At 60, Minnelli—who has survived addiction problems and two hip replacement surgeries—is getting enough pleasure out of life. On April 1 her 1972 Emmy-winning special Liza With a 'Z' is re-airing for the first time in more than three decades on Showtime. She also continues to perform, both here and in Europe. "I am bred into this," says Minnelli, whose legendary parents, Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli, let her pursue a Broadway career at 15. Though she admits to having some regrets over the years, "they're not enough to slow me down," she says. "There's too much to look forward to."
STUDIO 54: Halston, far left, "was my best friend, my big brother, the kindest, dearest person I've ever known," says Minnelli, ringing in 1978 with then-husband, Jack Haley Jr. (next to her), Bianca Jagger and Andy Warhol. The designer, who dressed Minnelli through much of her career, died of AIDS in 1990.
NIGHT FEVER: "His moves took your breath away," says Minnelli, getting down with Mikhail Baryshnikov, her purported paramour, at Studio 54 in 1977. And off the dance floor? "None of your beeswax!"
SINGING IN THE RAIN: "I was at Donna Karan's one day, and this [dress] was a discard—she said it didn't work. I tried it on, and I liked the way it moved," says Minnelli (at a photo shoot to promote the 1991 film Stepping Out). "They said, 'Hold this and turn around.' I think they just wanted to see my crotch."
LIZ AND LIZA: "She's there to talk to. I called her up one time when I had a bad experience with the tabloids," says Minnelli (with Taylor at a New York City event in 1981). "She said, 'You read that? Don't read that. What are you doing reading that?' And I thought, 'Oh, all right,' and I never read the tabloids again. If people are mean to you in print, you don't have to read it."
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
