Hello, Gorgeous: Becoming Barbra Streisand (79 page)

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“Tell Barbra I think”: Spada,
Streisand: Her Life.
In her glass-enclosed “teahouse”:
Boston Herald,
January 5, 1964.

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“God knows she has”: Jerome Robbins to Ray Stark, June 11, 1962, JRC, NYPL.
“desire and intention to”: Ray Stark to Jerome Robbins, Isobel Lennart, Bob Merrill, and Jule Styne, May 17, 1962, JRC, NYPL.
“listed haphazardly”: Ray Stark to Robbins, Lennart, Styne, and Merrill, May 17, 1962, JRC, NYPL.

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“If she can sing”: Jerome Robbins to Ray Stark, June 11, 1962.
Merrill and Bancroft had dated: Interview with Suzanne Merrill. I am grateful for her background not only on the relationship between Merrill and Streisand, but also Styne and Streisand.
“to work with her a bit”: Jerome Robbins to Ray Stark, June 11, 1962.

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“People insist he wants”: David Merrick office memo to Jerome Robbins, June 12, 1962.

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Barbra’s audition changed no minds: Stories of Streisand’s declaring she couldn’t act with such terrible lines as the script provided seem to be so much mythmaking. There is absolutely no evidence of anything like that in the Robbins papers. There may have been such conflict later on, but Streisand’s first reading was described as “marvelously sensitive” by Robbins, hardly likely if she had been argumentative or defensive.
“a marvelously sensitive reading”: Jerome Robbins to Ray Stark, June 11, 1962, JRC, NYPL.
“really anxious”: David Merrick’s office to Jerome Robbins, June 29, 1962, JRC, NYPL.
“You, of course, know”: Ray Stark to Jerome Robbins, June 20, 1962, JRC, NYPL.
Barbra seemed clueless: This anecdote was told to me by a longtime Streisand fan who was frequently in the audience, and occasionally backstage, during
Wholesale.
I confirmed that Lillian Gish was indeed in attendance one night, according to Earl Wilson’s syndicated column, as in the
Delaware County Daily Times,
June 27, 1962.

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Barbra’s unprofessionalism: Riese,
Her Name Is Barbra.

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Barbra and Elliott sat in the dark: In an interview published in
Life,
May 22, 1964, Streisand recalled seeing a movie that could only be
Mothra
(the giant caterpillar eating cars) but conflated the experience with an earlier outing, which took place in the winter.
Mothra
opened in Manhattan on July 11.
“marvelous Victorian cabinets”:
The New Yorker,
May 1962.
“just wild ... genius”:
Life,
May 22, 1964.

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“hot romance backstage”: Earl Wilson’s syndicated column, as in the
Idaho Falls Post-Register,
July 20, 1962.
couple had secretly married: Earl Wilson’s syndicated column, as in the
Uniontown
(Pennsylvania)
Evening Standard,
August 1, 1962.

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“They print such rotten”: syndicated article, May 31, 1962.
“talk back to the director”: syndicated UPI article, as in the
Press-Courier
(Oxnard, California), July 26, 1962, and elsewhere.

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“brushed out”: Riese,
Her Name Is Barbra.
“the stable one”:
Let’s Talk to Lucy,
October 7, 1964.

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His admiration for her: Considine,
Barbra Streisand: The Woman, the Myth, the Music.

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“packing into the clubs”: Dorothy Kilgallen’s syndicated column, as in the
Montreal Gazette,
July 28, 1962.
“hit the big time”: Earl Wilson’s syndicated column, as in the
Reno
(Nevada)
Evening Gazette,
July 27, 1962.

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“Miss Streisand is a delightful”:
Variety,
July 25, 1962.
“strictly private for hotel guests”:
Hartford Courant,
July 17, 1962. Also, the
Middletown Press,
July 16, 1962.

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Barbra was applying to Dartmouth: See, for example, Lawrence Witte’s syndicated column, as in the
Masillon
(Ohio)
Evening Independent,
August 1, 1962.

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“urgent [that an] immediate”: Ray Stark to Jerome Robbins, telegram, August 6, 1962, JRC, NYPL.
“I hope you will have”: Ray Stark to Jerome Robbins, letter, August 6, 1962, JRC, NYPL.
“A tremendous talent”: Ray Stark to Jerome Robbins, letter, August 6, 1962, JRC, NYPL.

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“Dear Annie”: Jerome Robbins to Anne Bancroft, July 30, 1962, JRC, NYPL.
“Dear Barbara”: Ray Stark to Barbra Streisand, August 6, 1962, JRC, NYPL.

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“pushing the script until certain”: Jerome Robbins, “Statement of Contribution to
Funny Girl,
” sound recording, JRC, NYPL. All of my descriptions of Robbins’s statements on the work he did on the script up to the fall of 1962 come from this source.

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“If you don’t hear”: Ray Stark to Jerome Robbins, August 6, 1962, JRC, NYPL.
“A more honest or exploitable”: Ray Stark to Jerome Robbins, August 21, 1962, JRC, NYPL.

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“broker between script and stars”: NYT, May 10, 1960.
“I have rarely seen anyone”: Doris Vidor to Jerome Robbins, August 1, 1962, JRC, NYPL.
Doris Vidor would later marry, and quickly divorce, Fanny Brice’s third husband, Billy Rose.
“the relationship really becomes”: Jerome Robbins to Ray Stark, August 10, 1962.
Peter Lawford was “very interested”: Ray Stark to Jerome Robbins, August 22, 1962.
On the call sheet for two thirty: Audition sheet, August 30, 1962, JRC, NYPL.

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“inauthentic” and “overhyped”: Unsourced articles, dated June 4, 1962, and September 1, 1962, the latter a look-ahead at the coming nightclub season that predicted Streisand would be back at the Blue Angel, Barbra Streisand file, NYPL.
“strong-minded Barbra”: Dorothy Kilgallen’s syndicated column, as in the
Salt Lake Tribune,
June 1, 1962.
“Friends of the sensationally”: Dorothy Kilgallen’s syndicated column, as in the
Daytona Beach Morning Journal,
August 29, 1962.

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“Barbra Streisand is the front-runner”: Dorothy Kilgallen’s syndicated column, as in the
Lowell Sun,
August 31, 1962.

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Harold Clurman, in a long piece: NYT, September 23, 1962.

11. Fall 1962

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“very dependent on each other”:
Playboy,
November 1970.
“so right for each other”:
Esquire,
September 22, 2009.

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“old things and bizarre things”:
Life,
December 12, 1969.

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“listen to the radio”: NYT, March 4, 1973.
“the first annual Alexander”:
Life,
May 22, 1964.
“didn’t want Elliott”:
Playboy,
October 1977.
“Animalism ... a certain animal quality”: Kaufman Schwartz and Associates transcript of interview, August 15, 1963, Sidney Skolsky Collection, AMPAS.

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begun talking salary: Earl Wilson reported that Streisand hadn’t yet signed for the part because she was still “discussing salary.” (Earl Wilson’s syndicated column, as in the
Reno Evening Gazette,
September 17, 1962.) Not surprisingly, Dorothy Kilgallen put it in more negative terms: Streisand was “still dickering over salary.” (Dorothy Kilgallen’s syndicated column, as in the
Salt Lake Tribune,
September 18, 1962.)

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in her own word, “hell”:
Life,
May 22, 1964.
“some special business”: Louella Parsons’s syndicated column, as in the
Cedar Rapids Gazette,
October 4, 1962.
Barbra and Fran: A syndicated Hollywood column with no byline published in the
Hartford Courant,
September 30, 1962, stated: “While Barbra Streisand ... was taping a Dinah Shore show, Fanny Brice’s daughter, Fran (Mrs. Ray) Stark, showed up to ogle her for the title role in the coming musical based on Fanny’s life.”

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Peter and Wendy grew up:
Interview,
September 1985.
“the outstanding Hollywood party”: NYT, September 29, 1960.

a treasure chest of gems: In June 1953, the Starks, staying at the Sherry-Netherland Hotel in New York on their way to Paris, had their room broken into; $40,000 worth of jewelry was taken. The thief overlooked other jewelry worth $13,700 sitting atop a dresser in the bedroom. The jewels were only “partly insured.” Stolen was a platinum-and-gold ring with two eight-carat diamonds as well as a platinum bracelet holding a six-carat diamond and three emeralds, each valued at $20,000. Left behind on the dresser were two pearl rings, a pearl necklace, platinum earrings, and a diamond-and-platinum wedding band. Associated Press newswire, as in the
Lima
(Ohio)
News,
June 28, 1953.

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“a group of vocal performers”:
Hartford Courant,
May 12, 1963.

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Barbra seemed “anxious”: syndicated Scripps-Howard article, as in the
Albuquerque Tribune,
May 13, 1963.

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Barbra Streisand would never play: A quote from Fran Stark, “That woman will never play my mother” or some variant thereof, has shown up in virtually every account of Streisand’s life. John Patrick told Anne Edwards for
Streisand: A Biography
that Fran Stark spoke the line directly to him. Given that the quote has usually been accompanied by the erroneous assertion that Ray Stark, as well as his wife, opposed Streisand’s casting, I was tempted to doubt its authenticity. However, Jule Styne, who was very much on the scene during the period in question, was quoted in several accounts confirming Fran’s opposition; Kaye Ballard, who by this time was in the running for the part, and Suzanne Merrill also remembered it. In Spada’s
Streisand: Her Life,
however, Styne was quoted as saying it was
Ray
Stark who said Streisand would never play his mother-in-law, which the Robbins papers clearly disprove.

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“a lot of loot”: Dorothy Kilgallen’s syndicated column, as in the
Lowell Sun,
September 29, 1962.
“creative control, no coupling”: Considine,
Barbra Streisand: The Woman, the Myth, the Music.
Marty had secured a clause:
Billboard,
August 3, 1963.
“After months of negotiations”: Dorothy Kilgallen’s syndicated column, as in the
Dunkirk
(New York)
Evening Observer,
October 8, 1962.

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“It doesn’t feel like”:
Backstage with Lee Jordan,
WXYZ radio, September 1962, included on the
Just for the Record
DVD.

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Merrick would “bristle”: Kissel,
David Merrick: The Abominable Showman.

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“Yeah, let’s go”: Considine,
Barbra Streisand: The Woman, the Myth, the Music.

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“David Merrick may hold”: LAT, September 29, 1962.
“completely out of”: Louella Parsons’s syndicated column, as in the
Cedar Rapids Gazette,
October 4, 1962.
“Although Jerry has been”: Floria Lasky to Albert da Silva, September 20, 1962, JRC, NYPL.
“ghastly sessions”: Isobel Lennart to Jerome Robbins, [nd, September 1962], JRC, NYPL.
“not ready yet”: Jerome Robbins to Ray Stark, [nd, September 1962], JRC, NYPL.
“I think there can be”: Ray Stark to Albert da Silva, August 31, 1962, JRC, NYPL.

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“As for delivering”: Jerome Robbins to Ray Stark, [nd, September 1962], JRC, NYPL.
“not want any”: Floria Lasky to Albert da Silva, September 20, 1962, JRC, NYPL.
“Barbra Streisand, who’s been practically”: Earl Wilson’s syndicated column, as in the
Wisconsin State Journal,
October 5, 1962.

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Peter found he could work: For background and insight into Peter Daniels, I am grateful to Lainie Kazan.

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press reports were stating that Kaye Ballard: NYT, October 10, 1962.

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“was doing everything”: Riese,
Her Name Is Barbra.

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“like putting on”: NYT, May 21, 2009.

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Wholesale
was $140,000: Kissel,
David Merrick: The Abominable Showman.
“I’m free! I’m free!”: Spada,
Streisand: Her Life.

12. Winter 1963

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“Now let’s hear it from”: Liner notes from Streisand’s
Just for the Record
CD album, 1991.
“She’s breaking me up”:
Just for the Record
DVD. Streisand appeared on the Sullivan show on December 16. She had been advertised in some TV listings to appear on December 9, but perhaps that date was changed since
Wholesale
had just ended the day before, and it was decided not to let that cloud Streisand’s appearance.

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There were reports: John Patrick told Anne Edwards for
Streisand: A Biography
that after the Bon Soir, Fran Stark had said that Barbra would never play Fanny Brice. But a reliable source told me that she “softened” on Barbra after the Bon Soir and from then on kept her views very private so as not to interfere with her husband’s work.

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“terrible anxieties”:
Playboy,
November 1970.
director Joe Layton’s offer of a part: Earl Wilson’s syndicated column, as in the
Idaho Falls Post Reporter,
December 3, 1962.

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forfeiting $100,000 worth: Earl Wilson’s syndicated column, as in the
Delaware County Times,
January 14, 1963.
“pretty heavy shouting”: Riese,
Her Name Is Barbra.
In just twelve hours: NYT, January 25, 1963.

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“vital and imaginative”: Graham Payn and Sheridan Morley, eds.,
The Noël Coward Diaries
(Boston: Da Capo Press, 2000).
“dehydrated”: Cole Lesley,
The Life of Noël Coward
(New York: Penguin, 1988).

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“a big compliment,” “very harsh at times”: Considine,
Barbra Streisand: The Woman, the Myth, the Music.

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“walking a tightrope”: Spada,
Streisand: Her Life.

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had their columns clipped: Interview with Don Softness.
“hottest young comedienne”: Earl Wilson’s syndicated column, as in the
Delaware County Times,
January 14, 1963.
“glad, sad or mad”: NYT, July 1, 1965.
“She packs more personal”: Robert Ruark’s syndicated column, as in the
El Paso Herald-Post,
January 18, 1963.