuesday the last Ziegfeld Girl died. She was Doris Eaton Travis (above), and she was 106. She died of an aneurysm in Commerce, Mich., a nephew, Joe Eaton, said.

FYI: From 1913 to 1927 the home of the Ziegfeld Follies was the New Amsterdam Theater on 42nd Street.  After the theater fell into disrepair and was abandoned in the 70's/80's, Disney bought it in the early 90's and restored the beautiful space to its Ziegfeld glory days.  The New Amsterdam Theater is currently home to the Broadway version of Mary Poppins.


During the 100th birthday celebration of the New Amsterdam Theater in 2003, Doris Eaton Travis returned to the legendary stage one last time.  She was 99 years old at the time.

1 comment:

  1. That's neat about her being there for the celebration.

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