In 1973,Liza Minnelliwon the Academy Award for Best Actressfor her iconic performance as Sally Bowles inBob Fosse’sCabaret, making her the only Oscar winner throughout cinema history with parents who both received an Oscar themselves.Cabaretalso has the distinction ofbeating out the freakin’Godfatherfor Fosse’s own Best Director Award, but it’s Minnelli’s outstanding renditions of such musical classics like “Maybe This Time” and the titular song “Cabaret” that remain what the film is most remembered for, and for good reason. Minnelli isn’t only an Oscar winner, but one of the few persons prestigious enough to have beenawarded an Emmy, Grammy, and Tony on top of that.
Liza Minnelli was born to none other thanJudy Garlandand filmmakerVincente Minnelli, both of whom thrived while acting and directing in some of the biggest musicals of Hollywood’s Golden Age. This includesThe Wizard of Oz,Meet Me in St. Louis(the set of which acted as the birthplace of the titanic couple’s courtship), andAn American in Paris —aGene Kellydancing vehicle that even givesSingin’ in the Raina run for its money. Not only are these some of the best-looking musicals ever created, technicolor bursting from every frame, but the fact that Liza’s parents were musical legends as opposed to merely film legends made her uniquely positioned to thrive in a career that consisted of singing and acting. Through her talent and training, she was able to conquer not one artistic medium, but two.
Who Is Vincente Minnelli, and What Did He Win For?
Born in 1903, Minnelli’s career helpedpersonify Hollywood’s Golden Age, particularly on the musical side, having helmed several groundbreaking productions both on the stage and the silver screen. His 1943 debutCabin in the Skywas one of the first musicals to feature an all-black cast. Today, he’s most remembered for his collaborations with the likes of Garland, Kelly, andFred Astaire, who helped cement his status as one of Old Hollywood’s greatest musical geniuses. Any scene from the Gershwin-inspiredAnAmerican in Pariswill show you why, but while that film won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1952 (alongside five other awards that same night), it wasn’t untilGigi, seven years later, thatMinnelli took home an award himself.
When Did Judy Garland Receive Her Academy Award?
One would assume that Garland received her own Academy Award later in her career, but the reality is that it actually came at the very beginning. Garland isn’t even the recipient of a standard Academy Award but rather anAcademy Juvenile Awardfor her work on bothThe Wizard of Ozand that very same year’sBabes in Arms. The award has since been retired as of 1960 and was only awarded ten times to twelve different actors. Garland was barely 18, but since the award’s discontinuation (and for good reason, the statue was only half the size of the standard trophy), the Academy has begun to recognize more child performances in the standard categories. The youngest Oscar winner of all time is actuallyTatum O’Neal, who snagged the award forBest Supporting Actresswhen she was only 9 years old, starring alongside her father inPaper Moon.
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What’s So Special About Liza Minnelli and ‘Cabaret’?
Beyond the fact thatCabaretremains one of the greatest musicals of all time, fans of the genre will be keen to know that the film actuallychanged musicals forever. The movie’s often known as “the musical for people who hate musicals,” and for good reason! Gone were the divinely bright, pastoral colors ofOklahoma!and in was the X-rated, anti-fascist, pre-war epic that wasCabaret, with entirely diegetic musical numbers (meaning that they take place within the story and can be heard by the characters) that never interrupted the narrative with an over-the-top song and dance number but rather, incorporated it through Minnelli’s performances at the titular club. It was a milestone in filmmaking, channeling European art-house sensibilities into a genre that was widely perceived as safely all-American prior.
Minnelli’s most-known appearance afterCabaretis likely Martin Scorsese’sNew York, New York, a film famous for its theme song (yes, that one) but also forhospitalizingits director, whose cocaine overdose after the film’s poor reception almost pushed him to change careers. He didn’t retire and neither did Minnelli, whose sense of humor shined in the 21st century throughsome of the best episodes ofArrested Development, where she played Lucille Austero, better known as Lucille 2. It’s a good thing that vertigo didn’t strike in front of all those celebrities whenshe accepted her Oscar on stage.
