Vincente Minnelli

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Vincente Minnelli (February 28, 1903 – July 25, 1986) was a famous Hollywood director and accomplished stage director, often considered by critics to be the father of the modern musical.

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[edit] Biography

Born Lester Anthony Minnelli in Chicago, Illinois, United States, Minnelli was the youngest surviving child of Mina Mary LaLouette Le Beau and Vincent Charles Minnelli. His father was musical conductor of Minnelli Brothers' Tent Theater. Minnelli's Chicago born mother was of French Canadian descent, while his grandparents were of Sicilian and Scottish descent.

With his background in theatre, Minnelli was known as an auteur that always brought his stage experience to his films. The first movie that he directed, Cabin in the Sky (1943), was visibly influenced by the theater. Shortly after, he directed Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), during which he befriended the film's star Judy Garland. The two then began a courtship that eventually led to their marriage the following year. Their one child together, Liza Minnelli, grew up to become an Academy Award-winning singer and actress.

Though widely known for directing musicals, including An American in Paris (1951), Brigadoon (1954), Kismet (1955), and Gigi (1958) he also helmed comedies and melodramas, including Madame Bovary (1949), Father of the Bride (1950), Designing Woman (1957) and The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1963). His last film was A Matter of Time (1976). He received an Oscar nomination as Best Director for An American in Paris (1951) and later won the Best Director Oscar for Gigi (1958). He was awarded France's highest civilian honor, the Commander Nationale of Legion of Honor, only weeks before his death in 1986.

Minnelli's critical reputation has known a certain amount of fluctuation, being admired (or dismissed) in America as a "pure stylist" who, in Andrew Sarris' words, "believes more in beauty than in art". His work reached a height of critical attention during the late 50s and early 60s in France with extensive studies in the Cahiers du Cinéma magazine, especially in the articles by Jean Douchet and Jean Domarchi, who saw in him a cinematic visionary obsessed with beauty and harmony, and an artist who could give substance to the world of dreams. However, Minnelli's films are today considered some of the finest of the 20th century, being a part of the great era of the M-G-M musical. A celebration of his work and that of many other talents appeared in That's Entertainment!, which showed clips from many of his films.

He died at the age of 83 from Alzheimer's disease, and was interred in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Glendale, California. He is survived by his British-born wife Lee Anderson Minnelli (born c. 1907). His widow sued Minnelli's daughter Liza over a controversy relating to Liza declining to pay the bills on her Beverly Hills home which Liza (allegedly under the influence of her then husband David Gest) wished to sell and then move her stepmother into alternative accommodation, Lee however refused, later appearing to reconsider.

[edit] Relationships

His marriages ran as follows:

  • Judy Garland (15 June 1945 - 1951) (divorced) 1 child, Liza Minnelli born 1946.
  • Georgette Magnani (February 1954 - 1957) 1 child, Christiana Nina Minnelli born 1955.
  • Denise (1962 - August 1971) (divorced)
  • Lee Anderson (April 1980 - 25 July 1986) (his death)

[edit] Trivia

  • Named his daughter Liza Minnelli after the Gershwin song "Liza." He had directed the number for Ziegfeld Follies (1946), but it was cut from the final version of the film.
  • Interred at Forest Lawn, Glendale, California, USA, in the Triumphant Faith Terraces area.
  • Father-in-law of Jack Haley Jr.
  • Inventor of the "Crab Dolly", a camera dolly on wheels that can move the camera in any direction.
  • Insisted on using a shade of yellow in the design of his sets that had to be specially mixed. MGM painters began calling it "Minnelli Yellow."
  • When he was signed to MGM, he was allowed to apprentice for a year on the lot. By the time he started directing, he knew every department at the studio.
  • Was voted the 20th Greatest Director of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
  • His widow, Lee Anderson, was his companion for a long time before their 1980 marriage.
  • Is portrayed by Hugh Laurie in Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows (2001) (TV)
  • Member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1967

[edit] Filmography

Preceded by
David Lean
for The Bridge on the River Kwai		 Academy Award for Best Director
1958
for Gigi		 Succeeded by
William Wyler
for Ben-Hur

[edit] References

  • John Wakeman (ed.), "World Film Directors, Volume One, 1890-1945," pp. 778-787, New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1987.

[edit] External links

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