Complex sentence: Ziegfeld's widow, Billie Burke, was keen to pay of Ziegfeld's debts without filing for bankruptcy, and sold the rights to a biopic of him to Universal Pictures in late 1933, and the film went into the pre-production phase in January 1934.
Split into simpler sentences: Ziegfeld's widow, Billie Burke, was keen to pay off Ziegfeld's debts without filing for bankruptcy, and sold the rights to a biopic of him to Universal Pictures in late 1933. As a result, the film went into the pre-production phase in January 1934.