Billy Rose

"The little Napoleon of showmanship," Billy Rose was one of the most famous and feared show-biz impresarios of the early 20th century; the diminutive lyricist behind dozens of pop chestnuts (including a number of hits for first wife Fanny Brice), he also produced a series of hit musicals and even authored a widely read syndicated newspaper column, but earned his greatest notoriety for his ruthless, self-aggrandizing business practices. Born William Samuel Rosenberg in New York City on September 6, 1895, he grew up in the immigrant ghettos of Manhattan's Lower East Side, and up...