Barbra Streisand and Gene Kelly on July 19, 1968.Photo:Ken Regan/Daily Express/Getty
Ken Regan/Daily Express/Getty
Barbra Streisandis opening up about her experience working with Gene Kelly.
In the memoir, Streisand, 81, recalls that she felt a disconnect between herself and Kelly, himself a Hollywood star famous for his roles inSingin' in the Rain, among other Golden Age of Hollywood films.
Streisand, who describes Kelly as a childhood celebrity crush, writes that she did not spend any significant amount of time discussing her character Dolly Levi with her director, though she notes she later discovered the filmmaker felt the whole project was pressed for time, while researching her new memoir.
“I was disappointed when the reality of the man didn’t live up to the fantasy I had from watching him on‑screen,” Streisand writes. “One day he was so rude to a female dancer that I asked him privately, ‘Why were you so mean to her?’ And he basically laughed it off and said, ‘Yeah, I was pretty tough on her, but that’s okay. I used to yell like that at another dancer, and she became my wife.’ "
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Streisand writes thatHello, Dolly!’s co-screenwriter and producer Ernest Lehman “was always receptive” to her ideas and questions on-set. She considered Lehman, who died in 2005 at 89, one of her few allies on the 20th Century Fox production.
“I don’t think I’m paranoid, but I felt as if Gene and Walter [Matthau] had an attitude toward me, and it was not positive . . . especially on Walter’s part,” she writes in the memoir. “In fact, he was overtly hostile, and I couldn’t figure out why.”
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Hello, Dolly!made for Streisand’s second feature film after her iconic turn in 1968’sFunny Girl. In fact,Funny Girlhad not yet been released beforeHello, Dolly!was filmed. In the memoir, Streisand also recalls her costar Matthau growing upset over her making suggestions to Kelly during filming — especially when her ideas seemed to work. In one instance, an idea she had made members of the film’s crew laugh, but after filming a take, Matthau yelled at her for a perceived slight.
Barbra Streisand and Gene Kelly on the set of ‘Hello, Dolly!'.Pierluigi Praturlon/Reporters Associati & Archivi/Mondadori Portfolio/Everett Collection
Pierluigi Praturlon/Reporters Associati & Archivi/Mondadori Portfolio/Everett Collection
“He closed his eyes and yelled, ‘Who the hell does she think she is? I’ve been in this business thirty years, and this is only her second movie . . . the first one hasn’t even come out yet . . . and now she’s directing?’ " Streisand recalls Matthau saying. “And then he looked at me with pure venom and said, ‘You may be the singer in this picture, but I’m the actor! I have more talent in my farts than you have in your whole body!’ "
“I wish I could have answered him back. But I never want to be mean or malicious,” Streisand adds in the memoir. “That’s not who I am. I want to be strong, not unkind.”
Hello, Dolly!went on to win three Academy Awards at the1970 Oscars(Best Art Decoration-Set Decoration, Best Sound and Best Score). The film was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design and Best Film Editing.
source: people.com
