Robert Osbourne is among the most genial interviewers in show business, a knowledgeable conversationist whenever the subject turns to film. Paired with Liza Minnelli, the discussion takes on the warm glow of a conversation between old friends.
On Saturday, Dec. 11 at 9 p.m. Central Standard Time, “Private Screenings Liza Minnelli” will air on TCM. As the only Oscar winner whose parents both won Oscars (just the sort of information Osbourne has at the top of his head), Minnelli was a child of Hollywood. Her father, Vincente Minnelli, directed such pictures as An American in Paris and Gigi, and her mother, of course, was Judy Garland. “Hollywood was an industry town,” she tells Osbourne, but the factory produced glamour. After all, what child of unionized parents in the 1940s lived next door to Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall with Sammy Kahn across the way? When Liza went trick or treating in a witch’s costume, Gene Kelly opened the door and offered candy.
Minnelli claims she wanted to be an ice skater as a kid, but the evidence of “Private Screenings” (the conversation is illustrated with archival stills and footage) shows her very much ensconced in her parents’ world. Any career but acting or singing would have been outright rebellion. Liza sat on the boom with her father and in dressing rooms with her mother. The examples of how to make a career on camera were all around, including the pitfalls to avoid. She recalls that her father gave each actor what he needed for the role and had an eye for the smallest detail. As for Judy, he allowed her to play those memorable parts more or less her own way.
