Hello, Gorgeous: Becoming Barbra Streisand (75 page)

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“Stop humming”: Spada,
Streisand: Her Life;
Anne Edwards,
Streisand: A Biography
(Boston: Little, Brown, 1997).
The Sound of Music
was preparing: Auditions were taking place in the spring of 1960, which corroborates Barry Dennen’s account that Barbara tried out for Liesl soon after
The Insect Comedy
closed. Henderson was named in several columns that spring as being a likely Maria von Trapp; she was officially signed in October. Plans for the road company were postponed by a labor dispute on June 8, but auditions would likely have proceeded.
Florence Henderson: various newspaper reports,
Sound of Music
file, NYPL.
When she was a kid: “I could sing, so people liked me. If I didn’t have talent, they didn’t have to like me.”
TV Guide,
January 22–28, 2000.
Eddie Blum and Peter Daniels: Details of Streisand’s audition with Blum, which was also her first meeting with Daniels, come from interviews with Lainie Kazan and Jim Moore, a friend of Daniels’s.

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Streisand tapes “Day by Day”: My account is based on interviews with Barry Dennen as well as his book
My Life with Barbra,
with my best efforts to reconcile both into the most accurate timeline. A conversation with Sue Anderson, a friend of Carl Esser’s, was also helpful.

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Cokes, and ice-cream cones:
Look,
April 5, 1966.
chantilly lace: Unsourced clip, April 13, 1965, profile by Hal Boyle, see Barbra Archives.

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“unconventional,” “like them straight away”: Interview with Jack Hirshberg, July 9, 1968, Hirshberg Collection, AMPAS.

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“Ya know,” she said. “I’m going”:
Vanity Fair,
September 1991.

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The King Arthur Room: In
My Life with Barbra,
Dennen wrote that he took Streisand to see Mabel Mercer at the RSVP Room, which was located on East Fifty-fifth Street across from the Blue Angel. However, Mercer had left the RSVP by the end of 1959 and by January 1960 was ensconced at the King Arthur Room. See Danton Walker’s syndicated Broadway column, January 7, 1960. Mercer was still at the King Arthur Room in October of that year. Dennen may have remembered seeing Mercer at the RSVP earlier, but by the time he took Streisand, Mercer was definitely at the King Arthur.
The talent shows: Flyer for the Lion, 1959–1960 season, NYPL. Various accounts have placed them on Mondays, or on weekends, but the flyer provides documentation.

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Dawn Hampton: NYT, April 26, 1960; September 29, 1960; June 11, 1982. Dawn Hampton was
not
the niece of Lionel Hampton, as some biographies have claimed.
“sang like there was”: Riese,
Her Name Is Barbra.

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“learn from a record”:
Rogue,
November 1963.
Mabel Mercer was an old crust: For a detailed consideration of Mercer as a café singer, see James Gavin,
Intimate Nights: The Golden Age of New York Cabaret
(New York: Back Stage Books, 2006).

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“what not to do”:
Rogue,
November 1963.

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watching Barré lather his face: Dennen,
My Life with Barbra
as well as interviews with him, with my best efforts to order the timeline into the most accurate narrative.
“You don’t screw anybody”:
Playboy,
October 1977.
Mae West double entendres: Dennen wrote in
My Life with Barbra
that they stayed up late to watch Mae West in a film in which she performs with Duke Ellington’s orchestra. That describes
Belle of the Nineties,
but
Belle of the Nineties
did not air on New York television stations during the year that Streisand and Dennen were close. After an exhaustive search of television listings, the only film of West’s that aired in the period in question was
My Little Chickadee,
which was shown on Saturday, June 18, 1960, which fits the time Dennen was describing.
“What’s the matter with your animal?”: This line comes from West’s autobiography.
Dennen wrote about it in
My Life with Barbra,
and Bob Schulenberg also remembered the catchphrase.

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Burke McHugh ran the Lion: Riese,
Her Name Is Barbra;
publicity flyers from the Lion, NYPL.

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“Talented in a way”: Interview with Tom Hall, a friend of Burke McHugh’s.
With his classic: Background on Burke McHugh comes from an interview with his friend Tom Hall, as well as NYT, May 7, 1957; April 26, 1960; May 20, 1994; and the
New York World-Telegram,
September 28, 1960.
other performers to the Lion: From an interview with Paul Dooley. Many performers did come to see Streisand perform at the Lion. Yet despite stories that claim Noël Coward was one of them, Coward’s diaries reveal that he was not in New York during the dates Streisand was singing there.

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“terribly nervous”: Clemons was quoted in Charles Kaiser,
The Gay Metropolis
(Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997). Although he played piano for Mercer early on, he was most famous as a writer. His collection of stories,
The Poison Tree,
was published in 1959.
In the cab on the way: Interview with Adam Pollock.

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“because that was too false”:
CBS Sunday Morning
, September 27, 2009.
“hated” the name Barbara:
Rogue,
November 1963.
“losing touch with reality”:
Family Weekly,
February 2, 1964.
strode over to Burke McHugh: Riese,
Her Name Is Barbra;
interview with Tom Hall.
“the only Barbra in the world”: AP wire story, as in
The Derrick
(Oil City, Pennsylvania), October 11, 1963. Note that in his memoir
My Life with Barbra,
Dennen wrote that he changed the spelling of his name to Barry around the time Barbara became Barbra, and most accounts of her life have used the latter spelling for his name after this point. But newspaper notices of Dennen’s appearances in theatrical productions reveal that he was still spelling his name with an “é” instead of a “y” as late as September 1961.

3. Summer 1960

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“as funny as Shakespeare”: NYT, June 30, 1960.

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“promised participation”: Theatre Studio pamphlet, 1960, Curt Conway file, NYPL. Although it was established works such as
The Boy Friend
and
Look Homeward, Angel
that paid the bills, the Cecilwood served primarily to try out new work. That summer Conway was presenting
Cry of the Raindrop,
written by his Theatre Studio partner Lonny Chapman, as well as the Studs Terkel drama
Amazing Grace,
featuring Peter Fonda in one of his first roles.
He desperately wanted: I’ve taken my account of Streisand’s late arrival at
Henry V
from personal interviews with Dennen and Schulenberg, as well as Dennen’s
My Life with Barbra,
attempting, as ever, to establish the most accurate narrative.

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“to keep one hand”:
Look,
April 5, 1966.

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Not long after: Interviews with Barry Dennen, Bob Schulenberg, and Dennen’s
My Life with Barbra.

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“change the tilt”:
Playboy,
October 1977. In a personal interview, Barry Dennen also reported having essentially the same conversation with Streisand in the summer of 1960.
”loved her bump”:
Playboy,
October 1977. Streisand also told Oprah Winfrey she’d always liked her bump.
O, The
Oprah Magazine,
October 2006.
her father’s nose:
Pageant,
November 1963.

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“They’re not ripped”:
Time,
April 10, 1964.
Ben Sackheim, Inc.: Information on the company comes from the NYT, August 28, 1941; July 12, 1951; August 18, 1959; October 20, 1959; April 18, 1960; November 16, 1960; July 26, 1965; and January 3, 1966, as well as the online magazine
Postscripts,
October 31, 2009.

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“acting alive”:
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross,
BBC, October 2, 2009.
“made-up foreign languages”:
Time,
April 10, 1964.

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“Greenwich Village version”:
Variety,
February 27, 1952.
“one of the lead funspots”:
New York World-Telegram,
November 11, 1959.
“wanted to do something”:
Rogue,
November 1963.

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“Kid, you are going”:
All About Barbra
, undated clipping, Barbra Streisand file, AMPAS.
$108 a week: This is the figure reported in a profile of her career in the
Saturday Evening Post,
July 27–August 3, 1963. In
Streisand: Her Life,
James Spada gives the figure as $125 a week.
“It just seems”: syndicated UPI article, as in the
Press-Courier
(Oxnard, California), July 26, 1962, and elsewhere.

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“chauffeured around”:
This Week,
February 5, 1966.
Since returning to Manhattan: In
My Life with Barbra,
Dennen described Streisand as moving in with him earlier than this point. Although there were likely overnight stays, Bob Schulenberg, whose memory is uncannily accurate, insisted that it was not until right before her appearance at the Bon Soir that Streisand moved in with Dennen.

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“French from the moon”: Spada,
Streisand: Her Life
.
Barré’s apartment: Dennen,
My Life with Barbra,
as well as interviews with Dennen and Schulenberg.

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“If I can identify”:
CBS Sunday Morning
interview, September 27, 2009.

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“once again throbbing”: NYT, October 20, 1960.
“Box offices are busy”: Dorothy Kilgallen’s syndicated column, as in the
Daytona Beach Morning Journal,
September 30, 1960.
“tucked behind a façade”: NYT, October 13, 1960.

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“Customers who jam”: NYT, October 13, 1960.

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“far-out females”:
Variety,
January 4, 1962.
“all the gay guys”: Quotes and observations from Kaye Ballard come from a personal interview as well as her memoir,
How I Lost 10 Pounds in 53 Years
(New York: Back Stage Books, 2006).
“the funniest woman”: Dorothy Kilgallen’s syndicated column, as in the
Daytona Beach Morning Journal,
September 30, 1960.

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the size of a peapod: Quotes and observations from Diller come from a personal interview as well as her memoir,
Like a Lampshade in a Whorehouse
(New York: Penguin, 2005).
Around eleven, the place started: Various sources report that the Three Flames began playing around ten pm, but a contemporary account of evenings at the Bon Soir in the NYT, November 10, 1960, when Streisand was on the bill, reported that the place didn’t begin to fill up until eleven thirty and that Tony and Eddie went on at midnight. I’ve calculated that the band probably started the evening’s entertainment closer to eleven than to ten. The Three Flames played a half-hour set.

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“a-twinkle with glow worms”: NYT, November 10, 1960.
“Keepin’ Out of Mischief Now”: Anne Edwards in
Streisand: A Biography
wrote that her first number was “A Sleepin’ Bee,” calling it “a brave opening,” since most cabaret acts began with “a spirited number to catch the audience’s attention.” According to Barry Dennen, who has tapes and notes from that performance, her first song was “Keepin’ Out of Mischief Now,” exactly the sort of spirited number that could, and did, grab the audience’s attention. Edwards also reported that she sang “When the Sun Comes Out,” but Dennen refutes that. In
Streisand: Her Life,
Spada reports that among the numbers she sang that first night was “Who Can I Turn to Now?” but Dennen also denies that. That song was added, however, to the repertoire before the Bon Soir run ended.

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“triumphant roar”:
Pageant,
November 1963.

4. Fall 1960

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“one of the biggest”: NYT, September 13, 1960.
“the find of the year”:
New York World-Telegram,
September 16, 1960.
“The pros are talking:
New York Journal-American,
September 15, 1960.

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“a dynamic passion”:
Rogue,
November 1963.
“too trapped by her”: Judge wrote about seeing Streisand at the Bon Soir in the
New York Journal-American,
April 25, 1965.

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Diana bragged: This description comes from several friends of Diana’s, including Stuart Lippner, and is bolstered by Streisand’s own comment on
Inside the Actors Studio:
“My mother was the type of woman who praised me to other people but not to my face. She used to say, ‘I don’t want you to get a swelled head.’”
“a series of manic ups”: Barry Dennen,
My Life with Barbra.
This chapter is also supplemented by a personal interview with Dennen.

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“feminine wiles”:
Vanity Fair,
September 1991.

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“just in time for the World Series”: NYT, October 3, 1960. The sale ran from the end of September through October 25.

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“too dear”: “My Life with Barbra,” unpublished manuscript by Donald G. Softness, courtesy Softness.
“original designs created”: NYT, October 16, 1960.

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“A startlingly young”: NYT, November 10, 1960. This was not a specific review of a particular Streisand performance, but came within a larger profile of the nightclub scene.

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“the whitest white man”: Dennen,
My Life with Barbra.
My description of that first meeting is also supplemented by personal interviews with Dennen and Ted Rozar, which did not always jibe when considered together, but I have done my best to square their memories with the available facts.
“you can take me to dinner”: During my interview with Rozar, he told me, “Barbra still owes me that dinner she promised.”

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“ninety percent of jazz’s”:
The Daily Reporter,
November 18, 1959.
somewhere deep in the fir forests: Neither Rozar nor Dennen could remember exactly where the hotel was, and Streisand has never talked about it. An exhaustive search through clippings and digitized newspaper databases also did not turn up the location or the exact date. I hope that some dogged Streisand fan will someday turn up the details.