Childhood
Presented By: Vanessa Bassi
Description of image above
- Born Elizabeth Holzman on
May 24th, 1904 in
Cincinnati, Ohio
- Two siblings, Marion and
Alfred
- Child of a lawyer and a
stockbroker
- Wealthy jewish family
(wasn’t raised religiously)
- Family became poor after
Uncle embezzled $1 million
dollars from stockbroking
business in 1904
- Graduated at the age of
sixteen
Fun Facts
- Changed the family name
from Holzman to Holman
around World War I due to
anti-German sentiment.
- Subtracted two years from
her age after she graduated
from UOC in 1923
- Her signature look was a
strapless dress.
- Her signature song was,
“Moanin’ Low” by Ralph
Rainger.
Section: N1
Known as the large girl with frizzy
hair, Libby Holman was adored
and praised for her spontaneity,
shamelessness, bisexuality, and
extreme vocal talent. This Civil
Rights activist was even accused
of murdering her late husband,
Zachary Smith Reynolds in 1932
right before giving birth to their
child Topper. Libby was an intense
woman who pushed the
boundaries of relationships, love,
marriage,
and race.
 Most Known For
- Created the Christopher
Reynolds Foundation after
Topper’s death to support
equality, international
disarmament, and the
resolution of environmental
problems
- Close friend to Martin
Luther King Jr.
- Married activist Louis
Schanker in 1960, they
would throw charity events
but she still performed.
- Was unashamed of her
same-sex relationships and
unashamed of her
friendships and
performances with POC.
Career
- Discovered in 1924 at the
Studio Club in NY
- First theatre job in The
Fool with Channing
Pollock, who convinced
her to pursue theatre.
- Leonard Sillman pushed
her to start going by Libby,
not Elizabeth.
- First Broadway debut was
in The Sapphire Ring
(1925)
- Big break came in 1929
when she starred in The
Little Show with Fred
Allen & Clifton Webb.
Death
- Died June 18th, 1971 of
carbon monoxide
poisoning.
- Suffered severely from
depression
- Never forgave herself after
Topper, her son, passed
away at 17 after she let him
go rock climbing.
- Her second husband, Ralph
Holmes passed of an
overdose in 1945 after their
separation.
- Hurt by the deaths of
family and friends,
including JFK and MLK,
and the young men in the
Vietnam War.
 Sources
-
Sillman, Leonard (January 1, 1959). Here Lies Leonard Sillman:
Straightened Out at Last (1st ed.). Citadel Press. p. 79.
-
- Waggoner, Susan (2001). Nightclub Nights : art, legend and style,
1920-1960. New York: Rizzoli. p. 18. ISBN 9780847823314. Then there
was the scandalous Libby Holman, whose accomplishments ranged from
challenging race and gender stereotypes to popularizing the strapless
evening gown.

- Faderman, Lillian (1991). Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of

Lesbian Life in Twentieth-century America. Columbia University Press.
p. 71.

- Machlin, Milt (1980). Libby. Tower Books. pp. 363.

- Bradshaw, Jon. (1985). Dreams that money can buy : the tragic life of
Libby Holman (First ed.). New York. ISBN 0688011586. OCLC
11751839.

- Frasier, David K. (2002). Suicide in the Entertainment Industry: An

Encyclopedia of 840 Twentieth Century Cases. McFarland. p. 147. ISBN
0-7864-1038-8.

- "The Jewish Quarterly". Jewishquarterly.org. Archived from the original

on April 15, 2012. Retrieved October 10, 2019.