The formerly quiet, observant boy, who lived in his head, had not only become physical and muscled up in LA, but at 18 he suddenly began to mature—and to develop an inner drive that would become as intense as his mother’s. But was it pushing him toward a bright future—or away from a haunted past?  [...]

L to R: In Hollywood – Brice, Fanny Brice, Frances Brice, and Eddy Cantor on the film set of Ali Baba Goes to Town, which starred Cantor, 1937. Brice once again became his mother’s tag-along. It was late 1937. Brice was 16 and Los Angeles was where he, his sister, and his radio star mother [...]

Artist Henry Botkin, Brice’s future art tuturor, seen here in his Paris studio, which he built in 1926. Botkin participated in “The School of Paris” and remianed in Paris from 1926 until 1933 when he returned to New York. Art is a collision of new truths and awakened sensibilities; it is a serious understanding of [...]

Brice’s Father, Julius ‘Nicky’ Arnstein, Brice’s sister, Frances, Fanny Brice, and Brice, aged 3, ca. 1924 Everything Nicky ever did was like a gentleman…He was a very well-educated man, had a great manner, and was very cultured.  At parties, he would be surrounded by people ten minutes after he entered a room.  He was a [...]

Fanny Brice, Bill Brice (5 yrs-old), and sister, Frances, ca. 1926 I was worried about Bill when he was young – he never used to talk. Fanny Brice Speaking of her son, William (Bill) Brice Interview Recording, ca. 1950   Bill Brice was born into complicated circumstances.  As a little boy, one might have wondered [...]