Liza
Minnelli has won three Tonys for her roles on Broadway, an Oscar in 1972 as
Best Actress for Caberet, and an Emmy in 1973 for her TV
special Liza with a 'Z'. Her parents, Judy Garland and Vincent
Minnelli, were also both Oscar winners and Hollywood royalty.
When Liza was born, Frank Sinatra was the first person
to visit her in the hospital. She was named after a song by her
parents' close friend Ira Gershwin, and her godmother was Kay Thompson
who allegedly based her Eloise books partly on
Liza's childhood antics. However, some
have have called her "Bad-Luck Liza" because her myriad of health
problems including two hip replacements, several knee surgeries, double
pneumonia, and surgery for vocal cord polyps when there was concern
that she would be able to sing again. She has also battled alcoholism and
obesity, although the latter battle was temporarily won when she
allegedly lost 90 pounds. But the most discussed bad luck was her marriage
to two openly gay men, songwriter/performer Peter Allen and concert producer
David Gest. Her mother also had a penchant for gay men. When Judy
Garland found Vincent Minnelli in bed with another
man, she had.her first suicide attempt.
Judy's fourth husband, Mark Herron, was also gay and allegedly carried on an
affair with Liza's husband, Peter Allen, for years. Judy introduced Liza to
the flamboyant Peter who was the warm-up for Judy's nightclub act and
there were rumors at the time that he spent their wedding night with a
boyfriend.
Then there was the totally weird David Gest whom everyone knew was
gay. According to one columnist, " To marry one gay husband is a
misfortune, two looks like a pathology." Liza's marriage to and subsequent
divorce from Gest was tabloid fodder for months. Tito and Michael Jackson were both best men at their wedding which featured a gaggle of
old-time celebrities, many of whom surprised people that they were still
alive. Their divorce was even weirder. Gest accused Liza of repeatedly
beating him while they were married causing him brain damage, while she
claimed he had stolen several million dollars from her. As Jon Stewart
observed, "There is no conceivable amount of money worth telling the world
that you were beaten up by Liza Minnelli." But Gest contends that he is a
"victim of domestic violence" and that marriage to Liza has left him with
"vertigo, nausea, hypertension, scalp tenderness, insomnia, mood dysphoria,
photosensitivity and phonophobia."
So here is a perfect recipe to serve Liza if
she accepts your invitation to drop by for dinner. Enjoy it with Liza with a 'Z'. Be sure to ask a few of
your gay friends since she might like one of them, and get married again.
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