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A Conversation with Liza Minnelli and Sam Harris
By: Robert Diamond May. 30, 2006
Liza Minnelli: At my house…
Sam Harris: We're at Liza's apartment, sitting on a very large bed.
How intimate! How did you guys first meet?
SAM: Wow, I think, should I take this one?
LIZA: Yeah, yes…
SAM: Liza was doing The Rink, and I was coming into town to play Carnegie Hall for the first time and I went to see The Rink and busted my way back stage. Star Search had been very fresh, and so Liza was all excited, and I couldn't even believe that she ever heard of me. And, we hugged and kissed and fell in love and became best friends.
LIZA: (laughing) And we never left each other's side!
SAM: And then when I moved to New York, we really, really got close and it's been an amazing relationship.
Given your busy schedules, how often do you guys see each other?
LIZA: Every second we can, but we talk to each other every day anyway.
SAM: Yeah. I moved back to Los Angeles, so we don't get to see each other as frequently. When I lived in New York we saw each other every day.
LIZA: But Sam has a marvelous television show that he's doing now and I'm so excited about, tell him about that.
SAM: It's called The Class, it's going to be on TV as of the fall. So, LA is being good but I miss New York and I certainly miss my girl, she's out there all the time too.
While you're on the subject of the TV show, what can you tell us about it?
SAM: It's called The Class, and David Crane who created Friends is the creator. Jimmy Burrows is directing all the episodes, which is kind of exciting for me because he's an icon, and we're going to get Liza on.
LIZA: I get to do a couple of those!
SAM: And we start taping in August but right now I'm just visiting New York and seeing Liza who's been on a tear doing shows, doing publicity for the DVD and all those other projects and it's an exciting time for both of us.
And you're going to be hosting the Actors' Fund party on Tony night...
SAM: Yeah.
Which is of course in Los Angeles. Do you people out on the West Coast care about the Tony awards?
LIZA: Yeah I think they do. It's always so entertaining because to work in film it's wonderful to watch people who work live, because it's a different art form, it really is.
So, I guess that's great for all of you, that people out there that share this passion, to be able to get together and yell at the screen…
LIZA: (laughing)
SAM: (laughing) That of course, and then there's also so many television film actors that come to Broadway, and it always makes me laugh when they say wow I never realized how hard this was.
LIZA: (laughing)
SAM: There's a lot of, certainly a lot of people in Los Angeles who love and respect and have worked in a theatre, and it should be a fun night.
Sam, you of course were nominated for a Tony for The Life and Liza has won three?
LIZA: Yes I have.
Starting with Liza, do you have a favorite memory in particular of your Tony awards' experience?
LIZA: Yeah, it would have to be the first one, because I was the youngest person ever to win in a musical and I think I still am, but I was just nineteen or something like that, or eighteen, I can't even remember. But, I didn't have a dress so I had to borrow my agent's dress. My agent was Stephanie Philips, and I borrowed her dress and I went, and I was sitting beside Fred Ebb and in-between Fred Ebb and John Kander, and Hal Prince and all these wonderful people from Flora, The Red Menace. And I was sure I wasn't going to win, and I'll be damned if they didn't say my name.
How nervous is it out there in the audience, not knowing?
LIZA: It's nerve wracking. It's really nerve wracking, because you're sitting there telling yourself it doesn't matter, and it matters. It matters!
SAM: I've lost, it matters! (laughter) But do you know what, this is true show business. The day after I lost the Tony, Liza called the next morning, because the show had also lost the Tony, and she called the next morning and we got Cy Coleman on the line, and she said let's bring some publicity back to this! So, she came that night, we did the show, which is always so weird to come back and do the show the next night, after we've been nominated for four hundred Tonys and didn't win the main ones. Liza came to the show that night and came up on the stage after the curtain call, and she and I sang a duet, and then she sang and spoke, and the press was crazy for it. It was really extraordinary, because only in live theatre does that kind of community exist, and that kind of, you know, family.
LIZA: Yes, it's unquestionably family. If you need me, I'm there, and it's always been that way with live performance of any kind. You know, night clubs, if somebody's sick, you go and you take their place, and that's a wonderful kind of thing. It makes you so close to the people you work with, and you're part of a real community.
SAM: The night that this happened, because she came to the theatre, do you remember? she came and like seven fifteen, fifteen minutes before that they were letting the house in. And so we were picking a key, and then… and I'm doing a show, and so she stayed up in my dressing room, and every time I came up for a change she would say, okay and on this section, you take this part, and I'll take this part. And then she's like mirror me here, and she's doing the hands, and we were doing choreography, and I was okay and I've got to get back on stage, and lo and behold it all came together, it was such a ball. The people went crazy.
LIZA: Well it was fun!
SAM: Truly a theatre experience.
LIZA: And Cy Coleman was playing, the only musician that we had was Cy on the Piano.
SAM: It was like a…
LIZA: The song, I had recordings of songs for The Life, and when he did the album, he did the album first with some celebrities doing the songs, and then Sam did the actual show. So we both sang that song, and so we did it together on stage.
SAM: And it was like a movie, it was like the old movies where the piano rolls out, and Cy Coleman, the great Cy Coleman comes out and sits down, and then about half way through the song, the orchestra comes in. Like all of a sudden, it's like all there, it's just one of those magical things.
And I guess the audience didn't know this was going to happen, but press was alerted?
SAM: Well of course the press was alerted! It was very exciting.
Backing up a bit, I was reading that not only have you performed together, but also that Liza produced Sam's show Revival at The Bottom Line?
SAM: Yes she did, directed by Richard Jay-Alexander.
LIZA: I certainly did.
I saw the reviews were great for that…whatever happened to that show?
LIZA: Oh, we put it on an album, that is absolutely phenomenal called Revival. And that album went to the roof, and anybody who doesn't have that album must get it. It's the best record that I've ever heard, it's called Revival by Sam Harris, and it's sen-sational.
SAM: Thank you.
LIZA: You're welcome. (laughter)
SAM: Yeah we did it there, we've done versions of it in different places, and Liz Smith came and opened with a bit of announcement at the beginning of it, it was… we had a great time.
LIZA: Yeah, one of the things that I like most about… being around this long is that you find such wonderful talented people, and when I heard Sam, I went nuts always, you know from the very first time. But then throughout the years, presenting him and being there for him, because I believe in him, and now he's got this wonderful show where everybody's going to see how marvelous he is. But, I've always believed in his phenomenal talent.
SAM: Isn't she the best? We've worked on… a lot of people think that we've actually sung and performed and toured together because they know how close we are. But actually we've worked on each other's projects. When Liza was doing Minnelli on Minnelli, you know I was there every day, and helped with that with her and when I've done projects, she's come in and helped me, or restructured something. It's really been a great support system.
LIZA: And fun.
SAM: We're the uncredited directors of our projects.
LIZA: (laughter)
So, are there royalties there?
SAM: (laughter)
LIZA: Not so far (laughter)
SAM: A nice hug and a kiss, maybe a little Chinese.
But, that counts just a much as money.
SAM: Absolutely.
Speaking about Minnelli on Minnelli, what was your bonding like during that period, as you helped Liza get back into shape, getting back to Broadway?
SAM: Wow, it was an intense time for both of us.
LIZA: Really.
SAM: First of all, it was a show that we had been visualizing and thinking about, and then all of a sudden the Palace became available in like three weeks. And so the show had to be smacked up fast, and that meant getting it into physical shape, vocal shape, structuring it, Fred was doing it, as always he's such a genius.
LIZA: And that was, you know I just had a brain encephalitis and I had just gotten my throat back. My throat had been operated on, and it was really Sam who helped me get my voice back.
SAM: But it was really, and I feel strange saying this right in front of your face, but what was extraordinary for me to watch was this amazing determination and joy. I mean we laughed, that's the great thing, is that we laugh all the time. But it started at nine o'clock in the morning, through rehearsals or meetings, or structuring or vocal lessons, or working on a dance thing or whatever she needed to do, and it was all day, every day. And that's kind of the kernel of the show business bug that some people really get, and she was born with it, and loves it, and we share that kind of my God we've been working seven hours and we haven't eaten.
LIZA: Yeah, so what?
SAM: You know, because we get so excited! And, I think that's part of the bond of our friendship is that we have an understanding of that kind of joy and that kind of work ethic that I certainly am attracted to when I see it, and it's rare to tell you the truth. It's not old, it's rare. The kids want their breaks. LIZA: (laughter)
SAM: But then you see somebody like Sutton Foster come up, who's got that thing, and know she's got to be tapping her 'tuchus' off on every lunch break.
LIZA: Exactly.
Speaking of Sutton, and the Tony's coming up, are you guys rooting for anybody in particular?
LIZA: Sutton! (laughter) I'm rooting for Sutton, I love her.
SAM: Yeah, she's incredible.
Do you have a favorite show of the season?
SAM: You know what, I don't know, I…
LIZA: I feel funny about everything what I think, because I don't want to influence anybody, everybody should have their own thoughts, and I enjoy everything I see basically, I really do. It's something you should write, because if something's not great, you can always find something in it that works.
SAM: Something that's good, something to steal.
LIZA: Something to use! (laughter)
SAM: Yeah, and I'm always so delighted, not living in New York right now, when I do come back and I'm here for a few days now and seeing five shows in four days, because it's just like food for me. Seeing the talent and knowing what goes into that… I don't know, it's so thrilling, there's nothing like it.
LIZA: And that was my training, you know I grew up around everybody who was in movies. And all I wanted to do was to be on Broadway. That's all I wanted, so I ran away to New York when I was fifteen, you know my parents thought I would come home after the summer, and I never did, I got a job, and I stayed! I never took another nickel and I'm proud of that.
SAM: She wanted to be an ice skater.
LIZA: (laughter) I did.
SAM: Thank God that didn't work out! the world would be a sorrier place.
LIZA: Then I saw Bye Bye Birdie, and I thought no, I don't want to be an ice skater, I want to be up there doing that! So that when I eventually worked for Gower Champion, my God it was really full circle and I… oh gee. You know I've worked with so many wonderful people, and three Tony Awards is really… I look at them and I can't believe it.
SAM: You know what we were just discussing before you called is we were talking… I had brought up to Liza how thrilling it is for me to watch her teach other actors and other singers, and other Broadway hopefuls, because this thing comes out of her, this… It's extraordinary because she gets so excited about talent, and nurturing talent and watching it grow and guiding it. And I think that with the Actors' Fund, that's why it's so extraordinarily important that they're honoring her, and appropriate, because it's not just about what you've done, it's about what you're passing on. And she does it better than anybody, I mean it's thrilling, it's like she becomes a kid. She looks at somebody and she says try this, do this, and the danger of it, and the thrill of it, and craft of it, and I'm so thrilled that I get to watch her receive this.
Is directing or teaching something that interests you at all?
LIZA: Well teaching I love, and I do that down at the Actor's Studio. I teach acting in song, that's what I do, and it's fascinating because a kid will get up, and they'll sing a song, and I'll say 'okay, what can you tell me?' and he'll say 'well I think I sang it good.' I'll say 'alright well where are you when you're singing it?' And he goes 'what?' I ask 'Is it daytime, is it nighttime, where are you? on the beach, or in a forest, or in an apartment, or in a home, what part of the house are you in? Do you have decals on the refrigerator, what are you doing, what's the scene?' Make the scene so you can build the fourth wall.
SAM: It's often when people are singing that it's about the sound, and I know she comes from a world as do I, about creating the reality of that moment. It makes it a 'playlet.'
LIZA: Yeah each song should be a movie in itself. And if you do that kind of character work on each song then you have secrets, and secrets are so exciting on stage.
SAM: And what's so fun about them is then when you're doing… I know for Liza, certainly longer than I have, but when I'm doing concerts, doing the same material over and over, it's the secrets that keep it fresh. Because what my life is is when I can sing something for ten years and say, 'oh that's what it's about,' and that'll change next month, 'oh that's what it's about.'
LIZA: And by secrets we don't mean our own secrets, we mean character secrets. Now if you know the character, who is singing the song. Let's say you say that you want to sing 'Blue Moon.' I'd say well that's great, but oh, sing 'Blue Moon,' and play cards at the same time. Just play solitaire and sing 'Blue Moon.' It's going to change the way you sing 'Blue Moon.' It's going to be more thoughtful, it's going to be more kind of distracted, and those are the secrets. What does the room you're in look like. That kind of thing, is that clear?
Yeah, that makes sense to me…
LIZA: Oh good.
And I'm not even a performer, but I think I'm now ready to go try singing 'Blue Moon'
LIZA: (laughing)
Liza, would you even come back and do eight shows a week if it was the right show on Broadway?
LIZA: Absolutely.
Are the offers coming in regularly?
LIZA: Well they are, but I haven't found the right one yet. (laughter)
SAM: Actually maybe six shows a week and the understudy can do two! (laughter).
It sounds like maybe you should do something together?
LIZA: Oh God, that would be fantastic. I'd do that in a second.
I've read that the award is going to be given to you by Brittany Murphy?
LIZA: Yes.
Why her?
LIZA: Well, I don't know, you have to ask her. (laughter) I love her, I mean I admire her, and I'm always so thrilled when kids know me. You know, to me she's a kid, and she's a huge fan, and she's been so sweet to me and just told me what I have passed on to her, through my eyes, and that makes me feel grand I must say.
Very cool, and do you and Julie Harris know each other?
LIZA: Yes, I know her quite well. She's a wonderful woman.
SAM: She's my mother.
LIZA: (laughs).
How does it feel then getting an award that's named for her?
LIZA: Well, it's fantastic, it's incredible. I saw Member of the Wedding when I was like 14 and really, I was so touched by her and I followed her. I wanted to see everything she's ever done. And every play she's been in, while I'm in New York I've seen. I mean, she's the cat's meow so to speak, and if that sounds corny, that's fine.
And Sam, how do you feel about being able to host this party?
SAM: Well, I'm thrilled, I'm thrilled that they think that I would do good, I don't know exactly what I'm going to be doing. LIZA: But Sam it will be great.
SAM: It will be a ball and I have such a great affection for Broadway, and for the people who love Broadway. Also it's thrilling for me to be in a sort of time in my career where they think Sam Harris might be good at this because they do recognize my love for it. You know, and the Julie Harris thing, I'll tell you, there was a moment where I thought oh my God, I'm actually part of the Broadway community, because a friend of mine, I said, can you just call Joe Allen and make a reservation. The person called him and said I'd like to make a reservation for Harris and they said, Julie, Rosemary or Sam? (laughs). And I thought oh my God, I've arrived.
LIZA: Fabulous!
We all know about the great work that the Actors' Fund does, have any of you experienced anything personal with them? Helping a friend of yours, or…
SAM: Well, we're actually just doing this so we have a place to live when we're old. (laughing) Absolutely, you know they did a lot of stuff for Katrina, too.
LIZA: A lot of stuff and I organized that with Ben Vereen, and it was amazing, what the Broadway community will do for these causes.
SAM: The Broadway community is there for everybody, you know. During the AIDS epidemic, during Katrina, all of those things, when organizations have their budgets decimated because all of a sudden, so many members of Equity were having to take advantage of needing financial help. So it's extraordinary that the Actors' Fund has been able to be there for people, to continue to raise money, and create events, create awareness, for people to give to it, and support its own. And, we all know that certainly in this time and this political climate how important it is to take care of ourselves because we can't always rely on the government…if I may.
LIZA: And so I'm so proud to be a part of this event and the Actors' Fund and Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS are probably the most admirable institution I've ever worked with.
SAM: And the Actors' Fund is constantly working! I've done several events for them through the years, many actually and it's always first class, it's always great people and I'm very honored.
There was tons of excitement around the re-release of Liza with a Z…
LIZA: Oh yeah, thank you.
Can you bring us up to date on how it is doing? Are people just eating it up?
LIZA: Yeah, well it's number one, evidently in the sales which I'm thrilled about and it's good because it's really a Fosse piece to tell you the truth and the stage work was so spectacular. In Liza with a Z, his choreography and staging the whole thing was great, and then on top of that, his film work is phenomenal. I think it's the only time when he used both, completely for one hour. So it's really a lost Fosse piece, and I have to quote other people, but it's "his masterpiece" so to speak.
SAM: I have to chime in here because she's going to talk about Bob and she's going to talk about Fred and she can talk about John cause they all were really at the apex of their creative time, but I have to step in. I've seen this thing many times through different versions and restorations, and she's a freaking animal.
LIZA: Sam!
SAM: She's absolutely extraordinary and you watch this force…this thing that is so clearly beautifully, skillfully crafted and yet so raw, and present. You watch this thing happen before your eyes and it's, it's not human, it's bizarre. She's just shaking her head at me right now.
LIZA: Are you calling me a thing?
SAM: I know her so well and we are so close and when I watch this, and in fact this happens whenever I see her do anything. Whether she's singing or not, doing any kind of acting work or writing, but it's like this oh my god. She's one of those people, those rare people whom you realize are on this earth for that specific thing and it's mind blowing.
LIZA: Well, you're that too.
SAM: Thank you.
LIZA: You are truly.
So we know that Sam next is doing The Class, what's next for you Liza?
LIZA: Oh my god, I've got concerts that I am doing and I am working on another album that's going to come out and I'm working on a screenplay.
Is that the Key Thompson album?
LIZA: Yes it is!
See, we do our research here...
LIZA: You do!
How's that coming together?
LIZA: It's coming together wonderfully. And Sam's going to make a guest appearance on it.
Is there sort of a release date or hopeful timeframe for that?
LIZA: We don't have that yet, because her arrangements were so complex and marvelous, that I want them to be perfect, and until they are, I won't record them. You know.
SAM: But to give you a visual, the giant bed that we're sitting on is covered with CDs and tapes and lyrics and we're working on it.
LIZA: It is – you should see us!
That covers all of my questions, unless there's any last thoughts that you'd like to get 'out there' together or separately?
LIZA: I'm just so happy that I'm receiving this and so honored. I'm honored that my dearest friend is part of it.
SAM: Ditto here.
I: Okay, thank you both very much.
SAM: Thanks.
LIZA: Take care!
Liza Minnelli will receive the Julie Harris Award for Lifetime Achievement from The Actors' Fund of America on Sunday, June 11, 2006 at the 10th Annual Tony Awards Party at the Skirball Center (2701 North Sepulveda Blvd.) in L.A. Film star Brittany Murphy will present Minnelli with the award, and Sam Harris will host the evening. Tickets to the Tony Awards Party are $200 and can be purchased directly by calling The Actors' Fund Office at (323) 933-9266 x 54.
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