“It was a very different era,” says Minnelli, defending the behavior of the studio bosses and her mother’s experience. Both actors were told, in no uncertain terms, to return to set immediately after each incident. The Tin Man was hospitalized after a makeup disaster and the Wicked Witch Of The West was accidentally set on fire. Garland was the second lowest- paid actor – only the dog Toto was paid less – and the cast were not pampered like the stars of today. The fantasy blockbuster, which turns 80 this year, remains one of the most beloved movies in cinematic history, but the reality behind its technicolor extravagance was not as bright and dazzling as it seemed. While the twee character propelled her to stardom, it also signaled the beginning of her tumultuous affair with showbusiness. At 16, she became America’s sweetheart in her role of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. If people choose to believe that or not, it’s up to them, but I know I was happy.” Minnelli may be a Hollywood force in her own right, but she has always endured being “the daughter of Judy Garland.” Her mother was a childhood star. “There were highs and lows for sure, but I can say I was very happy. “One of the biggest misconceptions about my mama is that she didn’t provide me with a happy childhood,” says Liza Minnelli one sunny afternoon from New York.
#Liza minelli broadway full#
You get a distinct feeling that showbiz Liza is that friend - the one who lends you their most fabulous clothes, insists you’re not too tired to come out and sings at full volume in the Uber.Liza Minnelli with her mother, Judy Garland. There are jazz hands, too many cigarettes to count and palm-frond-esque eyelashes. In many of the photos she’s deep in conversation, entirely unaware that there’s even a camera at all, or mid-flight on the dancefloor. Showbiz Liza wore double-breasted suiting and men’s ties, floor-sweeping shearling coats for airport transits and blouses with enormous fluted sleeves. Looking back now at photographs of Minnelli during those heady days, the electricity that powered her scene-stealing style is infectious. The look stuck and, after winning the Best Actress Academy Award at the 1973 Oscars for her role in Bob Fosse’s Cabaret (1972), became her hallmark. The signature, zero-fuss pixie cut was enthused with the same no-nonsense spirit (her hair reportedly had to be hacked off after a piece of chewing gum became entangled in it). At just 19, she scooped the 1965 Best Actress Tony for her Broadway debut in Flora the Red Menace, timely recognition of her effervescent talent and grit determination.ĭance was a backbone of her performance, hence the workaday uniform of a black polo neck and pencil-cut trousers or leggings (note the Mary Janes). The star, who was born into the Hollywood hubbub (her parents were actor Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli), has enjoyed a hard-earned prodigious career in musical theatre spanning more than seven decades. In Murphy’s rendering, American actor Krysta Rodriguez shines as the hair-flicking, high-kicking, EGOT-winning Minnelli. Halston was extremely showbiz, as were the ‘Halstonettes’ - a nocturnal collective of ultra-talented women (including Elizabeth Taylor, Cher, Elsa Peretti and Liza Minnelli) who were party pals at the height of the Studio 54 era. With members of Halston’s family questioning the factual correctness of the show, we’ll stick to indisputable truths. That is most likely why Netflix’s Halston - a dazzling five-part biopic from Ryan Murphy, which tells the high-octane life story of Roy Halston Frowick (played by Ewan McGregor) - feels so necessary.
If Instagram is to be believed (don’t), everyone is going about their business in opera gloves and thong bikinis. Larger-than-life style is everywhere and nowhere in 2021. Elizabeth Taylor’s jewellery arsenal? For sure. Jayne Mansfield's Pink Palace (complete with heart-shaped swimming pool)? That was showbiz. ‘Showbiz’ should be overtly decadent to the point of cliche - you must categorically not be able to look away. Showbiz style is the fashion world’s sickly dessert course - the one buried under a waterfall of toxic-hued sauces, which arrives embedded with sparklers after a procession to its own theme song, and has the whole restaurant craning their necks to see what on earth just passed by. Cascading ruffle gowns, acres of fringing, and dinner-plate-sized sunglasses fire our most elementary fashion synapses. We don’t use the word ‘showbiz’ enough any more when describing knockout style.
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