Thursday, June 30, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Liza Minnelli in Concert at Londons Royal Albert Hall ~ June 29th, 11
http://westend.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo-Flash-Liza-Minelli-in-Concert-at-Londons-Royal-Albert-Hall-20110629
Wednesday, June 29, 2011; Posted: 08:06 PM - by BWW News Desk
Hollywood icon Liza Minnelli - whose brilliant career has earned her an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy and four Tony Awards - is currently performing in the UK, with the first of four concerts taking place in Royal Albert Hall tonight.
Liza's last concerts in the UK were in 2008 when they received great critical acclaim. The multi-award winning singer/actress/dancer's next concert dates will be at London (Hampstead) Kenwood House, 1st July; Manchester Bridgewater Hall, 4th July; and Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 6th July.
View photos from tonight's concert below!
Photo Credit: Roy Tan
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Wednesday, June 29, 2011; Posted: 08:06 PM - by BWW News Desk
Hollywood icon Liza Minnelli - whose brilliant career has earned her an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy and four Tony Awards - is currently performing in the UK, with the first of four concerts taking place in Royal Albert Hall tonight.
Liza's last concerts in the UK were in 2008 when they received great critical acclaim. The multi-award winning singer/actress/dancer's next concert dates will be at London (Hampstead) Kenwood House, 1st July; Manchester Bridgewater Hall, 4th July; and Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, 6th July.
View photos from tonight's concert below!
Photo Credit: Roy Tan
Liza Minnelli Plays London, Paris, Vienna and More Starting June 29
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/152230-Liza-Minnelli-Plays-London-Paris-Vienna-and-More-Starting-June-29
By Andrew Gans
29 Jun 2011
By Andrew Gans
29 Jun 2011
Tony Award winner Liza Minnelli kicks off a series of summer concerts June 29 at London's Royal Albert Hall.
Summer international tour dates also include July 1 at the Kenwood House in London; July 4 at the Manchester Bridgewater Hall in Manchester; July 6 at the Glasgow Concert Hall in Glasgow; July 8 at the Kursaal Oostende in Belgium; July 11 at the Olympia in Paris; July 13 at the Arena Santa Giuliana in Italy; July 15 at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland; July 17 at the State Opera House in Vienna; and Aug. 2-3 at the Sporting Club in Monte Carlo.
Prior to Liza's at the Palace. . ., Minnelli, an Oscar winner for her performance in "Cabaret," was last on Broadway in a tribute to her late father entitledMinnelli on Minnelli; she also returned to New York City's Beacon Theatre with her acclaimed concertLiza's Back! In addition to her Tonys for Flora, the Red Menace and The Act, Minnelli was awarded a special Tony in 1974 for "adding lustre to the Broadway season." Her film credits include "The Sterile Cuckoo," "Arthur," "New York, New York" and "Stepping Out." The singer is also a Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actress. Her album "Liza's Back!" is available on the J Records label, and "The Best of Liza Minnelli" was released on the Columbia/Legacy label. Showtime aired "Liza with a 'Z'," and Minnelli also received the Julie Harris Award for Lifetime Achievement at the 10th Annual Tony Awards Bash in Los Angeles.
Minnelli just released her latest solo recording, "Confessions."
For more information visit www.officiallizaminnelli.com.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
The Stonewall Riots, Drag Queens, and Judy Garland by Toby Johnson
http://www.tobyjohnson.com/stonewall.html
The Stonewall Riots, Drag Queens, and Judy Garland
From my understanding of the event (based on my working with Toby Marotta on the book The Politics of Homosexuality which included an elaborate account of Stonewall), what "empowered" the patrons at the Stonewall Inn was a general hippie/countercultural rejection of societal power structures (arising from the anti-war movement) AND, importantly, from a sense of numbers.
I think -- and I don't claim to be right, only to have an opinion -- what happened is that earlier that the day, Friday, June 27th, 1969, a great many men from the Village flocked to Judy Garland's funeral at a upper Eastside funeral parlor at Madison Ave and 81st. What impressed them -- and in the early hours of the next day, mobilized them to resist the police raid on the Stonewall Inn -- wasn't Garland's divahood (after all, it had been her downfall), but rather the number of other gay men they saw at the event. These were Garland's fans. There were crowds of homosexuals recognizing each other on the street in front of the funeral parlor.
Garland's funeral turned out to be a sort of proto-gay pride event. And it demonstrated there was power in numbers -- that was something "in the air" in those days as one anti-war mobilization after another demonstrated how many people were "anti-establishment."
The Stonewall Inn was a sort of hippie bar. The "street queens" weren't politicos and they weren't "drag queens" in the sense of female impersonators or drag performers. (The bar was not particularly welcoming to true drag queens/female impersonators and, in fact, had a quota on the number the bouncer allowed in.) They were hippies in so-called "gender fuck drag." And they were likely high on pot or tripping on acid.
The Stonewall Inn, in fact, had been under attack by the fledging gay politicos of the time. About a year and a half earlier, Craig Rodwell (previous President of the Mattachine Society New York and founder of the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop) had written an article for a MSNY newsletter called The Hymnal tracing a rash of Hepatitis A infections to the bar. It was believed by the proto-actvists with the Mattachine that the bar didn't wash glasses between uses. This lack of concern for the patrons' well-being was attributed to the bar's Mafia ownership.
As time has passed, the mythology of Stonewall has come to valorize drag queens as the champions of political and cultural revolution. That's probably missing the point that it was the anti-Establishment tenor of the times, hippie nonchalance and joie de vivre, gay men's sense of being outsiders, and, very importantly, the drugs -- and then the sense of numbers and power observed at Garland's funeral -- that gave the patrons at the Stonewall Inn the impulse to resist the police that night. And inadvertently to initiate the transformation of how gay people see themselves that is the gay rights movement!
This was liberation through consciousness change. And that is our queer contribution to the effort of human consciousness to understand how to transform itself and save the future.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NYC - West Village: Stonewall Inn
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Photo Properties
NP! ID: 2384758
Title: NYC - West Village: Stonewall Inn
File Size: 2811 × 1874 – 1.72 MB
Created: Sun, 06/28/2009 - 5:09pm
Modified: Sun, 06/28/2009 - 5:09pm
File Type: image (jpeg)
Licence: None (All rights reserved)
At about 1am on June 28, 1969, hours after Judy Garland's funeral, the gay bar known as the Stonewall Inn was raided by the police setting off events that resulted in the birth of the modern gay and lesbian rights movement. Although the raid itself was not an unusual event, the fact that bar patrons fought back, forcing the police to retreat, galvanized the community. The anniversary is celebrated annually around the world with parades and other gay pride events.
The Stonewall Inn closed in late 1969. It remained closed for over 20 years. It was revitalized in the late 1990's and became a popular multi-floor nightclub until it closed again in 2006 when management lost its lease. Under the new management of the next door duplex Piano Bar, it reopened in 2007.
The Stonewall Inn is located in the Greenwich Village Historic District, designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1969.
National Historic Register #99000562
Continue reading at NowPublic.com: NYC - West Village: Stonewall Inn
NowPublic Photo Archives http://www.nowpublic.com/world/nyc-west-village-stonewall-inn#ixzz1Q3pmc8Or
Continue reading at NowPublic.com: NYC - West Village: Stonewall Inn
NowPublic Photo Archives http://www.nowpublic.com/world/nyc-west-village-stonewall-inn#ixzz1Q3pmc8Or
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
www.anotherqueerjubu.com/another_queer_jewish_budd/2007/06/jud...
June 27, 2007
Judy Garland & Stonewall
Thirty eight years ago today Judy Garland's funeral was held at the Frank Campbell funeral home in Manhattan. People lined up for hours. That night, the police raided a bar on Christopher Street called the Stonewall Inn. Some people said the reason for the uprising was that Judy had died. Some said it was the full moon that night. Some said, after a decade of watching the civil rights movement, and the women's rights movement, it was time for queer people to fight back.
On the day Judy died, I was at a medieval tournament held in New Jersey under the auspices of the Society for Creative Anachronism. I was 16 years old and desperately trying to come out. I had been to the Oscar Wilde bookshop on Mercer Street, where I listened to the advice of Craig Rodwell. I had gone to Julius' on Waverly and West 10th, still there today, and was not merely underage, but certainly the only person in the bar under 30, which for a skittish 16 year old was rather terrifying. I had been to the West Side Discussion Group, which met at the Church of the Holy Apostle (now home to, among other things, the "gay synagogue" Congregation Beth Simchat Torah) and where every week people talked about homosexuality in polite ways and politics was not the agenda. But on the day Judy died, I was in New Jersey, dancing the galliard and the gavotte while other young men in faux chain mail hit each other was fake swords. On the bus going back that night, we sang Over The Rainbow.
Who knows what I was doing the night of the street fighting. I certainly didn't even know about them until the following Wednesday, when I read the homophobic accounts by reporters from the Village Voice, whose offices were just down the street from the bar, at the site now occupied by the Duplex. I do know that when I read the Voice's story I was outraged by not only the police, but by the so-called liberal newspaper using words to describe queer people that I thought were hateful. Words like, well, queer, haha. Times change. Within a year I was going to meetings of the Gay Liberation Front at Alternate U. on Sixth Avenue and 14th Street. I was a member of Gay Youth. The wall of my bedroom was decorated wtih posters of Oscar Wilde and Allen Ginsberg. I went on demonstrations, and eventually, as a member of the Gay Activists Alliance, on zaps.
I'm a member of the Stonewall Generation. And as it happens, the first movie I ever saw, at age two, was the Wizard of Oz. My mother took me when it was re-released into theaters just in time for the baby boom. She was nervous I would fidget, or cry when Margaret Hamilton as the Witch was on screen. I am told I sat as though hypnotized. So there you have it. Judy Garland and The Wizard of Oz made me gay. The CBS broadcasts in the 60s made an entire generation gay. And Judy's death sent us over the edge. If that's what you want to believe. Heaven knows there are enough wingnuts out there who would believe it. And while they were probably raising glasses to toast her at Julius', some of the people at the Stonewall had more practical things to think about, like where they might be sleeping that night.
All I know is this. I am grateful there was a performer I grew up watching who was completely vulnerable on stage, so that I learned it wasn't shameful to show that vulnerability. And I am grateful there were queer people who had the courage to stand up to the New York Police Force (and as the mythology goes danced in a rockettes style kick line) and fought back— because this wasn't a riot, it was an uprising. To quote a leaflet that was posted on the wall of the Stonewall later that week: Think homosexuals are revolting? You bet we are!
Posted at 10:48 PM in Activism, GLBT, New York City, Politics
Permalink
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http://www.gossiprocks.com/forum/miscellaneous/22925-judy-garland-stonewall-riots.html
Out of the Past: Judy Garland
13 November 2003
source: http://rainbownetwork.com/Features/d...annel=Features www.rainbownetwork.com
Ever wondered why so many queens are Judy Garland fans? She suffered, she got back up when she was down, she was precociously, ludicrously talented, she liked getting smashed, she starred in the campest film on earth, and, oh yes, she played a formative role in the birth of the modern gay rights movement.
Dateline: June 1969
On Sunday 22 June 1969, Garland was found dead from an overdose in her London home. On Friday 27 June she was buried and a wake was held by her gay fans at the Stonewall Inn in New York. In the early hours of 28 June the police decided to raid the Stonewall.
Where?
The Stonewall Inn was located at 53 Christopher Street. It was an after-hours members only club that sold booze without a licence. It was a real dump.
What happened?
Some sources say that as `Somewhere Over the Rainbow` played on the jukebox, eight plainclothes officers raided the Stonewall Inn, led by Deputy Inspector Seymour Pine. Customers were allowed to leave whilst the owners were arrested. The mood was light, but then it changed when a police wagon appeared and some drag queens and a lesbian were forced into it. The crowd started to get angry, they started attacking the police, who retreated to the bar and locked themselves inside. People started to throw bricks through the windows, more police arrived, some started waving guns, and the disturbance grew into a full-scale riot.
Why
As far as the punters were concerned, the raid was the latest example of police harassment of minority groups. Numerous gay bars had been closed down, people were running out of places to go and they just couldn`t take it anymore. Everyone was sick of being criminalised by a brutal and unsympathetic police force. And then Judy died. People just couldn`t take any more!
The aftermath
Not everyone agreed that what happened at Stonewall was a riot. The New York press downplayed the events, calling it a "rampage." The whole thing took about 45 minutes, according to witnesses. But later that Saturday, in the evening, more people converged at the Stonewall Inn. They closed off the street, chanted slogans and fought back against the police. More disturbances took place over the next few nights, after which people decided to become more organised and develop their own political groups. In late July the Gay Liberation Front was formed and the rest, as they say, is history. Judy would have been proud.
Buy the essential gay CD, `Judy at Carnegie Hall` online and save money.
By: CC
![]()
![]()
![]()
The Stonewall Riots, Drag Queens, and Judy Garland
From my understanding of the event (based on my working with Toby Marotta on the book The Politics of Homosexuality which included an elaborate account of Stonewall), what "empowered" the patrons at the Stonewall Inn was a general hippie/countercultural rejection of societal power structures (arising from the anti-war movement) AND, importantly, from a sense of numbers.
I think -- and I don't claim to be right, only to have an opinion -- what happened is that earlier that the day, Friday, June 27th, 1969, a great many men from the Village flocked to Judy Garland's funeral at a upper Eastside funeral parlor at Madison Ave and 81st. What impressed them -- and in the early hours of the next day, mobilized them to resist the police raid on the Stonewall Inn -- wasn't Garland's divahood (after all, it had been her downfall), but rather the number of other gay men they saw at the event. These were Garland's fans. There were crowds of homosexuals recognizing each other on the street in front of the funeral parlor.
Garland's funeral turned out to be a sort of proto-gay pride event. And it demonstrated there was power in numbers -- that was something "in the air" in those days as one anti-war mobilization after another demonstrated how many people were "anti-establishment."
The Stonewall Inn was a sort of hippie bar. The "street queens" weren't politicos and they weren't "drag queens" in the sense of female impersonators or drag performers. (The bar was not particularly welcoming to true drag queens/female impersonators and, in fact, had a quota on the number the bouncer allowed in.) They were hippies in so-called "gender fuck drag." And they were likely high on pot or tripping on acid.
The Stonewall Inn, in fact, had been under attack by the fledging gay politicos of the time. About a year and a half earlier, Craig Rodwell (previous President of the Mattachine Society New York and founder of the Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop) had written an article for a MSNY newsletter called The Hymnal tracing a rash of Hepatitis A infections to the bar. It was believed by the proto-actvists with the Mattachine that the bar didn't wash glasses between uses. This lack of concern for the patrons' well-being was attributed to the bar's Mafia ownership.
As time has passed, the mythology of Stonewall has come to valorize drag queens as the champions of political and cultural revolution. That's probably missing the point that it was the anti-Establishment tenor of the times, hippie nonchalance and joie de vivre, gay men's sense of being outsiders, and, very importantly, the drugs -- and then the sense of numbers and power observed at Garland's funeral -- that gave the patrons at the Stonewall Inn the impulse to resist the police that night. And inadvertently to initiate the transformation of how gay people see themselves that is the gay rights movement!
This was liberation through consciousness change. And that is our queer contribution to the effort of human consciousness to understand how to transform itself and save the future.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NYC - West Village: Stonewall Inn
NP! ID: 2384758
Title: NYC - West Village: Stonewall Inn
File Size: 2811 × 1874 – 1.72 MB
Created: Sun, 06/28/2009 - 5:09pm
Modified: Sun, 06/28/2009 - 5:09pm
File Type: image (jpeg)
Licence: None (All rights reserved)
At about 1am on June 28, 1969, hours after Judy Garland's funeral, the gay bar known as the Stonewall Inn was raided by the police setting off events that resulted in the birth of the modern gay and lesbian rights movement. Although the raid itself was not an unusual event, the fact that bar patrons fought back, forcing the police to retreat, galvanized the community. The anniversary is celebrated annually around the world with parades and other gay pride events.
The Stonewall Inn closed in late 1969. It remained closed for over 20 years. It was revitalized in the late 1990's and became a popular multi-floor nightclub until it closed again in 2006 when management lost its lease. Under the new management of the next door duplex Piano Bar, it reopened in 2007.
The Stonewall Inn is located in the Greenwich Village Historic District, designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1969.
National Historic Register #99000562
Continue reading at NowPublic.com: NYC - West Village: Stonewall Inn
NowPublic Photo Archives http://www.nowpublic.com/world/nyc-west-village-stonewall-inn#ixzz1Q3pmc8Or
Continue reading at NowPublic.com: NYC - West Village: Stonewall Inn
NowPublic Photo Archives http://www.nowpublic.com/world/nyc-west-village-stonewall-inn#ixzz1Q3pmc8Or
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
www.anotherqueerjubu.com/another_queer_jewish_budd/2007/06/jud...
June 27, 2007
Judy Garland & Stonewall
Thirty eight years ago today Judy Garland's funeral was held at the Frank Campbell funeral home in Manhattan. People lined up for hours. That night, the police raided a bar on Christopher Street called the Stonewall Inn. Some people said the reason for the uprising was that Judy had died. Some said it was the full moon that night. Some said, after a decade of watching the civil rights movement, and the women's rights movement, it was time for queer people to fight back.
On the day Judy died, I was at a medieval tournament held in New Jersey under the auspices of the Society for Creative Anachronism. I was 16 years old and desperately trying to come out. I had been to the Oscar Wilde bookshop on Mercer Street, where I listened to the advice of Craig Rodwell. I had gone to Julius' on Waverly and West 10th, still there today, and was not merely underage, but certainly the only person in the bar under 30, which for a skittish 16 year old was rather terrifying. I had been to the West Side Discussion Group, which met at the Church of the Holy Apostle (now home to, among other things, the "gay synagogue" Congregation Beth Simchat Torah) and where every week people talked about homosexuality in polite ways and politics was not the agenda. But on the day Judy died, I was in New Jersey, dancing the galliard and the gavotte while other young men in faux chain mail hit each other was fake swords. On the bus going back that night, we sang Over The Rainbow.
Who knows what I was doing the night of the street fighting. I certainly didn't even know about them until the following Wednesday, when I read the homophobic accounts by reporters from the Village Voice, whose offices were just down the street from the bar, at the site now occupied by the Duplex. I do know that when I read the Voice's story I was outraged by not only the police, but by the so-called liberal newspaper using words to describe queer people that I thought were hateful. Words like, well, queer, haha. Times change. Within a year I was going to meetings of the Gay Liberation Front at Alternate U. on Sixth Avenue and 14th Street. I was a member of Gay Youth. The wall of my bedroom was decorated wtih posters of Oscar Wilde and Allen Ginsberg. I went on demonstrations, and eventually, as a member of the Gay Activists Alliance, on zaps.
I'm a member of the Stonewall Generation. And as it happens, the first movie I ever saw, at age two, was the Wizard of Oz. My mother took me when it was re-released into theaters just in time for the baby boom. She was nervous I would fidget, or cry when Margaret Hamilton as the Witch was on screen. I am told I sat as though hypnotized. So there you have it. Judy Garland and The Wizard of Oz made me gay. The CBS broadcasts in the 60s made an entire generation gay. And Judy's death sent us over the edge. If that's what you want to believe. Heaven knows there are enough wingnuts out there who would believe it. And while they were probably raising glasses to toast her at Julius', some of the people at the Stonewall had more practical things to think about, like where they might be sleeping that night.
All I know is this. I am grateful there was a performer I grew up watching who was completely vulnerable on stage, so that I learned it wasn't shameful to show that vulnerability. And I am grateful there were queer people who had the courage to stand up to the New York Police Force (and as the mythology goes danced in a rockettes style kick line) and fought back— because this wasn't a riot, it was an uprising. To quote a leaflet that was posted on the wall of the Stonewall later that week: Think homosexuals are revolting? You bet we are!
Posted at 10:48 PM in Activism, GLBT, New York City, Politics
Permalink
http://www.gossiprocks.com/forum/miscellaneous/22925-judy-garland-stonewall-riots.html
Out of the Past: Judy Garland
13 November 2003
source: http://rainbownetwork.com/Features/d...annel=Features www.rainbownetwork.com
Ever wondered why so many queens are Judy Garland fans? She suffered, she got back up when she was down, she was precociously, ludicrously talented, she liked getting smashed, she starred in the campest film on earth, and, oh yes, she played a formative role in the birth of the modern gay rights movement.
Dateline: June 1969
On Sunday 22 June 1969, Garland was found dead from an overdose in her London home. On Friday 27 June she was buried and a wake was held by her gay fans at the Stonewall Inn in New York. In the early hours of 28 June the police decided to raid the Stonewall.
Where?
The Stonewall Inn was located at 53 Christopher Street. It was an after-hours members only club that sold booze without a licence. It was a real dump.
What happened?
Some sources say that as `Somewhere Over the Rainbow` played on the jukebox, eight plainclothes officers raided the Stonewall Inn, led by Deputy Inspector Seymour Pine. Customers were allowed to leave whilst the owners were arrested. The mood was light, but then it changed when a police wagon appeared and some drag queens and a lesbian were forced into it. The crowd started to get angry, they started attacking the police, who retreated to the bar and locked themselves inside. People started to throw bricks through the windows, more police arrived, some started waving guns, and the disturbance grew into a full-scale riot.
Why
As far as the punters were concerned, the raid was the latest example of police harassment of minority groups. Numerous gay bars had been closed down, people were running out of places to go and they just couldn`t take it anymore. Everyone was sick of being criminalised by a brutal and unsympathetic police force. And then Judy died. People just couldn`t take any more!
The aftermath
Not everyone agreed that what happened at Stonewall was a riot. The New York press downplayed the events, calling it a "rampage." The whole thing took about 45 minutes, according to witnesses. But later that Saturday, in the evening, more people converged at the Stonewall Inn. They closed off the street, chanted slogans and fought back against the police. More disturbances took place over the next few nights, after which people decided to become more organised and develop their own political groups. In late July the Gay Liberation Front was formed and the rest, as they say, is history. Judy would have been proud.
Buy the essential gay CD, `Judy at Carnegie Hall` online and save money.
By: CC
REMEMBERING JUDY!
Judy Garland, 47, Found Dead By THE NEW YORK TIMES
LONDON, June 22- Judy Garland, whose successes on stage and screen were later overshadowed by the pathos of her personal life, was found dead in her home here today.
The cause of death of the 47-year-old singer was not immediately established...
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LONDON, June 22- Judy Garland, whose successes on stage and screen were later overshadowed by the pathos of her personal life, was found dead in her home here today.
The cause of death of the 47-year-old singer was not immediately established...
+
+-+`
Marilyn Monroe, Mick Jagger and Liza Minnelli in Warhol and the Diva at The Lowry in Salford
http://www.culture24.org.uk/art/painting+%26+drawing/portraits/art358855
![]()
By Culture24 Staff
22 June 2011
Exhibition: Warhol and the Diva, The Lowry, Salford, June 25 – September 25 2011
Andy Warhol was never shy of throwing himself wardrobe-first into the world of his high-profile subjects.
From Marilyn Monroe and Mick Jagger to Liza Minnelli and Jane Fonda, there are a catalogue of stars here, but the transformation of an artist with his own sequinned alter-ego – “it would be very glamorous to be reincarnated as a great big ring on Liz Taylor’s finger”, he tellingly mused – also sees his self-portraits in drag given a revealing focus.
“Warhol admired and adored the subjects he depicted in his work, immersing himself in their lifestyle and living and breathing the glamour of their existence,” says curator Kate Farell, who declares the gallery “honoured” to be hosting this “incredible body of material”, featuring more than 20 original screen prints, Polaroid works and ephemera largely borrowed from The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.
“Exploring Warhol's fascination with the most revered performers of his generation within the context of The Lowry is a perfect match, allowing us to present internationally renowned artwork with an emphasis on the theatrical.
“I hope our visitors will be as excited by this fascinating collection of works as we are to show it off.”
Open 11am-5pm (10am-5pm Saturday). Admission free.
22 June 2011
Exhibition: Warhol and the Diva, The Lowry, Salford, June 25 – September 25 2011
Andy Warhol was never shy of throwing himself wardrobe-first into the world of his high-profile subjects.
From Marilyn Monroe and Mick Jagger to Liza Minnelli and Jane Fonda, there are a catalogue of stars here, but the transformation of an artist with his own sequinned alter-ego – “it would be very glamorous to be reincarnated as a great big ring on Liz Taylor’s finger”, he tellingly mused – also sees his self-portraits in drag given a revealing focus.
“Warhol admired and adored the subjects he depicted in his work, immersing himself in their lifestyle and living and breathing the glamour of their existence,” says curator Kate Farell, who declares the gallery “honoured” to be hosting this “incredible body of material”, featuring more than 20 original screen prints, Polaroid works and ephemera largely borrowed from The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.
“Exploring Warhol's fascination with the most revered performers of his generation within the context of The Lowry is a perfect match, allowing us to present internationally renowned artwork with an emphasis on the theatrical.
“I hope our visitors will be as excited by this fascinating collection of works as we are to show it off.”
Open 11am-5pm (10am-5pm Saturday). Admission free.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Liz Taylor taught me how to live my life: Liza Minnelli pays a moving tribute to her friend
By Richard Barber
Liza Minnelli takes a drag on her umpteenth Marlboro Lite of the day ('Absolutely my only vice'), casts a practised eye around the perfectly serviceable, if a little impersonal, hotel reception room and makes a decision.
'Let's go to my suite, darling,' she says.
The vocal delivery has changed since last we met. The 's' comes out more like 'sh' these days — 'Let'sh go to my shuite' — and it's also a bit huskier.
There's something different about her face, too. For a start, the upper lip looks plumper than when I last saw her.
But as we emerge from the lift, it's clear she's in skittish form. A scarlet jacket with billowing sleeves and Nehru collar adds a shot of drama to the black body, slacks and ankle-boots she's wearing.
It's clear that, despite all her troubles — physical and matrimonial — Liza's got her mojo back; and apparently in more or less full working order.
'People say to me, "So you're 65," and I want to blow a raspberry and say: "Yeah, and I'm still here".'
She duly thumbs her nose, blows that raspberry and dissolves into raucous laughter.
A decade ago, today's picture of sunny good health would never have seemed possible.
Viral encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) caused by an infected mosquito bite left Liza unable to walk and talk.
Two years later, in 2002, she embarked upon her fourth ('and my last') marriage to music producer David Gest, the mention of whose name, I know, would see me ejected from the suite.
The wedding, with Elizabeth Taylor, Michael Jackson and Martine McCutcheon as witnesses, and the stomach-turning post-vows kiss in which Gest all but swallowed Liza whole, set the seal on the marriage that followed.
It ended in 2007 amid lurid and unsubstantiated allegations of abuse on both sides.
He claimed she beat him up, and she accused him of plotting to have her dog put down.
That apart, she's notched up two hip replacements and, more recently, a new knee.
'I like to say that on the top half I'm the daughter of Dorothy; on the bottom, I'm the daughter of the Tin Man.'
And yet here she is, those fathomless black eyes round with astonishment at the suggestion that she's reached the sort of age when most people start thinking about retirement.
'I like what I do. Why would I want to retire from fun?' she asks. 'Anyway, I haven't lost my curiosity.
'People ask what I could possibly do next that I haven't done already, and I always answer the same way: I'd like to do it all again, please, only this time better.'
Her new album, Confessions, just released on Decca, is something of a departure from her familiar sock-it-to-'em, big band style.
An intimate collection of mostly lesser-known standards, it's at once languid and surprisingly sexy.
'I always go to bed at ten,' purrs Liza on one track, 'and then go home at four.'
Recovering from the knee operation, she made the record with her long-time pianist collaborator, Billy Stritch — in her bedroom.
'So maybe that's why it sounds intimate,' she suggests.
British audiences will be able to judge for themselves when Liza tours at the end of the month, with concerts at the Royal Albert Hall, in the open-air in North London at Kenwood, in Manchester, and finally in Glasgow on July 6.
She enjoys touring, but has made it a personal rule that she's never away from her spacious New York apartment for more than three weeks at a time. Quite apart from anything else, she'd miss her puppies.
She walks the three schnauzers — Emelina, Oscar and Blaise — every day she's in town.
'Why wouldn't I?' she says.
'I live in a nice neighbourhood where everyone knows everyone else. People shout, "Hi, Liza!" and I shout right back.
'I tell you something: if anyone wants to understand the real me, they should meet my dogs. They're calm and loving, and they don't bark. Now where do you think they get all that from?'
She is, she says, 'bored, bored, bored' with talking about her mother, the fabulously flawed Judy Garland, who died, aged 47, from a cocktail of pills and drink, 42 years ago next Wednesday.
Liza has achieved so much in her life: three Tony awards, an Emmy, two Golden Globes, a Grammy Legend award and an Oscar (for Cabaret).
A journalist visiting her in New York last month made the mistake of refusing
'So I took him into my den and showed him my awards; my awards.'
So, does Liza have any regrets?
'Of course. There are hundreds of things I've said and done that I wish I hadn't. But that must be true of everyone.
'What I try to do now is live today in a way that won't give me regrets tomorrow.'
Part of this philosophy has been inherited from her lifelong friend Elizabeth Taylor.
'Daddy [Vincente Minnelli] directed her in Father Of The Bride in 1950, when I was four, and she was great to me.
'Elizabeth was just a regular girl. The reality was that she was part of an era when movie stars were working actors.
'They didn't parade around town all day with two wolfhounds on the end of a leash. She went to the studio. She went to work. She did her job.'
Liza's unstinting in her admiration of both Taylor's work ethic and her approach to life.
Big heart: Rock Hudson with Elizabeth Taylor - he inspired her Aids charity
'Elizabeth had so much energy, and she was always doing something for somebody.
'I'll give you an example. Rock Hudson came with me to a dinner in her honour.
'She drew me aside at one point and said: "Oh my God! What's wrong with Rock? He looks awful."
'I explained that there was this new disease. Nobody knew what it was exactly, but I had friends in New York who were suffering from it and there was no cure.
'The next day, she called me. "What did you say this disease was?" And so her Aids charity, amfAR, was born. That was Elizabeth for you.
'She was a doer, with such a vibrant personality, and such a love for life.
'She had a face she presented to the public but another in private for her friends.
'When she stopped working, she had a life. It's an example I've always followed.'
She saw Elizabeth a few months before she died in March.
'Elizabeth was one of those people who you were sure would survive anything, for the very good reason that she always had. It never crossed my mind that this would be her final illness.
'She'd got close to this new guy and I was convinced she'd have married him.
'So I thought: "Oh, she's going to be fine." Except that she wasn't.'
But Liza can't be sad.
'What a life! I smile now as I think of her. She was the last of an era, the end of a tradition that died with her.
'And look what she did for people. She was always helping somebody. You won't ever get depressed if you're helping somebody else. Elizabeth taught me that. And that's the side of her I hope people will come to know better.'
Tour details: ticketmaster.co.uk
LIZA classic "NEW YORK,NEW YORK" debut on Blu-Ray!
http://www.towleroad.com/2011/06/movies-green-lantern.html
Tim Pawlenty Gets Glitter-Bombed by Gay Rights Protester: VIDEO »
The new Blu-Ray I'm shoving in the player first is Martin Scorsese's wildly underrated New York New York (1977) with Liza Minnelli. I saw it for the first time a few years ago and was startled by how strong it was. Why do so few people talk about it, still, whether they're talking up Scorsese's classics or Liza's career? Maybe it comes down to the fact that it had the misfortune of arriving into the world after Cabaret and Taxi Driver; no matter how good it is, it was going to be suffer in comparison. It's well worth a look if you haven't seen it or haven't seen it in years. It's also a pretty substantial reminder that Liza Minnelli was a formidable screen actress in her time. Her Oscar-winning performance in Cabaret was not a one-off.
Die hard Liza fans may want to make it a double feature with Lucky Lady (1975, also new to Blu-Ray) which is a little seen 70s curiousity. It's kind of an unholy mess, story-wise, but it's fun to watch for a good portion of the running time. Three big stars near the peak of their fame (Liza Minnelli, Burt Reynolds and Gene Hackman) play prohibition-era booze smugglers in a rather happy ménage-à -trois relationship... only in the 70s!
Tim Pawlenty Gets Glitter-Bombed by Gay Rights Protester: VIDEO »
The new Blu-Ray I'm shoving in the player first is Martin Scorsese's wildly underrated New York New York (1977) with Liza Minnelli. I saw it for the first time a few years ago and was startled by how strong it was. Why do so few people talk about it, still, whether they're talking up Scorsese's classics or Liza's career? Maybe it comes down to the fact that it had the misfortune of arriving into the world after Cabaret and Taxi Driver; no matter how good it is, it was going to be suffer in comparison. It's well worth a look if you haven't seen it or haven't seen it in years. It's also a pretty substantial reminder that Liza Minnelli was a formidable screen actress in her time. Her Oscar-winning performance in Cabaret was not a one-off.
Die hard Liza fans may want to make it a double feature with Lucky Lady (1975, also new to Blu-Ray) which is a little seen 70s curiousity. It's kind of an unholy mess, story-wise, but it's fun to watch for a good portion of the running time. Three big stars near the peak of their fame (Liza Minnelli, Burt Reynolds and Gene Hackman) play prohibition-era booze smugglers in a rather happy ménage-à -trois relationship... only in the 70s!
Yes, Liza Minnelli Had a Yard Sale
http://www.diylife.com/2011/06/15/liza-minnelli-yard-sale/
by Brie Dyas, Posted Jun 15th 2011 11:30AM
We're just as intrigued as you are that the legendary singer-actress did something as mundane as having a yard sale. But wait until you hear what was on offer...
Were you in the market for Michael Jackson's epaulets? Then you should have been at Liza Minnelli's yard sale this past weekend in East Hampton, New York. Though it was probably a more flashy affair (after all, it was the Hamptons), we like to imagine that the scene resembled a typical yard sale like the photo above.
So, what was on offer aside from the King of Pop's epaulets? Couture clothing (sequined, we assume), furniture from her Lake Tahoe home and a book on hip replacement signed by her surgeon. Liza remarked on the latter, "You've got to keep on trucking, folks, keep on trucking!"
Our favorite part of this whole event wasn't that Joy Behar showed up (picking up some jewelry), but the fact that Liza placed a classified ad in the local paper, The East Hampton Star. Though it was a blind ad, this line
gave it away: "Don't bother coming early, entertainers sleep in"
And so do we, Liza.
by Brie Dyas, Posted Jun 15th 2011 11:30AM
We're just as intrigued as you are that the legendary singer-actress did something as mundane as having a yard sale. But wait until you hear what was on offer...
Were you in the market for Michael Jackson's epaulets? Then you should have been at Liza Minnelli's yard sale this past weekend in East Hampton, New York. Though it was probably a more flashy affair (after all, it was the Hamptons), we like to imagine that the scene resembled a typical yard sale like the photo above.
So, what was on offer aside from the King of Pop's epaulets? Couture clothing (sequined, we assume), furniture from her Lake Tahoe home and a book on hip replacement signed by her surgeon. Liza remarked on the latter, "You've got to keep on trucking, folks, keep on trucking!"
Our favorite part of this whole event wasn't that Joy Behar showed up (picking up some jewelry), but the fact that Liza placed a classified ad in the local paper, The East Hampton Star. Though it was a blind ad, this line
gave it away: "Don't bother coming early, entertainers sleep in"
And so do we, Liza.
Yes, Liza Minnelli Had a Yard Sale
http://www.diylife.com/2011/06/15/liza-minnelli-yard-sale/
Brie Dyas, Posted Jun 15th 2011 11:30AM
We're just as intrigued as you are that the legendary singer-actress did something as mundane as having a yard sale. But wait until you hear what was on offer...
Were you in the market for Michael Jackson's epaulets? Then you should have been at Liza Minnelli's yard sale this past weekend in East Hampton, New York. Though it was probably a more flashy affair (after all, it was the Hamptons), we like to imagine that the scene resembled a typical yard sale like the photo above.
So, what was on offer aside from the King of Pop's epaulets? Couture clothing (sequined, we assume),
furniture from her Lake Tahoe home and a book on hip replacement signed by her surgeon. Liza remarked to the latter, "You've got to keep on trucking, folks, keep on trucking!"
Our favorite part of this whole event wasn't that Joy Behar showed up (picking up some jewelry), but the fact that Liza placed a classified ad in the local paper, The East Hampton Star.
Though it was a blind ad, this line gave it away: "Don't bother coming early, entertainers sleep in."
And so do we, Liza.
Brie Dyas, Posted Jun 15th 2011 11:30AM
We're just as intrigued as you are that the legendary singer-actress did something as mundane as having a yard sale. But wait until you hear what was on offer...
Were you in the market for Michael Jackson's epaulets? Then you should have been at Liza Minnelli's yard sale this past weekend in East Hampton, New York. Though it was probably a more flashy affair (after all, it was the Hamptons), we like to imagine that the scene resembled a typical yard sale like the photo above.
So, what was on offer aside from the King of Pop's epaulets? Couture clothing (sequined, we assume),
furniture from her Lake Tahoe home and a book on hip replacement signed by her surgeon. Liza remarked to the latter, "You've got to keep on trucking, folks, keep on trucking!"
Our favorite part of this whole event wasn't that Joy Behar showed up (picking up some jewelry), but the fact that Liza placed a classified ad in the local paper, The East Hampton Star.
Though it was a blind ad, this line gave it away: "Don't bother coming early, entertainers sleep in."
And so do we, Liza.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Liza Minnelli Set for June 17 Appearance on The Gayle King Show
By: Andy Propst · Jun 15, 2011 · London
Stage and screen legend Liza Minnelli will appear on OWN's The Gayle King Show on Friday, June 17 (check local listings). The program will also be carried on Sirius XM Satellite Radio (XM 156/Sirius 195).
Minnelli will be discussing her recent CD release, Confessions, as well as her upcoming European tour, which includes appearances at Royal Albert Hall (June 29) and Kenwood House (July 1) in London, the Concert Hall in Glasgow (July 6), The Olympia in Paris (July 11), the Montreaux Jazz Festival in Switzerland (July 15), the State Opera House in Vienna (July 17), and the Sporting Club in Monte Carlo (August 2-3).
Her most recent Broadway show, Liza's at the Palace, won a 2009 Tony for Best Special Theatrical Event, and Minnelli has also won Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Musical for Flora the Red Menace and The Act. She also won a special Tony Award in 1974 "for adding lustre to the Broadway season." She was Tony- nominated for The Rink and additional Broadway credits include Victor/Victoria and Chicago. She won the Academy Award for Cabaret and the Emmy Award for Liza With a "Z".
Liza Minnelli, Jennifer Hudson, Courtney Love perform at AmfAR Gala
http://www.examiner.com/celebrity-headlines-in-national/liza-minnelli-jennifer-hudson-courtney-love-perform-at-amfar-gala-photos-photo
National Celebrity Headlines Examiner Jodi Jill
Liza Minnelli, Jennifer Hudson, and Courtney Love all took the stage on Tuesday night for the 2nd Annual amfAR Inspiration Gala at The Museum of Modern Art. The New York event was slated to honor two men, James Franco and Michael Kors. The theme of the evening was Black Tie/Hot Metal and celebrated with a fashion show featuring all aspects of men’s style.
Taking to heart the cause, there was some strong vocal talent on the floor as well. Liza Minnelli took to the microphone for a special presentation. Singing on stage the only way a legend knows how, Minnelli was a crowd pleaser when she belted out her number live. Jennifer Hudson and Courtney Love also performed.
amfAR is definitely a celebrity favorite when it comes to getting involved. The Foundation for AIDS Research, is one of the world’s leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and the advocacy of sound AIDS-related public policy. Invested over $300 million in the efforts to stop AIDS, the Amfar Inspiration Gala continues to support the cause.
Take a look at the photo slide show of Liza Minnelli, Jennifer Hudson, and Courtney Love performing at the amfAR gala.
Taking to heart the cause, there was some strong vocal talent on the floor as well. Liza Minnelli took to the microphone for a special presentation. Singing on stage the only way a legend knows how, Minnelli was a crowd pleaser when she belted out her number live. Jennifer Hudson and Courtney Love also performed.
amfAR is definitely a celebrity favorite when it comes to getting involved. The Foundation for AIDS Research, is one of the world’s leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and the advocacy of sound AIDS-related public policy. Invested over $300 million in the efforts to stop AIDS, the Amfar Inspiration Gala continues to support the cause.
Take a look at the photo slide show of Liza Minnelli, Jennifer Hudson, and Courtney Love performing at the amfAR gala.
Monday, June 13, 2011
Emmys: How Bob Fosse Ruled 1973
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/emmys-how-bob-fosse-ruled-196670
The choreographer-turned-director's Emmy for "Liza With a Z" topped his banner year.
In 1973, Bob Fosse had quite a year. He won a Tony for directing Pippin; an Oscar doing the same with Cabaret (beating, among others, Francis Ford Coppola for The Godfather); and Liza With a Z brought him a directing Emmy for achievement in comedy, variety or music.
•EmmysThat's a one-year triple crown no one else has matched.
When NBC's Liza Minnelli special aired in September 1972, The Hollywood Reporter review said, "The task of showing the television audience all the excitement Liza creates in her act fell to Bob Fosse and [writer] Fred Ebb and they did a magnificent job."
However, the next line downplayed their contribution: "In a sense, they just aimed the cameras at Liza and let her do her concert," which, to say the least, didn't give Fosse much credit (or mention that he used eight 16mm cameras to capture the look he wanted).
An explanation might be that the choreographer-turned-director just made the end result look easy. Whether it was choreographing his wife, Gwen Verdon, as Lola in Damn Yankees or directing Dustin Hoffman in his Oscar-nominated performance as Lenny Bruce in Lenny, he had a way of drawing out excellence and winning awards.
Even films about him won awards: His semiautobiographical All That Jazz shared the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1980 with Akira Kurosawa's Kagemusha, and the 1990 PBS Great Performances: Dance in America documentary Bob Fosse: Steam Heat won an Emmy for outstanding informational special.
The chain-smoking Fosse, for whom the words "intensely driven" don't even come close to describing his work ethic, died in 1987 at age 60 of a heart attack while working on a revival of Sweet Charity.
The choreographer-turned-director's Emmy for "Liza With a Z" topped his banner year.
In 1973, Bob Fosse had quite a year. He won a Tony for directing Pippin; an Oscar doing the same with Cabaret (beating, among others, Francis Ford Coppola for The Godfather); and Liza With a Z brought him a directing Emmy for achievement in comedy, variety or music.
•EmmysThat's a one-year triple crown no one else has matched.
When NBC's Liza Minnelli special aired in September 1972, The Hollywood Reporter review said, "The task of showing the television audience all the excitement Liza creates in her act fell to Bob Fosse and [writer] Fred Ebb and they did a magnificent job."
However, the next line downplayed their contribution: "In a sense, they just aimed the cameras at Liza and let her do her concert," which, to say the least, didn't give Fosse much credit (or mention that he used eight 16mm cameras to capture the look he wanted).
An explanation might be that the choreographer-turned-director just made the end result look easy. Whether it was choreographing his wife, Gwen Verdon, as Lola in Damn Yankees or directing Dustin Hoffman in his Oscar-nominated performance as Lenny Bruce in Lenny, he had a way of drawing out excellence and winning awards.
Even films about him won awards: His semiautobiographical All That Jazz shared the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1980 with Akira Kurosawa's Kagemusha, and the 1990 PBS Great Performances: Dance in America documentary Bob Fosse: Steam Heat won an Emmy for outstanding informational special.
The chain-smoking Fosse, for whom the words "intensely driven" don't even come close to describing his work ethic, died in 1987 at age 60 of a heart attack while working on a revival of Sweet Charity.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JUDY!
One of the brightest, most tragic movie stars of Hollywood's Golden Era, Judy Garland was a moved-loved character whose warmth and spirit, along with her rich and exuberant voice, kept theatre-goers entertained with an array of delightful musicals. She was born Frances Ethel Gumm on 10 June 1922 in Minnesota...
Born:Frances Ethel Gumm
June 10, 1922 in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, USA
Died:June 22, 1969 (age 47) in Chelsea, London, England, UK
Born:Frances Ethel Gumm
June 10, 1922 in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, USA
Died:June 22, 1969 (age 47) in Chelsea, London, England, UK
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Liza Minnelli Joins Sandra Bernhard at Town Hall Concert
Broadway veteran Sandra Benhard debuted her new show, I LOVE BEING ME, DON'T YOU, at New York's Town Hall on June 8, and Broadway legend Liza Minelli Joined her onstage to sing "Class" from Chicago.
http://broadwayworld.com/article/STAGE-TUBE-Liza-Minnelli-Joins-Sandra-Bernhard-at-Town-Hall-Concert-20110609
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Photo Coverage: Liza Minnelli & More Visit Nicolas King in Concert
http://cabaret.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo-Coverage-Liza-Minnelli-More-Visit-Nicholas-King-in-Concert-20110608
Wednesday, June 8, 2011; Posted: 10:06 AM - by Stephen Sorokoff
Mike Renzi looked over his eyeglasses at the elite audience at Don't Tell Mamas, nodded to bassist Chip Jackson and drummer Ray Marchica and then opened the starting gate to a highly charged and expertly crafted 75 minutes of Nicolas King displaying his awesome vocal proficiency.
The audience not only cheered after each song, they cheered during the tempo and key changes during the songs. The pooled resources of Mike and Nicolas are a music lovers dream come true. Playing the well worn Don't Tell Mama piano, Renzi with his flawless technique and elegant touch turned the instrument into a 9 ft Steinway. At one point Nicolas had Mike play snippets of Bach, Debussy and Gershwin, and one wondered when there will be a Mike Renzi in Concert!
The only thing to equal Nicolas's exciting performance was the waiting on line to get in, being sandwiched between Liza Minelli and Gina Lollobridida (and all the other entertainers in attendance). Terese Genecco who has Nicolas as her featured vocalist "The last Tuesday of every month at the Iridium" was among the cheering throng. Jim Caruso who always has "some of the best singers on the planet" at his Monday Night Birdland Cast Party was sitting with Liza and as Jim says "just like regular people"
Photo Credit: Stephen Sorokoff
Wednesday, June 8, 2011; Posted: 10:06 AM - by Stephen Sorokoff
Mike Renzi looked over his eyeglasses at the elite audience at Don't Tell Mamas, nodded to bassist Chip Jackson and drummer Ray Marchica and then opened the starting gate to a highly charged and expertly crafted 75 minutes of Nicolas King displaying his awesome vocal proficiency.
The audience not only cheered after each song, they cheered during the tempo and key changes during the songs. The pooled resources of Mike and Nicolas are a music lovers dream come true. Playing the well worn Don't Tell Mama piano, Renzi with his flawless technique and elegant touch turned the instrument into a 9 ft Steinway. At one point Nicolas had Mike play snippets of Bach, Debussy and Gershwin, and one wondered when there will be a Mike Renzi in Concert!
The only thing to equal Nicolas's exciting performance was the waiting on line to get in, being sandwiched between Liza Minelli and Gina Lollobridida (and all the other entertainers in attendance). Terese Genecco who has Nicolas as her featured vocalist "The last Tuesday of every month at the Iridium" was among the cheering throng. Jim Caruso who always has "some of the best singers on the planet" at his Monday Night Birdland Cast Party was sitting with Liza and as Jim says "just like regular people"
Photo Credit: Stephen Sorokoff
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Superstar Liza Minelli reveals agonising truth behind her new album
Jun 5 2011 Exclusive by Billy Sloan, Sunday Mail
SHOWBIZ survivor Liza Minnelli yesterday told how she sang through the pain barrier to make an album she has hailed as one of the best of her incredible 50-year career.
The superstar recorded new CD Confessions - a selection of show tunes and jazz classics - flat on her back in agony due to a knee injury.
But Liza proved she was a real trouper when she performed hit songs All The Way, He's A Tramp and I Must Have That Man just days after going under the surgeon's knife.
The 65-year-old promises to be fighting fit when she storms into Scotland on July 6 for an eagerly awaited show at the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow.
Liza - the daughter of Wizard Of Oz legend Judy Garland and Hollywood film director Vincente Minnelli - confessed: "I had to have a knee replacement.
"It was so painful for the two weeks before the operation I had to lie down.
"After surgery I couldn't walk for a further six weeks and I couldn't just lie there and do nothing.
"So I said to my music collaborator, Billy Stritch, 'What do you wanna do? Why don't we record something'.
"We recorded the whole thing. Half of it before I went into the hospital and the other half when I came out.
"I was propped up in bed or sitting in a tall chair. The music took my mind off the pain. It was so intimate, just like when I sing at home - all hanging around the piano.
"There were a couple of times when the producer would have to say 'cut' as I screamed 'ow' during a line of a song.
"I'm very happy how Confessions turned out. It's the first record I've made in a long time that you can put on while you're having dinner.
"It's not a performance that builds - it's just easy listening and I like that."
Liza was thrilled to record All The Way, the classic hit immortalised by the man she called "uncle Frank" - Ol' Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra - in the 1957 movie The Joker Is Wild.
It was penned by Broadway songwriting legends Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen and won the Oscar for Best Original Song in the same year.
She said: "The best-known version of All The Way is uncle Frank's. I heard him sing it many times.
"But when I recorded it, I thought of what the words meant to me. It's an obvious lyric anybody can understand - 'When somebody loves you/it's no good unless they love you/all the way'.
"I think that's what everybody wants. So that song says it for al of us."
Recording All The Way brought back happy memories of when Liza toured the world with Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr in The Ultimate Event in 1988.
She had replaced former Rat Pack hellraiser Dean Martin, who quit the tour after four performances. Liza recalled: "At first, it was weird. They asked me to do it when Dean dropped out. I thought, 'Wait a minute, you're uncle Frank and uncle Sammy. I'm not one of your crowd. I'm younger'.
"When I said, 'What do you want me to do?', Frank said, 'Whatever you want'.
"I thought they'd have a team of writers working on the show but they didn't. So I wrote the musical medleys.
"On the road, they were so protective of me.
"When I was 13, Sammy was the first guy who ever talked to me like I was a person and not a kid.
"I was sitting on the steps at one of our showbiz parties when he sat down and said, 'How are you?' So he was my first real friend of my parent's friends.
"Frank was very supportive to me when I was starting my career. Frank loved the tough guy image but he wasn't a tough guy. He was always nice and very generous to me."
It is 62 years since Liza made her big-screen movie debut when she appeared in the final scene of Hollywood musical In The Good Old Summertime with her mother Judy, who died in 1969 aged 47 after an accidental drug overdose.
In a chequered career, Liza won an Academy Award in 1972 for best actress for the movie Cabaret and is one of just 12 performers to also win an Emmy, Grammy and Tony.
In 1972, she starred in the awardwinning TV special Liza with a Z and co-starred with Robert De Niro in the film New York, New York five years later. She also performed with Queen at the Freddie Mercury Tribute concert at Wembley in 1992 and more recently guested on Sex And The City and the US version of The Apprentice.
Sadly, most of her showbiz friends - including Sinatra, Davis and Marilyn Monroe - have all gone and in the last two years she also lost Elizabeth Taylor and Michael Jackson.
Does Liza feel like the last survivor of a golden era of Hollywood greats? She said: "Michael was such a good friend. A splendid man who changed theatrical history. I taught him dance steps. We used to dance together all the time.
"As a friend, Elizabeth was always there for me. I'll miss her for the rest of my life. I am so lucky to have known her.
"Of course, you miss being able to call somebody or seeing them. But when somebody passes, they're still with you all the time.
"Those are your friends and that's great. But to me it's now all about new friends and tomorrow."
Liza watched her mother become a Hollywood legend. As a child, she grew up in Beverly Hills and spent time after school hanging out on the back lot of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer with her mum.
At family parties, she rubbed shoulders with some of the biggest stars of that golden era including Mickey Rooney, Fred Astaire, James Mason, Tony Curtis and Humphrey Bogart.
But Liza dreamed of making her mark as a dancer and achieved that when she made her off-Broadway debut in Best Foot Forward in 1963. She said: "All those stars were... the neighbours. I lived in a place where everybody's parents were famous.
"What I wanted to do was go to Broadway and stand on my own two feet. So off I went.
"I didn't think there was anything special about it.
"When my parents went to the studio, I went to school. The glitter, the glamour... I never saw any of that.
"Everybody worked so hard. I wanted to be a dancer. It was fun. I loved doing it. A good show was almost like a tennis game. There is no wall between you and the audience."
The veteran star has now reached retirement age but does she plan to give up? You must be joking.
Liza said: "I plan to carry on for as long as I can. Absolutely. Why not? I never stay out on tour for more than two-and-a-half weeks and then I go home again.
"I really enjoy it. I have such fun doing my shows.
"There will come a day when I am not doing this but I will do something."
Liza Minnelli plays the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow on July 6.
For tickets, log on to www.seetickets.com or www.ticketmaster.co.uk or call 0871 220 0260.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
James Franco, Michael Kors To Be Honored By AIDS Group; Liza Minnelli To Perform JUNE 14 NYC
By On Top Magazine Staff
Published: June 01, 2011
Actor James Franco and designer Michael Kors will be honored at amfAR's Tuesday, June 14 fundraiser in New York City.
At the group's The Inspiration Gala New York – Black Tie/Hot Metal, Franco, 33, will be presented with the Piaget Award of Inspiration and Kors, 51, with the Award of Courage.
The 7PM event at the Museum of Modern Art will include a special performance by the legendary Liza Minnelli.
The late screen icon Elizabeth Taylor helped create amfAR. She became a leading advocate for AIDS research after the 1985 death of actor Rock Hudson from AIDS complications at the age of 59. Through her support, amfAR became one of the world's leading non-profits dedicated to ending the disease. Taylor left the bulk of her estate – worth at least $600 million – to two AIDS charities, amfAR and the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.
Designer Kenneth Cole currently serves as amfAR's board chair.
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