1891-1951
Born in New York to Hungarian Jews,
Fanny Brice dropped out of school at the age of 17 and began working
in a burlesque revue. Within two years she was a headliner for
Ziegfeld Follies. By the early twenties Fanny had an enormous hit
with the song “My Man” for Victor Records. It was around this
time that she married her second husband Julius “Nicky” Arnstein
who had served prison time in Sing Sing and had gang connections.
Arnstein's lifestyle would return to haunt the couple as he would
later be convicted of Wall Street bond theft and would again serve
time in prison. Brice, at great expense, funded his legal defense.
After serving three years, Arnstein was released and and left Brice
and their two children. Fanny would eventually marry again but that
marriage also failed. Fanny Brice continued to perform and was best
know for her Baby Snooks character that she would act out on radio
until the 1950's. She died in 1951 of a brain hemorrhage. The 1968
movie “Funny Girl” starring Barbara Streisand is loosely based on
the life of Fanny Brice.
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