Sidney Luft

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Sidney Luft (November 2, 1915 – September 15, 2005) was the third husband of iconic American singer/actress Judy Garland.

He is credited with keeping the brilliant, but tormented and difficult Garland alive, well and working, and with setting up a deal with Warner Brothers to bankroll his wife's triumphant comeback film, a 1954 musical remake of A Star Is Born plus future projects.

Sid Luft's name is on the film's credits as producer. Although it won ecstatic praise from critics and an Oscar nomination for Garland, box office receipts proved disappointing. The studio canceled the Luft-Garland contract, which would have starred Judy in two additional Warner films, and given Luft a berth at Warners as a producer.

He was born Michael Sidney Luft in New York City, New York to Jewish immigrants from Russia and Germany. His first theatrical job was as secretary to MGM dancer Eleanor Powell, which gained him a foot in Hollywood's door.

As Powell's movie career foundered, he managed and married Lynn Bari, a good actress who never managed to achieve filmdom's A-list status.

When Bari's career waned, Luft met Garland and became her manager. He is generally referred to as a producer but records show he only produced two B movies, both for the low-tier Monogram, prior to his marriage to Judy Garland, one movie starring Garland, and none thereafter.

He was married four times:

On November 28, 1943 he married Lynn Bari. They had one child, a son, named John. They divorced on December 26, 1950.
On June 8, 1952 he married Judy Garland. They had two children, Joey Luft (a scenic photographer, born March 29, 1955 in Los Angeles, California) and Lorna Luft. They divorced in 1964, but it was not finalized until 1966.
In 1970 he married Patti Hemingway, from whom he was later divorced.
On March 20, 1993 he married Camille Keaton, grandniece of Buster Keaton.

Luft was once an amateur boxer and bar-room brawler and had the nickname One-Punch Luft. He was a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force and in the early 40s was a test pilot for Douglas.

Sidney Luft died September 15, 2005 in Santa Monica, California of a heart attack, aged 89.