[movie reel whirring, buzzing]
[gentle music]
-[nostalgic music]
-[crew chatting in background]
I love it when the
camera's a little higher,
just a little.
Sorry.
I may be my mother's daughter,
but there's a lot
of my father in it.
[Liza scatting]
Oh, Lenny, it's great.
[gentle nostalgic music]
Can you get this?
Okay.
I wish you had a light
that went right in my face.
[gentle piano music]
Okay, a little bit higher.
I'm talking to you.
-Is that perfect?
-That was perfect.
-That's what I always say.
-[Liza laughing]
[crowd cheering, applauding]
On the schnoz too.
[laughing]
[nostalgic music]
[Director] Let's all
settle down, please.
-Shut the f*ck up.
-Shut the f*ck up.
[Liza laughing]
-[clapper board clicking]
-[dramatic drum roll music]
[Announcer] Ladies and
gentlemen, Liza Minnelli.
[dramatic performance music]
[audience applauding]
Yes.
Say yes
[man] Iconic.
[woman] One of the biggest
stars in the world.
Talent beyond belief.
-Liza Minnelli.
-Liza Minnelli.
-Liza Minnelli.
-The one and only Liza.
When opportunity
comes your way
-Films.
-Concerts.
Wondering what to say
-Broadway.
[Oprah] Tonys, a Grammy,
an Emmy, even an Oscar,
she has done it all.
There's mink and
marigold right outside
[Interviewer] People
think that Liza was born
in a red sequin dress,
belting out a tune.
[Interviewer] She's
weathered some hard times,
both personally
and professionally.
Yes, I'm alive
Yes, I say
[Interviewer] She has
achieved that rare status
where only a first
name is necessary.
I'm a star.
-And yes, I'm going
-She's simply the best.
-Liza!
-On
Yes
Yes.
[audience applauding, cheering]
[chimes music]
[phone ringing]
[pensive music]
["Over the Rainbow"]
[Announcer] Ladies
and gentlemen,
here is young Liza Minnelli.
-How am I doing, Mama?
-Oh, fine, Liza, keep going.
[Interviewer] Judy
and her daughter Liza
at the London Palladium.
Hello, Liza
[phone ringing]
-Hello?
[ring tone sounding]
[somber music]
-[Reporter] Thousands of
people lined the streets
outside the funeral chapel on
Manhattan's Upper East Side
to pay this last tribute
to a woman they had known
since her childhood.
[somber music continues]
[somber music continues]
-Is that Mama?
No!
My mother? Nah.
She's never gonna pass.
And I believed it.
I started crying and I didn't
stop for about eight days.
It just was devastating to me
and I was in charge of so much.
-[Reporter] Her family,
her three children,
Liza Minnelli, Lorna and Joey
Luft attended the services.
[man] It's hard to imagine what
would've happened with Liza
if her mother hadn't passed
away at that moment in her life
because it's kind of
a before and after.
Her mother's passing
was a catalyst.
[somber music]
-She took that period
of time to hone the craft
that her mother had given her,
the legacy she had
passed on to her.
She took the grief as
a period of incubation.
-I think when her mom died,
there was of course sorrow.
Her mother was a massive
person in her life,
but I think there had
to be an element of,
I don't have to worry anymore,
because I mean, her
mom was a worry.
-So what's next?
Her mom has died, she's
grieving, and at the same time,
she's thinking
about her own life.
She's 23, what's she
gonna do in her career
because there was so
much expected of her.
[upbeat music]
Oh, sweet kindness
A little magic,
a little kindness
-She is a talented dancer,
a talented singer,
a great actress,
but these things all
need to be developed.
So she found friends and
mentors who helped her.
-What I was really good at
was picking the
people to be around.
I had a good eye.
I think I still do.
Don't let Annie hear it
We don't believe in
the Jezebel spirit
-It was now or never, so she
set out to create the person
that she wanted to become.
[upbeat music fades]
[chimes music]
-Kay.
Come along and join
a Jubilee
-How smart of you to
show me this right now.
It's giving me courage too.
-[Director] In what way?
-Because it's fun
and I'm nervous
so it helps that.
-The minute her mother died,
Kay Thompson comes
back into Liza's life
as her quirky godmother
who took her under her wing
and gave her this
sort of life wisdom.
-Liza called Kay,
who was in Rome.
Kay immediately flew to
New York and took over.
What are you gonna wear?
What's the casket?
Kay said We need a white casket.
The funeral home said we
don't have white caskets.
And Kay said, "We're
from MGM. Spray it."
[lion roaring]
Kay really started
to mentor Liza
at a time when Liza
didn't know who she was.
Was she Judy Garland's daughter?
Who was she supposed to be?
-Her fight was to find who
she was, not her mother.
She knew who her mother was.
She didn't wanna be her mother.
-Kay Thompson is always
referred to as larger than life,
but Liza was also
larger than life
and Liza became larger than
life because she watched Kay.
Kay Thompson,
Kay, Kay Thompson
Hello hello
We're having a
birthday party
A lot like Jubilee time,
a lot like Jubilee time
-Kay Thompson was a
singer, a vocal arranger,
a composer, a lyricist,
a cultural icon,
a fashion icon, an author
of the Eloise books.
Kay supposedly created
the character of Eloise
patterned in part after Liza.
She became a mentor musically
first to Judy Garland,
and then to Liza Minnelli.
-Hi.
Bonjour Paris.
I'm heavenly. Hi, there.
-There was this deep bond
where they were
like two girlfriends
and shared this
spiritual life together
and Kay opened up
the world to Liza
to have a different perspective,
an off kilter perspective,
a kooky perspective of life.
-[Kay] With
pleasure, my darling.
We're both from the Virgin
Islands, so let's go.
-Okay, thank you.
-I love you sweat tears.
Is that from the Virgins?
[Liza and Kay singing
in foreign language]
-[Liza] Kay wrote
that, I love that song.
-I was really happy to
be invited to be in a show
that ended up being called
"Liza's at the Palace."
We toured for three years,
ended up on Broadway.
It was interesting
that after much touring
and some illnesses, Liza
took this return to Broadway
as a celebration
of Kay Thompson.
-She was so original, the
way she would teach you stuff.
I mean, when my parents were
gone, she never left my side.
We were so close,
I was such a fan.
She was it.
She was it for me.
She understood my fears
and what worried me
and she always knew what to say.
I got the jitters.
-Don't have.
-Just a little.
-Oh, well, a little is great.
-When you get up there,
you suddenly realize
what's expected of you
and you get scared.
-[Kay] But I think
we get that way
because we think we have
to do more than we can do,
which is the dumbest form
of insanity in the world.
You can only do what
you can do, no more.
-That's true.
The most important thing,
and Kay told me this,
don't go around with
people you don't like.
Or even if you're curious
about people you don't,
don't do it.
-[Kay] And if I get k*lled
in an elevator tonight,
don't waste your time
with dull people.
-Okay.
-[Kay] It's like an emery board
going over you all the time.
[Liza laughing]
It's terrible and you
become dull yourself.
All right, now what you
can do is turn around
so that's because what
you've got in back of you.
[Kay speaking in French]
-She taught me everything.
She taught me how to live life,
how to appreciate everything
that we were going through.
People to be
[upbeat jazzy music]
What some people and me
Give me more level.
Does it sound good back there?
-[Kay] Beautiful sound.
-Wish I could give
myself just a little more.
She'd seen me start to shake,
so I was putting my makeup on
and she'd say...
Happy days are here again
The skies are bright
You know.
She'd kept me
singing, I'd relax.
-The theater is beautifully
perfect acoustically.
And this sound is heavenly.
What more can I say?
-She would stand
backstage with me sometimes
and she'd slap me on the
behind and say, "Go!"
I went "Wow!" I was
on stage. [laughing]
-So I mean, honey,
you're in, you know?
Hi, there.
-How do I wanna say that?
Kay never felt
particularly attractive.
She said she had a new
face made of old material.
Great line.
She had a real feeling
of being less than,
and then moving to Hollywood
where everyone is beautiful
must have been crushing.
So I think that's perhaps
where some jealousy came from.
She was the one with the talent
and she was coaching all
of these other people
to do what she did.
So there were a couple withering
comments here and there
from Kay that I know
would hurt Liza.
There was a lot of
jealousy in Kay Thompson.
All kinds of weather
What if the sky should fall
I don't know
[indistinct]
Where we going
It doesn't matter
-During the last
years of Kay's life,
Liza took care of
her in her own home,
round the clock
staff, the best food.
Liza gets her star in heaven
for treating her so beautifully.
-And the last words she
ever said to me were these.
"Goodbye, darling.
Happy everything!"
[audience applauding]
[gentle music]
-I think Kay, the mentor, made
Liza the superstar possible.
[chimes music]
-Hi, I'm Liza.
When I was 18,
I went in New York one night
to the Ambassador Theater
and there I saw something
that I'll never forget.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I have brought you a
present from France.
Charles Aznavour.
Charles Aznavour
changed my life.
He changed my entire life.
I don't think I'm
a real good singer,
but I can act some.
So we are alone
again tonight
I read a book, you
watch the fight
Stifled you on a can of beer
What an enthralling
atmosphere
And yet the sight
of you this way
Helps me say what I must say
[Liza chuckling]
Which was written
by Charles Aznavour.
-She'd learned a
lot from Aznavour.
I mean, it all paid off.
-I see her taking the
advice of Charles Aznavour
very seriously with
lyrics and interpretation.
-Aznavour is one
of the most beloved
iconic French
singers/songwriters/performers
who was mentored by Edith Piaf,
with whom he had a relationship
very early in his career.
-[Reporter] He personified
French culture to the world.
-[Reporter] Aznavour
sold 180 million records.
-[Reporter] The
French Frank Sinatra.
[upbeat music]
[Charles singing in French]
-[Interviewer] Tell us
all you have to know.
-First of all, to be
honest with the public
and to be kind of
an actor on stage,
much more than to open the
mouth and throw a voice out.
[Charles singing in French]
-When you see Aznavour
perform, even if it's in French
and you don't understand
what he's saying,
he has that same
ability to communicate
and make you feel the
gamut of every emotion.
[Charles singing in French]
[Liza singing]
When Liza saw Aznavour, she
said, "That's it. That's it."
It was different from
what her mother did
and Aznavour was this embodiment
of not only the show business
part and the vocal part,
but the grittiness of life.
[Charles speaking in French]
[Liza speaking in French]
[Charles speaking in French]
[jazzy music]
-Charles Aznavour is the
person Liza has credited
with being one of the
architects of helping her find
her own voice.
[jazzy music continues]
-The creative part
of their relationship
was really good for Liza
because I remember Frank saying
about Liza when she
started out, he said,
"Not everything has to
be the national anthem."
And I knew what he meant,
but I didn't say anything.
Aznavour, I think from Aznavour,
she saw a way of delivering
the song in a way
that was closer,
closer to the heart.
She can do the big stuff
and her mom always did
the the big stuff too,
but I think being
able to do both
is something that she showed
more of after Aznavour.
[gentle music]
[gentle music continues]
[chimes music]
[playful music]
-I always wanted to dance.
It was the first
thing I could do.
I loved it.
I danced before I sang,
before I did anything.
I wanted to be in a
dance company, you know?
'Cause what I loved
so much was...
I want a natural
Cut and go to the clip.
I want a natural man
I want a natural man
I want a natural man
I want a natural man, yes
-Liza grew up
surrounded by dance.
Shout hallelujah,
come on get happy
You better chase
all your cares away
-Not only because
of her mother,
but also because of her father
-Out in the audience,
Vincente Minnelli.
[buzzer buzzing]
-Quiet! Roll sound.
-Vincente Minnelli was a
true Hollywood visionary.
He was an extraordinary
director of iconic musicals,
American in Paris and The
Band Wagon, and GiGi.
And he had this eye
for perfectionism
and that is the thing
that Liza inherited
and that's one of the most
important traits in who she is.
-Well, my father inspired
me with everything,
especially art, and
from watching him
direct everybody else,
he was a tyrant, you know.
Come here, camera.
I don't want it straight away
or down, I want it there.
Now tilts It, too far,
there, that's the angle.
Vincente Minnelli's daughter,
what are you gonna do?
-I know.
-[Liza] I just loved
hanging out at the studio
where my father
and mother worked,
especially when my father was
directing dance sequences.
-Sometimes she
would come on the set
and I said, "Who is that girl?"
He said, "That's
Vincente's daughter."
She'd sing a little number and
she'd do a little dance step.
Great enthusiasm.
[movie reel clicking]
-I learned by watching.
You know.
[upbeat music]
There was something
about movement,
the choreography
that thrilled me,
to move through the air.
I just knew I had to do it.
I didn't have the
classic dancer's body.
I discovered that
I had scoliosis
and one leg went
higher than the other.
I was really
insecure about this,
but I had to learn
to deal with it.
Emphasize what
you think is good,
and what you don't
like, change it.
[upbeat music]
-There was a sense
that Liza needed to take
all of this raw dance talent
and channel it into
something bigger,
something greater
that she was feeling.
So on the scene
comes a dance legend
who would channel her
talents and change her life.
-You know me.
I directed the show's
"Pippen" and "Chicago"
and the films
"Cabaret" and "Lenny,"
but still people
don't know my face.
[lively drum beat music]
-Bob Fosse started out dancing
as a young boy in
his native Chicago.
He moved to choreography
on Broadway,
becoming one of the
biggest in the business.
Later directing shows
and then eventually inevitably
to directing motion pictures.
-Bob Fosse to work with was
very precise and humorous.
-He was a perfectionist in
terms of the choreography.
Do it one more time.
You didn't do, you didn't,
do, jip, boo. [chuckling]
-A signature Bob Fosse
move would be his hands,
the hips,
the tilt of the head.
And it's the simplicity of
the move that is so powerful.
It's not the
cartwheel, the split,
and the jump and the
bang, bang, bang.
No, it's a quiet moments.
Little things like
a flick of a head,
a look.
These are Fosseisms.
-I think we should
mention somewhere in here
about my audition for the
Broadway show of "Cabaret"
and not getting it.
-Ah, baby.
-Originally when it was
conceived for Broadway,
I lost the role.
It was something I
always wanted to do.
I always wanted to
do Sally Bowles.
And then when they
made the film,
I just petitioned for
it, I fought for it.
I wanted to sing it, that's all.
Is that too simple an answer?
So I finally got the role
and Bob Fosse was gonna direct.
Oh my God.
We met at the
Waldorf coffee shop.
I must have made him
nervous or something
because he suddenly
got vaguely defensive.
He suddenly said, "How do you
feel about going topless?"
I said, "I won't do it."
There's always a way around it.
And he said, "All right,
I was just wondering."
Right away we clicked.
He was some kind
of sexy and wacko
and had this great
sense of humor.
-When Liza talks about
Fosse, she always says,
"I'm a director's daughter.
I understood how
to deal with him."
-The Liza-Fosse combination.
I always felt that Liza knew
how to get the most out of him.
Money makes the
world go around
The world go around
The world go around
Money makes the
world go around
It makes the world go round
-I was not a trained dancer.
Liza was much more so,
and she would always
say, "It's gonna be fine.
Ssh, don't say anything.
Shut the f*ck up." And I did.
And you haven't
any cold stove
And you freeze in the winter
And curse through
the ceiling
-Liza's feet were bleeding,
so I went to Bob and said,
"Her feet are bleeding.
I don't think she can dance."
And he said, "Yeah, she can.
She's getting paid a lot of
money and that's what she does."
-Okay, can we do
that once more?
A few more lines than before.
-She was totally in awe of him.
She did whatever he wanted.
-Something happened during
the sh**ting of a scene
and Fosse was blaming her
and after the sh**t
was over, he said,
"Liza, I wanna see you
in my office right now."
She said, "No, Bobby, we'll
talk about it tomorrow."
He said, "Right now."
And she said, "No, Bobby,
if I go in there now,
you're gonna say things to me
that are gonna be so horrible
that tomorrow morning you're
gonna send me flowers.
So we'll talk
about it tomorrow."
I think it's so
revealing and so smart.
[pensive music]
-I remember going
to rent the movie
and being so in
love with this chick
that was playing Sally Bowles.
I was just like, she's hot,
she's sexy, she's weird.
-She had that fierceness and
also so much vulnerability.
-Sally Bowles to me
was a woman of life
and yet a tragic
expression of life
and I think that Liza
identified with the silent part
of herself that the
public didn't know
and she had a chance to express
it through Sally Bowles.
-So I went to my
dad and I said,
"Well, do I have to
dye my hair blonde
and pull out all my eyebrows?"
And he said, "No,
no, no darling."
And he showed me Lya de Putti
and he showed me Louise Brooks.
And he said, "There's
a way to do this
and you'll figure it out."
You have to be absolutely
concentrate on what you're doing
and who this person is
and what happened to her
to become this person.
One day I went into this store
and this wonderful lady
called Christina Smith
was selling these
enormous eyelashes,
and I thought that
would be good for her
because she wants
to look special.
She's not trying
to be beautiful.
-I made those lashes by hand.
They're long in the
center and that lowers.
Of course, she had
naturally big eyes.
I just enhanced them.
-The Liza lashes are
iconic on their own terms,
but never more
than as Sally Bowles
where it seems like each lash
has like a black pearl
at the end or something.
It adds to the
hyperrealism of the movie.
-She needed to be special.
She needed to be special.
-[Announcer] Sally Bowles!
[audience applauding]
[upbeat music]
-When you think
about Liza as a dancer
before she worked with
Fosse, she was girlish.
If you look at footage of
her on the Ed Sullivan Show-
-Liza Minnelli.
-She was clearly
very talented, but
she was kind of gangly
and all over the place.
Fosse brought a
kind of discipline
and focus to her dancing
that made her just
shine like a jewel.
-I have a a back problem.
Every time I pick anything up
and have to be
very kind of calm,
it would go [imitating
back vibrating] like this.
They had to glue everything down
for me so it wouldn't rattle.
-Sometimes the muscles would
tremble even from the rear.
You know, she'd be
acting very calm
and you look at her rear...
[all laughing]
-Fosse was such
fun to work with
and a marvelous director,
just knew what he wanted.
Plus he knew what I could do.
[upbeat music]
-He was smart
enough to recognize
what a hard worker she was,
how the talent just
oozed from her.
Have to understand
the way I am, mein herr
-He used the quirkiness
of her body movements,
the quirkiness of her
torso to her advantage
and presented her really in
a new and fascinating way.
Bye-bye my leiberherr
Farewell my lieberherr
It was a fine affair
But now it's over
-She has this enormous
amount of talent
that all you have to
do is push a button
or make a slight
suggestion and she said,
"Oh, I know, I know."
Or she's overdoing something
and I think sometimes Liza
tends to be over emotional.
You just have to say,
"Liza, pull back a little."
And it's just like
some beautiful machine.
She just knows how
much to pull back.
The continent of Europe
is so wide, mein herr
Not only up and down, but
side to side, mein herr
-There's definitely the times
when she lets the tidal wave
flow and it's thrilling, but
in this very controlled way.
But I do what I can
Inch by inch, step by step
Mile by mile
-When she gets to
the like "man by man"
and it's just so
like lascivious.
Man by man
-I mean it's Liza doing
what Liza does that
no one else does
and it's Liza doing it better
than Liza has ever done.
[upbeat music]
[actors singing]
[audience applauding]
-Divine decadence.
I'm Sally Bowles.
-You worry for her because
she's making mistakes
and making demands of herself
and others that are going
to just lead to a bad place.
-Brian.
I really do love you.
-I think you do love me.
-But you're never
fed up with her.
You never stop worrying about
her and you never stop caring.
What good is sitting
alone in your room
Come hear the music play
[camera shutters clicking]
-The film comes out,
it's universally acclaimed
as great art
immediately, immediately,
and the film becomes a
tremendous box office success.
The book and the gloom
It's time for a holiday
Life is a cabaret
-Liza Minnelli.
-[audience applauding]
Come to the cabaret
-I would like to
thank Mr. Fosse
and Fred Ebb and John Kander.
Thank you for giving
me this award.
You've made me very happy.
[Liza singing]
-She was immediately then
a huge star after "Cabaret."
That was like everybody
wanted to be with Liza.
[upbeat music]
Everybody wanted her
at their parties.
She was getting offered
better and better movies,
better boyfriends.
Cabaret
-It was a big deal.
[audience applauding]
[chimes music]
-[Director] Let's talk about
relationships, marriages.
-Give me a g*y break,
will ya? [laughing]
I'm sorry, cut that.
Well, I feel
wonderful about love
because I wanted to be like
it was in the songs, you know?
-Okay, I think we should talk
about men in our past lives.
She's had a lot of men.
-How about you?
-Excuse me.
-No, I had men that
nobody knew about.
I knew about all her men.
-And some of them
weren't men at all.
[all laughing]
-I have to be careful
here 'cause Liza
doesn't wanna talk a lot
about her relationships.
It's a very private
thing for her,
yet many of these
liaisons were very public.
-She was taught
by her MGM parents
how to make things
sound fantastic.
Liza will never go on camera
and talk about the dirt.
-I can only say that
she wanted to consume
the fullness of life.
I don't think she has
any regrets in that area.
[upbeat music]
-She loses all of her bearings
and all of her judgment.
This person, this is great,
this is gonna be great.
This is it.
[upbeat music continues]
-She gets very into
people very quickly
so she's had some really
unique relationships
lasting a short period of time.
She throws herself
into the relationship
with the same passion that she
throws herself into a song,
but then just like in a song,
you then go on to the next song.
-My engagement
to Desi Arnaz has,
well, the relationship has been
deteriorating for some time.
There is no more engagement,
that's all called off.
I also met a man
called Peter Sellers
and fell in love with him
and a very pleased to
say that he fell in love
with me too. [laughing]
-When you do get married,
you'll be the fourth
Mrs. Peter Sellers.
Does this thought
bother you at all?
-Oh no, four is my
lucky number, my dear.
-Liza has acknowledged
that she didn't always
make the greatest decisions
in relationships
and laughs about it
because there was genuine
love, deep love in every one
of those relationships
in different ways.
-And she said, "I wanna
take a picture just for us."
I said, "Okay, sure."
So we got off my shirt
she took off her blouse
and we took the shot.
What the photo is saying is
exactly what was in my mind.
I got you.
Then next thing I know,
it was in "Newsweek."
Next thing I know it's
[laughing] all over the world.
I'm sure a lot of
society was shocked,
but it never entered our bubble.
It was two people were
sharing a moment in time.
It didn't stop to say,
well, what does that
white guy think about it?
Or what's that black guy
going to think about it?
We didn't care.
It was in our world.
-No, you didn't.
-Wow.
Wow.
Excuse me.
I guess you'd call it love.
I love Liza.
That's my baby.
-Some of these relationships
didn't last as relationships,
but many of them are
long-lasting friendships
over the years.
Maybe this time
For the first time
Love won't hurry away
-I tell you my favorite song
that she sings is
"Maybe this Time,"
and you felt when she
was singing it, you know,
you hoped that maybe this
time would be the time
because she sure deserved it.
It's gotta happen
Maybe sometime
Maybe this time
Maybe this time
Real
[grand music]
[audience applauding]
-Now been married twice
with one divorce behind you,
and yet I wonder how
you really have survived
and how you really cope.
-I was expecting all the pretty
things that I'd heard about
and I got a lot of them.
-One time Judy
Garland was on stage
and somebody yelled
out, "Marry me,"
and Garland said, "Marry
you? With my track record?"
And that's kind of like
Liza, the way she jokes.
It's like, you know,
my track record.
[intense music]
-Peter Allen was so hilarious
and so much fun to be with
and he was so great on stage.
-When Liza talks about
Peter Allen to this day,
she always talks about his
talent, his incredible ability
as a musician, as a composer.
She was deeply in love with him
and they in a certain way
remained in love with each other
for the rest of his life.
-The happiest I saw her with
somebody in her private life
was with Peter Allen.
But, you know, there
were other elements.
-She was truly devastated
when she discovered Peter
in a compromising
situation with another man.
And people always say, "How
could she have not known?"
She didn't know.
I absolutely believe that.
-I think that he
felt restricted.
He needed literally to come out.
Oh, Jack.
[people chattering
in background]
-When Liza married
Jack Haley Jr,
there was all this talk
about the daughter of Dorothy
marries the son of the Tin Man
and they were a perfect match
for each other in the sense
that they both grew
up in Hollywood
and they had beautiful shorthand
when they were together
and had a great deal of fun.
When love comes in and
takes you for a spin
[both speaking gibberish]
-Larger than life, loved
to have a good time,
loved to hear wonderful
stories, loved to gossip.
He really, really
loved my sister.
-I mean, I love Jack and all,
but I didn't think Jack was a
good match for her, frankly.
-In many ways, Mark Gero
was Liza's most solid husband
because Mark wasn't
in show business.
Mark was a sculptor
and he was solid.
He was a solid rock.
-Mark was soulful in a
way and Mark was quiet.
I think that Mark was a form
of stability that she needed.
[playful music]
-That last husband of hers,
I was at the wedding, oh my God.
-When Liza met David
Gest, we were with her.
It was during a period
of time in Liza's life
when she wasn't doing
so well physically.
She'd gained a lot of weight
and David Gest charmed
her and romanced her.
David Gest had a gift of
gab, nothing was real,
and basically for a
while, took over her life.
He took everybody in her
life out of her life.
-I never, I did not know him.
I didn't know him and so I don't
have a lot to say about him
'cause I didn't know him.
-It ended when Liza went
on tour and she came back
and David Gest took everything
out of the apartment,
left her with a bed and a lamp.
There's a bed and one lamp.
-Every picture was off the
wall, everything was gone.
-He took every picture,
every piece of furniture,
put it in storage.
-Even her record albums.
-Well, you know, he's
not around anymore
and I don't wanna
speak ill of the dead.
-Betty Davis said
you should only speak
good about the dead.
Well David Gest is dead, good.
[gentle music]
-Ladies and gentlemen,
not only the most talented
and marvelous person I know,
but my best and dearest friend,
and if it weren't for him, I
wouldn't be here, Mr. Fred Ebb.
-Fred Ebb.
[gentle music]
-I think Fred
really invented me.
He really did.
He knew me so well
and so deeply.
[audience applauding]
[jazzy music]
For every man
there's a woman
For every life there's a fan
-Was she like everybody
who starts, I think was,
was imitating everybody and not,
she needed a style of her own.
So out of that came
my opinion that she
should just be who she
is, which is terrific.
-He was a complicated guy.
He was wonderful.
He was incredibly
funny, he was acerbic.
He could have very
dark sense of humor
and his alter ego was Liza.
He helped to expand
things in her
that she didn't
even see in herself.
-And it really started
with a song, the first piece
of a special material that
Freddy ever wrote for me
with Johnny, John Kander.
Of course it was
"Liza with a Z."
-I mean, he wanted to
be Liza in a certain way.
I mean, he wanted
to be that persona.
He wanted to be that performer
and he was able to
channel certain aspects
of himself through her.
-Would you sing it?
-Me?
-Oh yeah.
Freddy, everybody.
-You sing it.
-Yeah.
[audience applauding]
It's Liza with a Z,
not Lisa with an S
'Cause Lisa with an
S goes /s/, not /z/
It's Z instead of
S, Li instead of Le
Simple as can be, see Liza
Now if my name were Ada
I'd be Ada even
backwards I'd be Ada
Or if my name were Ruth
Then I'd be Ruth
because it's Ruth
What can you do
Or Sally or Margaret
or Ginger Mofet
But when you're a Liza
You always have to say
It's Liza with a Z,
not Lisa with an S
'Cause Lisa with an
S goes /s/, not /z/
[Liza laughing]
[Liza singing]
-It's a whole song about how
people say your name wrong.
-That's right, guys.
[audience laughing]
Or Minoli or Miniola
or Mineli or Minelai
So is it a wonder I
very often cry, sing it
[Fred singing]
-[Liza] The way Freddy
wrote his lyrics,
it was like somebody
talking to you.
Liza Minnelli
It's Italian,
blame it on Papa
-And I know how to do a lyric.
The words are so important.
[gentle music]
-Fred and I were brought
together, I guess it was 1962,
by our publisher and our
backgrounds were very different.
I come from Kansas City
and a family background
which was considerably
more placid.
That being said, when Fred and
I went in the room to write,
we immediately became one person
and that was true really
till the day he died.
-[Host] Here are the
composer and lyricist,
John Kander and Fred Ebb.
[audience applauding]
-They were professional,
but they were also
godfathers kind of to her.
I mean, they were really close
and key in her creative life
and therefore, you know,
in in her heart and soul.
[jazzy music]
-Liza first came into our
lives on a cloudy afternoon
when we were
working on the score
for "Flora the Red Menace."
We were very close to casting
and that afternoon
the doorbell rang
and there was this person.
-And I came in and said,
"Do you have any songs
that I could sing, please?
So may I please sing
some of your songs?"
-That's right, I
remember what you wore.
-What did I wear?
-Jeans,
and an old ratty sort of
turtleneck, a black turtleneck
and it had a hole in
it, which I stared at.
[Liza laughing]
And you were biting your nails
and I said, "God, she's cute."
-Just for fun, we went
through all the songs in "Flora"
and she nailed it instantly
and she became right
then and there the person
that we wanted to
play that part.
She never stopped being a major
player in both of our lives.
Some peppy melody
about rainbows blending
-Liza had a lot to learn,
but she had the thing
that you can't teach.
-She just gave
her all to Freddy,
and in doing so, she blossomed.
-Well, he was also
very parenting to Liza.
And he would tell her if
she did something wrong,
he didn't hold back.
He would say, "You
can't do that."
-My friend, my big brother.
He bawled me out when
I needed it, you know?
And he told me how
to sing a lyric
so that it was believable.
You could just be yourself.
That's all you had to be.
And Freddy taught me that.
He said, "The minute
you think you're acting,
then people think
you're acting."
I said, "Yeah, you're right."
-There's nothing about
you that's unattainable
which is why I think you're
as great a star as you are.
All those people care about
you and your vulnerability
and there's a humanity
about you when you walk out.
When you see me
Hobbin nobbing on
the top of the town
My emeralds weighing me down
-And I would do something and
Freddy would put up his hand
and they'd cut.
And Freddy come over
and whisper to me,
"Hold your head
up a little higher
like you were saying
something really important."
I'd go, "Mm-hmm." [laughing]
And then I'd hold
my head up higher.
-With Fred, it was a very
close offstage relationship
and a very close
professional relationship
and the two very
much melded together.
-So he would steer me away
from talking about
my mom too much.
He said because
when that happens,
they think about
her and not you.
-[Reporter] Liza, I realized
you must have learned
a lot of things by
watching your mother.
-She was very
proud of her mother,
but it was such a
complicated relationship.
-Liza used to talk about
being at the London Palladium
with her mom in '64.
That was a defining
moment for her.
[audience applauding]
She came on stage
and she started
to get this extraordinary
reaction from the audience.
[Liza singing]
[audience applauding]
Her mom got pissed.
[Liza and Judy singing]
Judy's pushing the microphone
up to Liza's face to show
that she's the professional
and Liza's the amateur.
And suddenly Liza said,
"My mother went
from being my mother
and turned into Judy Garland."
That was a defining
moment for Liza.
-Fred understood being
always compared to Judy
made her feel terrible.
-Give me your
sketch of your mom.
-Your mother.
-Your mother.
-Your mother.
-Your wonderful mother.
-If I could walk you
down your mother's
old yellow brick road,
take you to the wizard,
what would be the one wish
for yourself that you'd make?
-That you wouldn't
ask me another question
about my mother.
[Liza laughing]
[audience applauding]
-I think it was the
night of her club act
that we did for her.
[audience applauding]
[grand music]
Because I can remember Liza
sitting in front of the mirror
and she was terrified
because Judy
was coming out to the show
and it was Liza at her
most unhappy and insecure.
And Judy is there telling
Liza how wonderful she is,
but also patting her
on the legs saying,
"This is what we've always
wanted, isn't it baby?"
And I cannot explain to you
why that was the wrong thing
to say, but it took the
evening away from Liza.
[somber music]
-Fred helped her
evolve from the daughter
of Judy Garland legacy
to the sequin amazing
performer on her own.
You can see the
beginnings of all of that
in "Liza with a Z."
[horn music]
-I was asked to do a television
special and Fred Ebb said,
"I wanna do the first
concert for television.
It's never been done before
and I want Bobby to do it."
-This is a concert in
the medium of television,
the small screen, which it
could be dangerous, you know,
in that some entertainers
are not good on television
because they're larger
than life on stage.
[audience applauding]
-It was for one night,
it's one shot only.
It was amazing, it
was nerve wracking.
I walked out there like I
didn't have a care in the world
and I don't know where
I got the bravado.
I don't know anything
except that I was felt safe.
I gotcha, uh-huh
You thought I didn't see
you now, didn't ya, uh-huh
You tried to sneak by me
now, didn't ya, uh-huh
Now gimme what
you promised to me
Give it to me, come on
-I thought it was
absolutely phenomenal.
Definitely a new
way of doing things.
[audience applauding]
Blackbird
-So the Liza in "Liza with
a Z" certainly has elements
of the real Liza, but
the Liza with the hat
and with the sequin and
this certain kind of persona
is a character who is Liza,
but also is a different person.
Where somebody waits
for me, Sugar's sweet
So is he
-What Fred Ebb did in
collaboration with her
is to take anything
that was unpolished
and awkward about
Liza, Judy's daughter
trying to make it
in show business,
and either polish it or
embrace the vulnerabilities.
[playful music]
[hands tapping]
And she knew exactly
how to mine that
for everything it's worth.
Fly little blackbird, bye
-When she worked with Fred Ebb,
he rehearsed her where
every single speech
and every single thing she
said on stage was rehearsed,
even though it sounded
incredibly spontaneous.
-The one time that I
got a little snippy,
I was sitting around, I
said, "I don't wanna do that,
I don't wanna do this tonight,"
or something like that.
And Fred Ebb said,
"Liza, just remember,
you're a figment
of my imagination."
And it just so happens that
I told a couple of friends
of mine this truly terrific,
absolutely true story.
And it just so happened
these friends of
mine are songwriters.
-Any singer knows you
got to tell the story
in your singing.
Gather around I
got a story to tell
About a Manhattan lady
that I know very well
She lives at 5 Riverside
Her name is Shirley Divor
And she traveled
round the world
To meet the guy next door
-She's done up in Halston,
who's not just making
her look fabulous,
but making her look iconic.
I mean really capturing
what will be Liza's look
for the rest of her life.
Ring that bell
[grand music]
[audience applauding, cheering]
-Liza proved with
"Liza with a Z"
that she was equally
iconic on the small screen.
And she did that with Fred Ebb.
[grand music]
[audience applauding]
-[Liza] It was like living
in the inside of a diamond.
We won the Emmy for
"Liza with a Z,"
the Oscar for "Cabaret."
It was a very good year.
[audience applauding]
[lively piano music]
[audience applauding]
["New York, New York"]
Start spreading the news
I'm leaving today
I wanna be a part of it
New York, New York
These vagabond shoes
Are longing to stray
-Liza chose to make a film
called "New York, New York,"
which is a more
traditional musical
that is an homage to the 1940s,
directed by Martin Scorsese,
co-starring Robert De Niro.
Cream of the crop at
the top of the heap
Those little town blues
-And it was De Niro who
heard the first version
of "New York, New York"
that Kander and Ebb wrote
and said, "Nah, I
don't like that.
Go back and write
something else."
And can I tell you
how pissed John Kander
and Fred Ebb were
that Robert De Niro
is telling them they have
to write another song?
And out of anger, they
wrote this second song
that became the iconic "New
York, New York" that we know.
-In case you don't
know this, folks,
this little girl did this song
before anybody did this song.
It's true, she really did.
[audience applauding]
And I had to stick
my nose in it.
[upbeat music]
[chimes music]
Jack and I got
stuck in here once.
-[Speaker] Looks like one
of those outer space things.
-What? Stand on that?
Like I always get off an
airplane like that, huh?
Oh my God, we're somewhere,
let's put it that way.
-[Reporter] Hey, Lisa, Lisa.
-It's Liza, you
guys, it's Liza.
[upbeat music]
-When she went to Europe in
the 1970s after "Cabaret,"
after "Liza with a Z,"
she was so busy working
so hard and did so much,
people couldn't
get enough of her.
-[Reporter] Liza Minnelli,
queen of the glitter
and the glamour of
the Hollywood, New
York, European world.
Wherever she goes,
there are people smiling,
flash bulbs popping.
[people chattering]
A certifiable superstar.
[Liza panting]
And still the gossip
people persist.
[people chattering]
-Oh no, we can't.
-Over there, over there.
-Let me go, Freddy.
[people chattering]
-Liza has always said, "I was
born, they took a picture,"
so she understood how
to deal with the press
from a very early age.
It's one of the
loveliest thoughts
any woman could ever hold.
I'm not, but I hope with all
my heart that I will be soon.
-Let me go in front here.
-Why don't you
just wait a minute.
-Well, there's
different degrees of
ugliness, isn't there?
And
I don't really care.
You know, when I'm on
stage, I just do my job.
-Liz Minnelli has lived
her life so much in public.
The burden of that
must be profound.
There's the demand she must
show up as Liza Minnelli.
-I am really thrilled
that they're all here.
It's a little bit scary though.
-I remember talking
to her after a party
that she had been to and I
said, "How was the party?"
And she said, "Oh, it was
okay. They wanted her."
And I said, "What do you mean?"
She said, "You know,
the sequin girl.
I just wanted to be, you know,
the nice lady at the dinner
table and they wanted her."
[people chattering]
-After the press, the
photographs, the concerts,
the rehearsals, being on
stage is her safety zone.
She is most comfortable there.
[Liza singing]
And as for me, ha
[audience applauding]
-Jesus, man, I wonder
if they like it.
-Are they still yelling?
-They're still screaming.
-Isn't that swell?
-There's nobody leaving
the theater at all.
-[Speaker] They are just
standing there, stomping.
You gotta go out and listen.
-Liza needs the
audience to love her.
[audience cheering]
Maybe in someone else's hands
that would be offputting,
but with Liza, it's that need
and that herculean effort to
make the connection with us.
I need your love
That's true, yes, I do
Indeed, I do
You know I do
-[Liza] How long have
you been out there?
-Six hours.
-Six hours?
What I cry for
You know you got
that kind of lovin'
That I starve for
You know you made me
Love
You
[audience applauding]
[dramatic music]
[chimes music]
[gentle piano music]
-Liza deeply, deeply
cares about friends.
If you need something, she
is there for you on a level
that is rare.
She flew from Rome for
two days to Los Angeles
to record a duet with me
on one of my early albums
because she wanted
to be there for me.
-[Liza] We're
backstage at the Muni.
I'm going to see Michael.
Hans Christian Anderson.
It's so exciting.
And this is a closeup,
I promise you.
-It was something
that was difficult
and it was at great
financial expense,
but she was there because
that's what a friend does.
It's that sort of thing
that she will do anything
for you if you need it.
[gentle piano music]
I met Liza Minnelli through
her godfather, Ira Gershwin.
When I met Liza,
it was very much like
meeting a long lost cousin
or a sibling or a family member.
[gentle piano music continues]
I remember when we met at
her father's house, she said,
"You know, from now on
we're joined at the hip."
-[Liza] This is
fabulous, oh, honey.
-I think if the public
sees Liza as a barrel
of sequins and glamour,
they've got her wrong.
Her friends, or the thing
that those friends get right,
is Liza's vulnerability,
her kindness,
and her desire for you
to be friends with her.
-Liza, can make you feel like
the most important
person in the world.
Her gaze is so fixed on you.
I don't know if it's
her need to be loved,
but it's shocking 'cause
that's an unusual quality
in somebody in show business.
[upbeat music]
-[Announcer] "Chicago,"
starring Gwen Verdon,
Chita Rivera,
and Jerry Orbach,
directed by Bob Fosse.
-In "Chicago,"
Gwen Verdon had to
take a six week leave of
absence to have some surgery
and it looked as if maybe
the show might have to close.
-And everything's
going well, how are you?
And Fred said, "We're
in terrible trouble."
I said, "I'll fill in for her."
-And it was the first
time in Broadway history
that a major superstar
acted as a substitute
for a another star that left.
-They actually discovered
her and said, "You're a star.
You can't be a substitute.
You can't be an understudy."
And she says, "I wanna do
it. I wanna save the show."
And she did, she saved the show.
-The people who wrote that show
are Fred Ebb and John Kander.
And as you know,
they're my best friends
and Fred Ebb has guided my
career since I've been 17.
It's really saying, "If you
need somebody, I'm there."
-Liza learned that
entire part in one week,
and I'm telling you one week.
-But she said, "You
don't say my name.
I don't want
publicity about that.
I want word of mouth.
And when people go
into the theater,
I just want an announcement."
-I'm sorry, tonight
the role of Roxy Hart,
usually played by Gwen
Verdon, audience, "Oh.."
Will be played by Liza Minnelli.
Roars of excitement.
And Liza was f*cking
brilliant in the part.
[upbeat music]
What motivated her to do it,
I can only say is like
the best part of Liza.
I think she did it as a
favor and she saved the show.
[audience applauding]
-And the only reason
she would do that
is because it was
for her friends.
[upbeat music]
-When we met Liza, I was
a dentist in New York.
Arlene was a housewife.
It was a dinner party
at Elaine's restaurant
and we just hit it off.
It was a great
chemistry, I would say.
-We just had a
connection that we felt
great being with each other
and the conversation
just kept flowing.
-49 years later, we're
still best friends with her.
When she meets somebody,
she is so warm to them
and friendly that people
will meet her once or twice
and come away feeling
she's their best friend.
-It's so real. I
mean, she doesn't think
of herself as being a star.
She thinks of herself as the
people around me made me a star
because I picked
talented people.
She's really modest that way.
[computer ringing]
-Hi, Liza, it's me.
-Baby!
-I hear you had a
party last night.
I wish I could have been there,
but I'm in Connecticut
still, as you know.
-Oh no, but when you come
out here, you're living here.
-I will be there. I will
stay with you, of course.
It'll be like old times.
-We've been joined
at the hips forever.
-We were in the same preschool,
but we really came
together again as friends
when we were about 15.
[upbeat music]
We were in this photo
sh**t for "17 Magazine."
After the photo
sh**t, I was exhausted
and wanted to go get an ice
cream cone or something.
Liza was going to
her dance class.
She knew at 15 that this
is what she wanted to do.
She wanted to sing,
she wanted to dance.
She was gonna be a great actor.
Movie stars at the time,
they didn't look like Liza,
but she never doubted that
this is what she was gonna do.
She was goal-oriented.
[upbeat music continues]
I know a lot of people who've
been through a lot of stuff
and people get cynical,
people get angry,
but Liza's the same
pure person inside.
I've not heard her say
bad things about anyone,
not in any gratuitous way.
She trusts way beyond
what is rational.
There is a purity of
heart that's unmistakable.
-Bye, darling.
[upbeat music in background]
-So I'm out with my
wife, Michael Feinstein,
Mitzi Gaynor, and
Liza f*cking Minnelli.
Michael goes,
"Let's play a song."
And so he plays one
and I sing a tune.
[group singing]
And then it was Liza's turn.
This is like incredible,
I'm sitting with this icon
and it was beautiful
what she sang.
[Liza singing]
At the end of the night,
she's grabbing everybody
and just saying, you know,
this was, I can't do,
I'm not gonna do a
Liza impersonation,
don't make me do that.
But she, you know,
she's grabbing everybody
and goes, "This was great.
This is great. This is the
g*ng now, this is the g*ng."
And when she left I was
like, "I'm in the g*ng now?
It's amazing." And then I went,
"How many people has
she said that to?"
I just like the idea that she
just made us feel so special.
I so enjoyed that sentiment
of this was a good hang.
-It's gonna take a miracle.
Tina.
-Yeah?
-Gotta perform a
miracle on my fache.
-Liza and I became
very close friends
because my husband and
I went on tour with her
and of course they did
many movies with her
and you couldn't help with Liza.
You became very close with her.
Liza always liked to surround
herself with her friends.
Liza wouldn't do the show
unless they hired me.
I wasn't in the union,
they didn't let me in.
They didn't have
women makeup artists
so Liza stood up for me
and I was one of the first
women makeup artists ever.
She was very loyal
to her friends
and they were loyal to her.
-Are you committed
now to settling down?
-Yes.
-Well, tell me about it.
-I desperately want a family.
I...
I really want a family.
[somber music]
-We have been with Liza at
all of her emotional setbacks,
like miscarriages.
-[Arlene] She was all in,
she was all prepared,
it was very sad.
-Can't hear you,
what'd you say?
-[Allan] If she had
to pick one thing
that she's disappointed
in her life
and that's not being a mother.
She would've been
a great mother.
-[Arlene] She
would've been terrific.
-She has so much to give.
-She's always had a
lot of love to give.
-[Allan] She's been so
wonderful with our children.
We have a picture when our
daughter was three years old
around a Christmas
tree, Liza hugging her,
and then 35 years later when
our daughter had a 3-year-old,
we have a picture around
that same Christmas tree.
-Three generation's,
the same picture.
She taught our daughter when
she was about six years old
how to sing "Liza with a Z"
quickly and sing every lyric.
Our daughter was
so proud to sing it
and sang it all over the
place and for everybody.
-She would've been
an incredible mother
and life wasn't perfect.
-Right.
-But she moved on and she's
become part of our family.
I think that's part of
our attraction for her,
that we've kept this bond.
We're sort of the
family she didn't have.
-Even though she wasn't able
to have children of her own,
she seems to have
created her own family
through all the children
who came into her life
and all the godchildren.
-I mean, she's godmother
to my twins who are 50 now.
I mean, and she's never
missed a birthday, anything.
-She's a godmother
to one of my sons.
I was pregnant on tour with her.
Liza was so protective of me
and I ended up in the
hospital after I had him
and she was there all the time
and she brought Sammy
Davis the tap dance for me.
[upbeat music]
I think she feels safe with
people that take care of her.
And she still calls me like
two or three times a week
just to talk.
I have children, she doesn't.
I think she gets lonely.
She doesn't say that, but I
feel that, but I would too.
I don't know what else to say
that I just love her so much.
It makes me cry
'cause I just think that
she did a lot for all of us
and at a time when
things aren't good,
she always came through.
[chimes music]
[upbeat music]
-My father started
as a costume designer,
so when I was little I
was surrounded by fashion.
But the truth is, as a teenager,
I didn't care much
about clothes.
No, 'cause I dressed like
everybody else, mini skirts
and this, that and the other,
and all the wrong things
at that point.
Once I started doing more
one-woman shows and concerts,
I saw how fashion could
be part of the stories
that I would tell in the songs.
I knew I needed a new look
that I could call my own,
one that would reflects me
and connect with the audience.
Halston I met
through Kay Thompson.
-They were at Bergdorf Goodman.
Liza sees a dress on a mannequin
and says, 'Oh my
God, look at the cut.
Look at the style
of that dress."
She said, "That is
brilliant. Who did that?"
And Kay Thompson said, "It's
Halston, let me introduce you."
And she takes Liza upstairs
and introduces her to Halston.
-For me, being around Halston
was as if I were around
a religious entity, a
pope, a king, a god.
-[Announcer] The most
successful single individual
in the history of
American fashion.
[energetic music]
-I think what
influences design most
is the people that you dress
and they tell you pretty
much what they want
and what they need.
Know yourself, know
what suits your purposes
to make you more attractive
and more comfortable.
-When we speak
about the '70s style,
American fashion
coming into its own,
Halston is at the
forefront of that.
He grew up in the Midwest
and he started his
career by making hats.
He became famous
when he designed
Jackie Kennedy's pillbox hat.
Soon though, he moved
on to design clothing.
-The beauty of Halston was
that it was architecturally
amazing and it functioned.
-[Halston] In other words,
I think people
have to work harder
so they need clothes for
those different occasions.
-Clean, simple.
It's even more complicated
when you have simple.
When I first came to work for
Halston, it was taught to me
that fabric needs
to talk to you.
How does a fabric talk to you?
[gentle music]
We would literally take fabric
and put it on a mannequin
and sometimes look at it for
three days and things appear
when you keep looking at them,
it starts talking to you.
And in a sense, it'll tell
you what it wants to do.
The cuts are simple
because the fabric is left
to do what it wants to do
and that was the
genius of Halston.
-Halston was a very
down to earth, practical,
funny man, which I have
not seen depicted recently.
Underneath all of the darling
this and darling that,
there was a real wonderful
guy who found his way
to create his own paradise
and he was able to
do that with Liza.
-I met Halston when I was 19
and I had no idea how to look,
you know, it affects
not just how you dress,
but how you feel,
how you perform.
He was the first one
that gave me confidence.
I had the eye to
know what was good
and what wasn't that great,
but he knew what to do.
-When she met Halston,
he gave her an
entire sense of self.
-Halston was able to
take what she considered
to be negatives about her
body and her self-image
and turn them into positives.
She had scoliosis.
She felt that her body was
not symmetrically perfect,
all these things that she
was insecure about, he used.
-Technically, Halston
paid very acute attention
to Liza's clothes.
Halston was the one
who said to Liza,
"Since you're perspiring
so much on stage,
let's make all of your
wardrobe in sequins."
So with the sparkle,
you can't see
where the perspiration
starts and stops.
And also because Liza's
weight would often fluctuate,
Halston would often
make two and three
or sometimes four of the same
garment in different sizes
so he would be prepared
with her current figure.
Liza went from a
pretty little girl
representing mainstream fashion
overnight to the chicest
girl in the world.
-The adoration that Liza and
Halston had for each other
was always palpable when I
was in the room with them.
They had this deep, deep
love and shared the humor
and the irony of life together.
[gentle music]
-I never performed,
gave a party
or made any real major
important decisions in my life
without my friend, Halston.
When we were together,
it was heaven.
You know.
I'm so lucky and I know that.
-When Liza and
Halston were together,
it's like nobody
else was in the room.
They were so comfortable
with each other.
They would hug and
kiss and cuddle
and just cling to
each other in a way
that was so beautiful.
-When Liza would arrive
at Halston's office,
she brought that
zest, the two of them,
they had nicknames
for one another,
usually perverse nicknames.
It was a brother and
sister relationship.
It was also very
paternal on his side.
They brought each other to life.
-And having lunch
with Halston and her,
we would have conversations
of the next show she's doing
and what are we gonna design,
and there were nights
that we would all go
to Studio 54 together.
Freak out
-Studio 54 is probably
the Mount Olympus
of the disco world.
Freak out
-It was like the
circus pulled into town.
-They're the inspirational
people.
-Did that involve
a lot of things?
Yeah, that's been documented.
-I mean, you had quaaludes,
you had poppers, cocaine.
-Hold it, it wasn't that wacko.
And as far as drugs was
concerned, nobody did drugs.
They just didn't.
-Liza is reluctant to
talk about Studio 54
because everybody focuses on
the excess and the basement
and the debauchery and all that.
For her, studio 54
was a cultural thing.
-What happened with
Studio 54 is Halston
used to give these
wonderful parties
and around 11 or 12
o'clock at night,
he didn't know how
to get rid of people.
He would say to his guests,
let's all go to Studio 54
to get 'em out of the apartment.
-I would just let
the doormen know.
So they would just
be alerted to them
because it was a sea of people.
You can't even believe
the whole block
sometimes were filled.
[people chattering]
And then they would go
and escort them in
if they needed to,
and the seas would part.
[upbeat music]
-They would have some
banquettes in the center
of the dance floor and Halston
would hold court with Liza
and Andy Warhol, Bianca Jagger.
-Liza used to
love rum and coke.
Halston used to smoke.
She used to smoke cigarettes.
But all I remember is being
with Halston and being with Liza
and all of us having
the best happy times.
[upbeat music]
-He wasn't just a friend
and a party buddy at Studio 54.
They were each other's muse.
-You think of what
Halston got from Liza
and what Liza got from Halston
and obviously Studio 54,
talk about genius branding.
-Liza became so much
of the female figure
that allowed women to see
how extraordinarily
wondrous Halston was.
Liza was a blueprint
for Halston,
Halston was a
blueprint for Liza.
-The mythology of Studio 54
depends upon its associations
to cultural icons who
themselves were seen
as figures of excess,
and Liza Minnelli, the
company of Halston,
is in some sense one
of the most sequined
figures for that era.
-Can I say one more thing?
The very first collection
that Halston showed at the
Olympic Tower was mind boggling.
[grand music]
[camera shutters clicking]
Liza closed the show.
She came out on the runway
with the most extraordinary
black crepe back satin dress
with nude shoulders.
And she walked the
runway carrying one rose.
At the end of the runway,
she presented it to
Elizabeth Taylor.
Halston came out and
they came down together.
To watch them, was so touching.
They worked together, they
were in love together,
and they represented a
moment that is unmatched
in American fashion history.
[chimes music]
[gentle music]
-[Reporter] Legendary
actress and singer
Liza Minnelli has
checked into rehab.
-[Reporter] The veteran
entertainer is getting treatment
for a substance abuse
issue at a Malibu facility.
-[Reporter] A much
publicized personal battle
against tranquilizer addiction.
-[Reporter] A disease that
she says nearly k*lled her.
-Honestly, how lucky I
was to have gone through
all of the bad stuff
that I've gone through
because it prepared me
for the rest of my life.
It made me understand a
little bit more about myself.
-Nice to meet you.
-Nice to meet you.
-We're gonna sell
out this evening.
-Oh, fabulous.
-The enormity of Liza's success
certainly was a factor with
the incredible pressures
of life and of show business
and becoming a commodity
for so many people
that she's supporting
financially took its toll.
-How you doing?
-Terrific.
-Hmm?
-Fine.
I was the kind of person
that never fell down.
I never missed work.
I never did any of the
things that you think of
when you think of somebody
being a real mess,
but inside, I felt so weird.
I was taking Valium,
prescription drugs,
but I really didn't feel
like I had a drug problem.
And I'd drink silly
drinks like rum and coke.
I started to notice
that drinking made me
feel better for a minute.
It's really that simple.
And then of course, it turned
on me like it always does.
And people who have been through
all the things I'm
thinking about,
know what I'm talking about.
-I never got drunk
anywhere. [laughing]
I would like to
have, but I can't.
It makes my stomach sick.
I know in the '70s, I
used to tell interviewers
that I was terrified of drugs
and didn't even take aspirin.
Well, kids, that's
called denial.
I didn't want anyone to know
that I was less than perfect,
that I was under stress.
I always wanted to be the hero.
[somber music]
-She has this incredible
strength that I'm gonna do this.
I can do this, and
at the same time,
she has this vulnerability,
she has nervousness,
she has fear.
-The dark stuff, the drug
stuff, whatever it was,
she thought that being alive
and open and playful and
sexy and all of those things,
she inherited some
of that from her mom.
-When Liza became
more vulnerable
and at times in her
life, I was surprised
because she better
than anyone knew
and had vowed, you know,
never to be anything less
than the totally sharp,
responsible person.
-But I was very worried
'cause I thought she was making
some wrong moves personally
and I loved her and she
was like my baby sister.
-Watching my mom,
I swore on my life that
I would never take drugs
until I realized I was doing it.
You know, being Judy
Garland's daughter
is not a lot of laughs.
Life is just a
bowl of cherries
Some take it serious
Life's too mysterious
You work, you say
-So we hear stories of
what it was like to grow up
with a mother who was both
so unbelievably talented,
but also who's had,
you know, her demons,
struggled with alcohol
and drug addiction.
And Liza Minnelli tells stories
of her mother locking
herself in the bathroom
and threatening
to commit suicide.
-Her mother was a person
who deeply, deeply
loved her daughter.
She famously said, "I'm
giving up drugs and pills
and I'm going to be a good
mother for my daughter."
But she couldn't sustain that
because she was addicted.
It's just a bowl of cherries
So live and laugh at it all
-She became
incredibly protective
of her mother at
a very early age
because she
understood her mother.
-She's taught me a great deal.
-[Interviewer] Have you learned
anything from her mistakes
as well as from
her achievements?
-Yes, I have.
Most of the mistakes
that have been made
that I've been around
have not been her fault.
So live and you
laugh at it all
-The relationship
was complicated,
and yet when she sees
her mom on TV, she melts.
She just admires that talent
and that person and that soul.
-Fred Ebb really
taught me about sobriety
because he started to notice
that I was getting a
little fuzzy on stage.
I was doing too much.
And somebody would
say, "Have a drink.
It'll make you feel better."
So I took advantage
of that. [laughing]
[intense music]
-Liza knew that she
came from certain genes
which are addictive
and she needed help.
[intense music continues]
-When Liza Minnelli went
to the Betty Ford Clinic,
this was in the newspapers,
but one of the things
that's distinctive
about her relationship to
having been in some sense
outed as a celebrity with
a substance abuse problem
is that she didn't
run away from that.
She wasn't closeted
about her struggles
in a way that so many
other celebrities had been.
-I think that there
are a lot of people
who don't know that
they had a problem
like I didn't know until
I got so physically weak.
All prescription
drugs are the same.
They're insidious.
And at first they do do what
you take them to do with it.
They hold a very
busy life together.
But then if you don't
stop taking them,
you just keep merrily
going on thinking
that they can't hurt you.
Eventually become toxic.
-And I think that was
very brave of Liza to do
and I think it was
welcomed despite the shock
because I think people were
happy to see her not following
that footstep of her mother's,
as in just being
a hopeless case.
-But it took a lot of guts
for you to decide to go public
because you put yourself
in the inevitable position
of them saying, "Well,
she's gonna follow
truly in her
mother's footsteps."
-I really believe
in saying when something's
wrong and fixing it.
Again, it didn't have
anything to do with my mother.
-She spoke so frankly
about alcoholism
and about addiction
that I thought
was the most courageous
thing she had ever done.
-There's thousands
of people out there
who are having the same problem.
The knowledge that
you're not alone
is the first step
to getting better.
-She became a champion of AA
and other treatment programs,
and even though she
had continued struggles
for different reasons
through a number of years,
she never gave up.
-She's a survivor.
She's come through all that
with her heart and soul intact.
[people chattering]
-Liza.
-Hello.
Hello.
[people clapping]
-It's my agent, you
don't have to applaud.
-So, in aftermath of
her mother's death,
a long decade of the
'70s, Oscar, Emmy, Tony,
a fixture in the cultural
scene in newspapers
and tabloids, this would
be an extraordinary record
of achievement over
an entire career,
let alone stuffed into a decade.
-Imagine that.
-You were one
of the [indistinct].
-Thank you.
I'm glad you liked it.
-She did it.
This young girl who was born
into show business royalty
had to invent herself
who had these challenges.
She knew what she needed.
She built this loyal, loving
family of friends and mentors
and followed this
sort of intuition
to become this iconic person.
-Listen!
[people chattering]
To the band that made
me feel like the best
band singer in the world,
I can't tell you what it's
like singing in front of you.
-She could have died like
her mother. She hasn't.
-[Speaker] We'd like
to thank the orchestra
that worked with us.
-People respond to that.
I think they see
the vulnerability.
-[Speaker] Really do
think you were terrific,
probably the best
orchestra they have.
-They see somebody
not unlike themselves,
who knows rejection,
sorrow, and loss,
and they see her courage
to get up on a stage
and put those sequins on.
She's brave, she
pushes on, you know?
-Yay!
[all clapping]
-[Liza] Thank you,
you're so terrific.
[all clapping]
-[Speaker] Well said.
[all clapping]
[gentle music]
[audience cheering]
[audience chanting]
[audience cheering]
-Let's try one, what the hell.
[gentle piano music]
Sometimes you're happy
and sometimes you're sad
But the world goes round
And sometimes you lose
Every nickel you had
But the world goes round
Sometimes your dreams
get broken in pieces
But that doesn't
matter at all
Take it from me
There's still gonna be
A summer, a winter,
a spring and a fall
Oh once a friend
starts treating you bad
For the world goes round
And sometimes
your heart breaks
With a deafening sound
Somebody loses
and somebody wins
And one day it's kicks
And it's kicks in the shins
But the planet spins
And the world goes
round and round
[man] Can you
think of a star who's managed
to equal a famous parent?
Well, one who did
is Liza Minnelli,
the daughter of a
superstar, Judy Garland.
-It's Lonely at the top.
-And Academy Award-winning
film director Vincente Minnelli.
Liza has become a
superstar on her own.
Round
[grand music]
[upbeat drumbeat music]
[upbeat drumbeat
music continues]
[upbeat drumbeat
music continues]
[upbeat drumbeat
music continues]
[upbeat drumbeat
music continues]
[upbeat drumbeat
music continues]
[upbeat drumbeat
music continues]
-No? All right.
-Put a mark on her face.
-Aw.
-CB that was marvelous.
-Did you like that?
Now, let's take it
again from the top.
[device beeping]
Welcome to our World! Where we serve you cookies to ensure you get the best viewing experience on our site.
Did you know that you can remove censorship board-wide, use our advanced search functions, be notified when new content is posted, join our memberships, set episodes to show in any order you want & more if you are logged into your account?
Register or sign in here: ucp.php?mode=register
Did you know that you can remove censorship board-wide, use our advanced search functions, be notified when new content is posted, join our memberships, set episodes to show in any order you want & more if you are logged into your account?
Register or sign in here: ucp.php?mode=register
Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story (2024)
Moderators: Maskath3, GabrielAlejo2341, sidolanters, Maskath3, sidolanters, GabrielAlejo2341