How did Vincente Minnelli become a Broadway producer and designer?

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Vincente Minnelli, seated at right, discusses a storyboard with actress Lana Turner, seated at left in costume, on the set of The Bad and the Beautiful. — Vincente Minnelli Vincente Minnelli (right) with Lana Turner (left) during the filming of *The Bad and the Beautiful* (1952).

Vincente Minnelli’s path to becoming a Broadway producer and designer began with his early work in Chicago, where he developed his skills as a window display designer and a costume designer for the Balaban and Katz movie-theatre chain. His success in mounting weekly revues led him to New York City in 1931 to work for Paramount-Publix.1

After gaining recognition for his innovative costume and set designs for the musical revue Earl Carroll’s Vanities and his work at Radio City Music Hall, Minnelli’s talent caught the attention of producers Lee and J.J. Shubert. In 1935, the Shuberts signed him to a contract to both produce and design three Broadway musical revues. His subsequent success with productions such as At Home Abroad (1935), the Ziegfeld Follies of 1936, and The Show Is On (1936) solidified his reputation in the theater industry before he eventually transitioned to a career in film.1