They say it's not the years marked on a headstone that count- it's the dash in between. My grandmother, Marion Thompson Morin, lived her 'dash' with grace, dignity and applause. Her legacy is one I've not come close to matching, although genetics will run their course. Many members of my family, including myself, were certainly bitten by the show business bug in one form or another.
I digress. My story, or search, is not about myself, nor anyone else, except my grandmother. I write this in the hope of preserving her memory, bringing to life a part of her I never knew, and seeking to fill in the gaps of her life, her friends & her career.
Is it mere curiosity or more? It's more, although I can't place a word on it. However, like the sun rises and sets each day, the part of her within me cannot help but wonder, ask, research and explore the late Marion Thompson Morin's life- or Grammy, as I knew her.
I hope you enjoy taking this journey with me. Perhaps someone out there will have a tid bit of history to help complete this puzzle. Quite possibly, there is someone who has information about one of the many famous people my grandmother knew during her performances in Fifty Million Frenchmen or George White's Scandals. Lastly, out of love for the woman my grandmother was, love for the theater and its rich history, I hope you enjoy the small piece of history I can contribute.
The theater will forever remain in the hearts of people all over the world...sparking imaginations and lifting spirits like no movie screen ever has or could. (And, I love movies as much as the next person!)
BUT...
There's magic in the air at a live performance~ an energy shared between perfomer and audience, that no movie or television screen can duplicate.
That's the magic of Broadway~ the magic of theater. Can you feel it?
The Ziegfeld Follies, a product of the great impresario Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., were considered to have the most stunning showgirls in the world during their Broadway reign from 1907 until Ziegfeld's death in 1932. Inspired in part by Paris's Les Folies Bergère, the show featured chorus girls performing variety-style musical numbers with elaborate staging and sensational costumes. Ziegfeld was born in Chicago, where he and his father opened a variety hall in 1893. Three years later, while scouting talent in Europe, Ziegfeld met the stunning Anna Held. A year later, he convinced her to marry him and to perform in the first Follies in New York. Many Ziegfeld Girls, such as Fannie Brice, Billie Burke and Barbara Stanwyck, went on to have successful Hollywood careers. ds
