Fanny Brice, early Ziegfeld Follies portrait photograph

Fanny Brice (October 29, 1891 - May 29, 1951) was a United States comedian, singer, and entertainer.

"Fanny Brice" was the stage name of Fania Borach, born in New York City, the third child of relatively well-off saloon owners of Hungarian Jewish decent. In 1908, she dropped out of school to work in a burlesque review. She is best known for her association with Florenz Ziegfeld, and headlined his Ziegfield Follies starting in 1910 and continuing into the 1930s.

In the 1921 "Follies" she was featured singing the tango "My Man", which became a big hit and was much associated with Brice in the United States for many years. She made phonograph records of it and appeared singing it in sound film.

During the late 1930s, she had her own radio show which featured her as a bratty toddler known as "Baby Snooks."

Best known as a comic, Brice was a multitalented performer, able to sing songs humorously or with great serious emotion. She was a master at both verbal and physical comedy.

Fanny Brice died in Hollywood, California.

Film tributes

A (very) loosely-based Hollywood biopic of Brice appeared in 1939 entitled Rose of Washington Square starring Alice Faye and Tyrone Power.

Barbra Streisand starred as Brice in the 1964 Broadway musical Funny Girl, which made her an overnight sensation. In 1968, she won the Academy Award as Best Actress for reprising her role. In 1975, a sequel, Funny Lady, was produced. However, these interpretations of Fanny Brice's life were not always so accurate.

Film stories verses reality

Brice's second husband was gambler Julius "Nicky" Arnstein. Funny Girl is a prime example of how films usually take liberties with the lives of historical figures and/or events. The film suggested that Arnstein turned to crime because he didn't want to live off of Fanny; the real Nicky shamelessly sponged off her. The film also suggested he sold phony bonds. He was actually part of a gang that stole $5 million of Wall Street securities. Instead of turning himself in, as he did in the movie, Nicky went into hiding. When he finally surrendered, he did not plead guilty, as, again, he did in the movie, but fought the charges for 4 years. Two children were born of the marriage, but only their daughter is depicted.

After Arnstein served his sentence at Fort Leavenworth (he previously did time at Sing Sing, where Fanny visited him every week), a heartsick Brice divorced him. She later married Billy Rose. That marriage, too, failed.

External links

• Brice on eb.web
• Arnold Rothstein, Nicky Arnstein and Fanny Brice