The Oscar-winning legend Liza Minnelli has decades of experience in the crazy world of Hollywood. During her lengthy career, she’s had countless co-stars. One of them, however, stands out to her to this day for all the wrong reasons.
Minnelli Blasts Hackman
In her new memoir Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!, which hit stores a week ago, Minnelli recalled slammed her late co-star Gene Hackman. The two of them starred together in the 1975 comedy-drama Lucky Lady, which was directed by Stanley Donen. According to Minnelli, the lack of chemistry between herself and Hackman was evident from the start.
“I don’t like to whine, but Stanley later shared publicly that Gene was very dismissive of me during the film,” wrote Minnelli, 80.
“It’s hard to go to work when the chemistry is absent,” the former Cabaret star continued. “I think it’s fair to say that Gene was downright rude.”
Minnelli and Hackman starred in Lucky Lady alongside the late great Burt Reynolds. Entertainment Weekly reported that the movie is “set during the Prohibition era. In the film, a widow named Claire (Minnelli) gets involved in smuggling alcohol with her lover, Walker (Reynolds), and his friend, Kibby (Hackman). Things get tricky as a tense love triangle develops among the trio, all while they try to avoid the law.”
The lack of chemistry between Minnelli and Hackman appears to have come across onscreen. Indeed, Lucky Lady flopped both critically and commercially. The New York Times even went so far as to describe the movie “ridiculous without the compensation of being funny or fun.”
Ouch!
It should be noted that despite all of this, Minnelli still managed to earn herself a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. She lost that award to Ann-Margret for her work in the musical Tommy.
Hackman’s Friends Fire Back
Hackman was mysteriously found dead in his New Mexico home along with his wife last year. He was 95 years-old.
Hackman’s friends are already firing back at Minnelli in his defense with blistering attacks on the actress.
“Gene can’t defend himself,” one longtime friend told Rob Shuter’s Naughty But Nice. “Going after someone who’s dead feels cowardly.”
Another longtime friend of Hackman’s took this even further.
“If Liza wants to talk about rude behavior, she should look in the mirror,” the source says. “She was a nightmare on set.”
This friend went on to say that according to those familiar with the Lucky Lady production, tensions were high during filming.
“Liza was often late, sometimes sick and not always prepared,” the insider alleged. “Working with someone struggling with addiction isn’t easy.”
The Hackman friend then claimed that Minnelli was demanding on set. According to this source, she saw herself as above everyone else as the daughter of The Wizard of Oz star Judy Garland and the acclaimed director Vincente Minnelli.
“She wanted to be treated like Hollywood royalty,” the insider explained. “And when she didn’t get that, things got difficult fast.”
This source concluded by lamenting that the claims made in Minnelli’s memoir have only reopened decades-long tensions.
“Gene is gone,” the source said. “But people who knew him aren’t going to let that story stand without pushing back.”
It seems that this was a very complicated situation for everyone involved. In the end, all we can say is that’s Hollywood for you baby!