Nelle

Zdzislaw Anthony Nelle was born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1894 and began his career as a ballet dancer after studying at the Russian Imperial School of the Grand Opera. Following appearances in Poland, Russia, and England, he joined Anna Pavlova's company, which eventually brought him to the United States. By 1926 Nelle began to work as a choreographer in the large motion-picture palaces that offered lavish stage spectacles, including the famous Roxy theater, where he also designed production numbers. He worked for the Fox Theaters in Detroit, St. Louis, and San Francisco, and later went to Hollywood where he worked for R.K.O. and Fox Studios. In the early 1930's Nelle returned to Europe, where he choreographed and designed films and revues. Back in America, he worked primarily as a choreographer for various civic light opera theaters until 1966. Nelle died in relative obscurity in 1977. Eighteen months after his death, a previously unknown collection of his stage designs came to light. As documents of a style and type of entertainment that was vastly popular fifty years ago, they are a revelation - the epitome of Ar Deco splendor. This book gives the reader a fascinating glimpse of the theater, dance, and motion picture world of the 1920's and 1930's.