Z Follies of 1921–Second Hand Rose, Fanny Brice

Shuffle Along opened on Broadway on May 23, 1921, and the Ziegfeld Follies of 1921 opened about one month later on June 21. Among the many stars in this revue was a woman named Fanny Brice. She was billed as a comic, much like W.C. Fields. However, she was much, much more. We have not had time to research her life; however, a man named Stu has posted a wonderful summary on youtube. We are going to repeat the first half of it now:

On the stage and on the radio, Fanny Brice was one of America’s favorite comics for more than four decades. Born Fanny Borach on October 29, 1891, she grew up in Newark, New Jersey, where her parents owned seven saloons. She had an early taste of show business while performing impromptu song and dance numbers on tables at the Borachs’ establishments.

Fed up with her husband’s gambling, Brice’s mother, Rose, left him and moved her children to Brooklyn, New York. There, at 14, Brice made her performing debut at Keeney’s Theater, where she won first prize in a talent contest. She made the rounds at other amateur night competitions before landing parts in several burlesque shows. Afraid that her skinny frame would keep her out of chorus lines, Brice found a better outlet for her talent while appearing in a show titled The College Girls (1909–10). Performing “Sadie Salome,” a comic song by Irving Berlin, she sang in the character of a Jewish girl whose family was appalled by her pursuit of a stage career. The act established Brice as a comedian and introduced audiences to her comically exaggerated Jewish accent, which would become one of her trademarks.

While touring in The College Girls, Brice met and married Frank White, a barber. The couple stayed together for a mere three days. They were not officially divorced until 1913.

Having established herself in burlesque, Brice was hired in 1910 to perform in the Ziegfeld Follies. She would remain associated with the vaudeville extravaganza on and off for 14 years, eventually becoming the Follies’ biggest star. Brice became well-known for her comic singing routines. Particularly popular was her performance of “Second Hand Rose,” a song about the hapless daughter of a secondhand goods dealer, and her parodies of celebrities such as screen vamp Theda Bara.”

Let’s listen to Fanny as she sings “Second Hand Rose.”