Occasionally, he would venture out of this private world—but he wouldn’t head out as Vincente Minnelli (too conspicuous) and certainly not as Lester Minnelli (too dangerous). Instead, he would appear as an ecstatic doctor’s wife waltzing out of control . . . a terrified trick-or-treater taking on Halloween . . . a tormented artist desperately attempting to communicate on canvas . . . a clairvoyant coquette turning heads at the Royal Pavilion . . . a half-mad contessa randomly wandering through her memories . . . a senorita pining for the pirate of her dreams . . . a lonely schoolboy in need of tea and sympathy . . . and a courtesan that never was.
Yes, he had been living inside himself all these years, but even so, that life was there for everyone to see.
INTERVIEWS
Perry Sheehan Adair, India Adams, Cris Alexander, Jayne Meadows Allen, Eva Anderson, Evangela Anderson, John Angelo, Brian Avery, Lauren Bacall, Don Bachardy, David Balaban, Virginia Barber, Richard Barrios, Jeanine Basinger, Pam Beery, Patricia Beeson, Rudy Behlmer, William Berkson, Nita Bieber, Mary Bills, Judi Blacque, Betsy Blair (2003 interview), Scotty Bowers, Irving Brecher, Nadine Buchner, Don Burnett, Barbara Butler, Carleton Carpenter, Brent Carson, Dr. Drew Casper, Willy Cassell, Marge Champion, Esme Chandlee, Martin Charnin, David Chierichetti, Gerald Clarke (2000 interview), Bob Claunch, David Patrick Columbia, Betty Comden, Norman Corwin, Robert Crutchfield, Tony Curtis, Mary DeLiagre, Antony DeVecchi, Anne Dinovo, Mike Dinovo, Sam Dinovo, Kirk Douglas, R. Bobby Ducharme, David Ehrenstein, John Epperson, Luis Estevez, Nanette Fabray, David Fantle, Michael Feinstein (2003 interview), George Feltenstein, John Fitzpatrick, Polly Flahive, Tucker Fleming, Dorothy Florance, Nina Foch, Hugh Fordin, Harriet Frank Jr., John Fricke, David Galligan, Betty Garrett, John Gay, Ben Geary, Beth Genne, Dr. David Gerstner, William Gibson, Michael Grace, Farley Granger, Jess Gregg, Roberta Hagood, George Hamilton, Bill Hanrahan, Monika Henreid, Darryl Hickman, Clive Hirschhorn, Marian Horosko, Marsha Hunt, Jack Hurd, Kay Duke Ingalls, Sir Gerald Kaufman, Peter Keyes, Peggy King, Hilary Knight, Miles Krueger, Gavin Lambert (2000 interview), Angela Lansbury, Tony LaRocco, Jack Larson, John LeBold, John Leggett, June Lockhart, Carolyn Lopez, A. C. Lyles, Frank Lysinger, Jim Mahoney, Randal Malone, Howard Mandelbaum, Jon Marans, Gloria Marlen, Caren Marsh-Doll, Hugh Martin (1998 interview), Michael Maule, Bert May, Urie McCleary Jr., Joe McElhaney, John Meyer, Denny Miller, James Mitchell, Peggy Moffit, Hank Moonjean, Ethan Mordden (2001 interview), Robert K. Moyer, Morton Myles, Margaret O’Brien, Lawrence Paull, Gigi Perreau, John Poer, Meredith Ponedel, Rev. Lynn Ramey, Ann Rapp, Irving Ravetch, Jack Reavley, Charlene Regester, Gene Reynolds, Barbara Freed Saltzman, Richard Schickel, Mort Sheinman, Leonard Stanley, Skipper Steely, Stella Stevens, Thomas Sydes, Russ Tamblyn, Steve Terrell, Bob Thomas, Matthew Tinkcom, Audrey Totter, Judy Trott, Monique Van Vooren, Margaret Whiting, Stone “Budd” Widney, Jill Wiest, Judi B. Witty, Peter Woodburn.
ASSISTANCE & CORRESPONDENCE
Charlene Abel (Madison-Jefferson Public Library),Woolsey Ackerman, Robert Anderson, Greg Astor, Lygia Bagdanovich, Joanne Bartlett, Craig Bentley, Bill Blackwell, Windy Bolduc, Bruce Broughton, Lea Carlson, Paula J. Carter, Maryann Chach, Steve Chou, Gerald Clarke, Tess Cleary, Ned Comstock, Julia Coopersmith, Vickie Copeland, Len J. Cortigiano, Robert Diamond, Adelaide Docx, Richard Dyer, Alan Eichler, Angela Encarnacion, Scott Eyman, Edward Field, Jean Flahive, Dena Flekman (Corymore Corporation), Arlene Flower, Tom Frederiksen, Chris Freeman, Peter Garza-Zavaleta, James Gavin, Susan Ginsburg, Rolande Griffin, May Haduong, Barbara Hall, Ernie Harburg, Susan M. Hart (University of Missouri), Peter Hay, Max D. Hipp (Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce), Steve Hodel, Stuart Hodes, Bob Hofler, Mark Horowitz (Library of Congress), Julie Houston (Delaware Historical Society), J. C. Johnson, Jim Johnson, Gai Jones, Marion Herwood Keyes, Ty King, Howard Kissel, Bob Kurtz, Richard Lamparski, Janet Landry, Nan Lansinger, Jaime Larkin (Motion Picture and Television Fund), Thomas Lee (Office for the Arts at Harvard), Dell Lemmon (a guardian angel in so many ways), Peter Levy, Jaelithe Lindblom (Louisville Free Public Library), Ron Mandelbaum, William J. Mann, Nick Markovich, Michael Mascioli, Laurence Maslon, Patrick McGilligan, Amy Meadows, Linda Harris Mehr, Lily Meltzer, Dee Michel, Joan Miller (Wesleyan Cinema Archives), David Moyer, Brian Mulcahy, Eric Myers, Ronald Neame, Keary Nichols (chef, chauffeur, graphic designer extraordinaire), Peggy Northcraft (Hannibal Free Public Library), Sandy Nyberg, Bob Oliver, Marvin Paige, Brent W. Phillips, Laura and Tony Ratcliff, Karen Richards, Jaydon Riendeau, Emily Saladino, Scott Schechter, Rebecca Sherman, Ed Sikov, (the very legendary) Charles Silver, Stephen M. Silverman, Larry Simms, Caroline Sisneros (AFI Library), Victoria Skurnick, Carol Ann Small, James Spada, Francine Stock (BBC), Kevin Stoehr, Henry Sweets (Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum), Lou Valentino, Judy Vardamis, Walter Vatter, Melissa Veilleux, Phet Walker, Marc Wannamaker, Ann Wikoff, Fredric Woodbridge Wilson, Charles Winecoff, Melissa Wolf, Lauren Wolk, Mike Wood, Sheryl Woodruff, Dan Works, Jack Wrangler, Larry Yudelson.
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, American Film Institute, Boston University (Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center), Chicago History Museum, Delaware Historical Society (Delaware, Ohio), Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, Harburg Foundation, Harvard Theatre Collection (Office for the Arts at Harvard), Library of Congress (Music Division), Lewiston Public Library, Maine Public Broadcasting Network, Margaret Herrick Library, Museum of Modern Art (Film Study Center), New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (Billy Rose Theatre Collection; Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound), Shubert Archive, St. Petersburg Museum, Turner Entertainment, University of California at Los Angeles (Film and Television Archive), University of Southern California.
NOTES
INTRODUCTION
1
Vincente Minnelli, with Hector Arce,
I Remember It Well
(Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1974).
2
Jeanine Basinger, interview with author, April 2008.
3
Vincente Minnelli, interview with Richard Schickel for
The Men Who Made the Movies
, produced by WNET/13, aired November 4, 1973, on the Public Broadcasting Service.
5
Jon Marans, interview with author, 2009.
6
Tucker Fleming, interview with author.
7
Nina Foch, interview with author, 2007.
8
George Feltenstein, interview with author, August 2007.
1. DELAWARE DAYS
1
S. J. Perelman, “That Felli Minnelli,”
Stage
, April 1937; Jesse J. Currier, “A Delaware Saga Moves from a Torchlit Tent Show to Broadway: Minnelli Gains Acclaim as Theatrical Designer,”
Columbus Dispatch
, November 10, 1935.
2
Minnelli Brothers Mighty Dramatic Company Under Canvas advertisement from the period, when the operation was headquartered at 39 West Fountain Avenue in Delaware, Ohio.
3
“Minnelli Bros. Are Here,” undated article in the
Delaware Daily Journal Herald
.
4
Undated newspaper announcement alerting readers to the fact that the Minnelli Brothers were expected to perform in Marion, Indiana. Mina Gennell was set to star in “The Girl of My Dreams.” Ladies would be admitted for 15 cents.
6
References to Mina Gennell as “The Dresden China Doll” appear in
The Billboard
, April 15, 1911.
7
The publicity photo of Mina Gennell appeared in the
Delaware Daily Journal Herald
, January 11, 1908, 5.
8
Minnelli,
I Remember It Well
. Records from the Department of Health, City of Chicago, provided details on the deaths of William Francis Minnelli and Mina’s other children. The date of death listed for William Francis Minnelli is January 28, 1898.
9
Lynn Ramey, interview with author, 2007.
10
Alice Hughes, “B’way Hails Minnelli as New Master,”
New York American
, January 4, 1937.
11
Minnelli,
I Remember It Well
. A slightly different version of the
East Lynne
anecdote appears on p. 246 of Richard Schickel,
The Men Who Made the Movies
(New York: Atheneum, 1975).
12
Currier, “A Delaware Saga.”
13
Ruth Arell, “From a Tent Show to the Showplace of the Nation,”
Cleveland Plain Dealer
, December 30, 1934.
14
Anne Dinovo, interview with author, 2008.
15
Delaware Daily Journal Herald
, January 11, 1908.
16
Schickel,
The Men Who Made the Movies
.
17
Minnelli,
I Remember It Well
, 37.
18
Dorothy Florance, interview with author.
19
Minnelli,
I Remember It Well
.
23
Margaret Brawley’s quotes are taken from a video interview that Delaware historian Brent Carson conducted with her. The video interview was later included in Carson’s self-produced documentary
A Night with Vincente Minnelli
. (There are no dates for the Brawley footage or for when the documentary was first screened.)
24
Bill Hanrahan, interview with author, 2008.
25
Brent Carson, interview with author, 2007.
26
Virginia Barber, interview with author.
27
The line is a quote from William Shakespeare’s
Much Ado About Nothing
, Act III, scene 2. The editors of the
Junior Bulletin
also mentioned Minnelli’s nicknames, “Les” and “Taxi” (the latter an apparent reference to the fact that Lester Minnelli was always looking for a ride somewhere).
28
Minnelli,
I Remember It Well
.
29
The quotation is from the unpublished notes for Vincente Minnelli’s autobiography, archived in the Minnelli collection at the Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Beverly Hills, California.
30
“F. P. Minnelli Ends His Life by Shooting,”
Delaware Daily Journal Herald
, August 30, 1921.
31
Dorothy Eveland, “Saga of the Minnelli Family,”
Pickaway Quarterly
(Winter 1989), 14-15.
32
Barbara Butler, interview with author.
2. WINDOW DRESSING THE WORLD
1
Vincente Minnelli, with Hector Arce,
I Remember It Well
(Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1974), 43. The Chicago newspaper headlines are from the following: “$22,000 to Fight Booze” was the headline of the
Chicago Daily Tribune
on December 10, 1925. “Bandits Bind Miss Bingham, Steal $1,500” is from the same edition. “To Uphold Law in Scopes Trial, Prayers Go On” is from the July 15, 1925,
Chicago Daily Tribune
.
2
Minnelli,
I Remember It Well
, 46.
3
Unpublished notes for Vincente Minnelli’s autobiography, archived in the Minnelli collection at the Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Beverly Hills, California; Minnelli,
I Remember It Well
.
4
Morton Myles, interview with author.
5
Lester Gaba,
The Art of Window Display
(New York: The Studio Publications, 1952).
6
Hugh Troy, “Never Had a Lesson,”
Esquire
, June 1937.
7
Richard Schickel,
The Men Who Made the Movies
(New York: Atheneum, 1975), 246.
8
The quote is from the unpublished notes for Minnelli’s autobiography, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; Stone is also described in Minnelli,
I Remember It Well
, 49.
9
Unpublished notes for Minnelli’s autobiography, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
10
E. R. Pennell and J. Pennell,
The Life of James McNeil Whistler
(Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1908); Stanley Weintraub,
Whistler: A Biography
(New York: Weybright and Talley, 1974).
11
Morton Myles, interview with author.
12
Minnelli,
I Remember It Well
, 51.
13
David Balaban, interview with author.
15
Minnelli,
I Remember It Well
, 54.
3. A GLORIOUS GARDEN OF WONDERS
1
This is a line from “Babes on Broadway,” performed by Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney in the MGM production of the movie of the same name, which was directed by Busby Berkeley and released in 1941. The lyricist was Ralph Freed and the composer was Burton Lane.
2
Vincente Minnelli, with Hector Arce,
I Remember It Well
(Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1974).
3
U.S. Census Bureau, Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930, enumerated April 14, 1930.
4
Hugh Troy, “Never Had a Lesson,”
Esquire
, June 1937.
5
Minnelli,
I Remember It Well
, 57.
6
William Berkson, interview with author.
7
Minnelli,
I Remember It Well
, 59.
8
The quote is from a Brooks Atkinson review that ran in the
New York Times
on December 28, 1932; quoted in
The Radio City Music Hall: An Affectionate History of the World’s Greatest Theater
(New York: E. P. Dutton, 1979).