Michael Todd
He later served as a contractor to Hollywood studios, and during the 1933-1934  Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago, he produced an attraction called the "Flame Dance." In this number, gas jets were designed to burn part of a dancer's costume off, leaving her naked in appearance. The act attracted enough attention to bring an offer from the Casino de Paris club in New York City. Todd got his first taste of Broadway life with that engagement and was determined to find a way to work there. He came up with the idea of producing the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Mikado with an all-African-American cast. The Hot Mikado, starring Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, opened on Broadway March 23, 1939. His Broadway success gave him the nerve to try taking on showman Billy Rose.  Todd visited Grover Whalen, president of the 1939 New York World's Fair, with a proposal to bring the Broadway show to the World's Fair. Whelan, eager to have the show at the fair, covered Todd's Broadway early closing costs.  Rose, who had an exclusivity clause in his fair contract, met Todd at Lindy's, where Rose learned his contract covered new forms of entertainment only.  Todd's Mikado dated back to 1885. To avoid any head-to head competition, Rose quickly agreed to promote Todd's production along with his own. Todd went on to produce 30 Broadway shows during his career.