Fanny Brice facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Fanny Brice
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Brice circa 1920
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| Born |
Fania Borach
October 29, 1891 New York City, U.S.
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| Died | May 29, 1951 (aged 59) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
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| Occupation | Comedian, song model, singer, actress |
| Years active | 1908–1951 |
| Spouse(s) |
Frank White
(m. 1910; div. 1913)Julius "Nicky" Arnstein
(m. 1918; div. 1927)Billy Rose
(m. 1929; div. 1938) |
| Children | 2, including William Brice |
Fanny Brice (born Fania Borach; October 29, 1891 – May 29, 1951) was a famous American comedian, singer, and actress. She performed on stage, in movies, and on the radio. Many people know her as the star of the popular radio comedy show The Baby Snooks Show.
Fanny Brice's life story was later told in the musical Funny Girl. Actresses like Barbra Streisand, Beanie Feldstein, and Lea Michele have played her in this musical.
Contents
Early Life and Stage Career
Fania Borach was born in New York City. She was the third of four children. Her parents, Rose and Charles Borach, owned saloons. Her younger brother, Lew Brice, also became an entertainer.
In 1908, Fanny left school to perform in a type of show called a burlesque revue. Two years later, she joined Florenz Ziegfeld's famous Ziegfeld Follies. She was a main star in the Follies in 1910 and 1911. She returned to the Follies in 1921 and continued performing with them into the 1930s.
In the 1921 Follies, Fanny sang "My Man". This song became a huge hit and her signature song. She also introduced another popular song, "Second Hand Rose", in the same show. She recorded many songs for Victor and Columbia Records. Her 1921 recording of "My Man" even won a Grammy Hall of Fame Award after she passed away.
Fanny Brice also appeared in several Broadway shows, including Fioretta and Sweet and Low. She acted in films like My Man (1928) and Everybody Sing (1938) with Judy Garland. She was one of the few original Ziegfeld performers to play herself in the movies The Great Ziegfeld (1936) and Ziegfeld Follies (1946).
Radio Star: Baby Snooks
Fanny Brice started on radio in 1930. Her first regular radio show was The Chase and Sanborn Hour in 1933.
From the 1930s until her death in 1951, Fanny was famous for playing a mischievous toddler named Snooks. She first performed this character in a Follies skit. The character, Baby Snooks, first appeared on radio in 1936 on CBS. Alan Reed played Lancelot Higgins, her "Daddy."
In 1944, the Baby Snooks sketches became their own half-hour comedy show. It was first called Post Toasties Time but soon became The Baby Snooks Show. On this show, Hanley Stafford played Daddy. Fanny Brice was very dedicated to the character. She would even wear a toddler costume while performing for the radio studio audience, even though she was 45 years old when the character became popular.
Fanny loved playing Snooks. She once said, "Snooks is just the kid I used to be. She's my kind of youngster... With all her deviltry, she is still a good kid, never vicious or mean. I love Snooks, and when I play her I do it as seriously as if she were real. I am Snooks."
Television and Later Years
Fanny Brice and Hanley Stafford brought Baby Snooks to television only once. This was in June 1950 on Popsicle Parade of Stars. Fanny later said that the Baby Snooks character didn't work as well when people could see her.
She returned to radio with Stafford and the Snooks character in November 1950. They appeared on The Big Show with Tallulah Bankhead.
Fanny Brice lived in a house in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, built in 1938.
Personal Life
Fanny Brice had three marriages. Her first marriage was brief, to a barber named Frank White. They met in 1910 and divorced in 1913.
Her second husband was Julius W. "Nicky" Arnstein. They married in 1918. They had two children: Frances (born 1919) and William (born 1921). William became an artist. Their daughter Frances married film producer Ray Stark. Ray Stark later produced the musical Funny Girl, which was based on Fanny's life.
Fanny Brice married lyricist and producer Billy Rose in 1929. She appeared in his show Crazy Quilt. They divorced in 1938.
Death
Fanny Brice passed away on May 29, 1951, at the age of 59. She died from a cerebral hemorrhage in Hollywood.
The episode of The Baby Snooks Show that aired on May 29, 1951, was a memorial to her. Hanley Stafford, who played Daddy, gave a short speech on the air. Fanny Brice was cremated. Her ashes were first placed in the Jewish Home of Peace Cemetery. Later, in 1992, her ashes were moved to Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. Her grave is in an outdoor pavilion with her children and son-in-law.
Legacy
Fanny Brice received two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame after her death. One is for her work in movies, and the other is for her radio contributions.
The State University of New York at Stony Brook once had a theater named the Fannie Brice Theatre.
Mexican comedian Maria Elena Saldana was inspired by Fanny Brice. She created a character similar to Baby Snooks called la Guereja.
In 1991, the U.S. Postal Service honored Fanny Brice with a first-class stamp. She was the only woman included in a "Comedian Commemorative Issue."
In 2006, Fanny Brice was featured in a film called Making Trouble-Three Generations of Funny Jewish Women. This film honored Jewish comediennes.
Portrayals of Fanny Brice
The 1946 cartoon Quentin Quail features a character based on Fanny Brice's Baby Snooks.
Barbra Streisand played Fanny Brice in the 1964 Broadway musical Funny Girl. This musical focused on Fanny's rise to fame. Barbra Streisand won an Academy Award for Best Actress for playing Fanny in the 1968 film version. The 1975 movie sequel, Funny Lady, was about Fanny's relationship with Billy Rose. Barbra Streisand also recorded some of Fanny's songs, like "My Man" and "Second Hand Rose."
More recently, Beanie Feldstein and Lea Michele have played Fanny Brice in the Broadway revival of Funny Girl.
Kimberly Faye Greenberg has also played Fanny Brice in several stage shows. These include "One Night With Fanny Brice" and "Fabulous Fanny: The Songs & Stories of Fanny Brice."
Images for kids
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Cover of sheet music for Brice's "My Man"
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From the trailer for the film The Great Ziegfeld (1936) in which Brice appeared as herself
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Brice's grave
See also
In Spanish: Fanny Brice para niños
- Blanche Merrill
- List of songs written by Blanche Merrill
- Academy of Music/Riviera Theatre
