Barbra Streisand is sharing a warning her late friend and fellow actress Judy Garland gave to her about Hollywood in her new memoir, My Name is Barbra.
In an excerpt, via People magazine, Streisand wrote, “Judy and I became friends. We spoke on the phone, and she came to one of the rare parties I gave at my New York apartment (four in thirty‑five years). I think she arrived late. And I remember her saying something I never quite understood: ‘Don’t let them do to you what they did to me.’ I should have asked her what she meant, but I didn’t want to appear too nosy.”
In the 2017 memoir about the late actress, Judy and I: My Life with Judy Garland, her ex-husband Sid Luft detailed the pressure Garland faced to maintain a certain weight and appearance, including studio executives telling her she had to watch her figure. Luft, who died before the book was published, said The Wizard of Oz star used drugs to cope. Garland died in 1969 of an accidental barbiturate overdose at age 47.
“What a tragedy . . . and such a loss. She was an extraordinary talent,” Streisand wrote in her book.
Streisand also looked back at her early career in the industry and explained how “people were looking for some sort of rivalry between us [Streisand and Gardland]. And when they couldn’t find anything, they made it up.” Then in 1963, Streisand made an appearance on an episode of Garland’s CBS show The Judy Garland Show.
“I found Judy to be completely generous. We sang a medley of songs, taking turns, and she wasn’t just focused on herself. She watched me and responded to me. She would reach out and brush back a strand of my hair, like a mother,” Streisand said of Garland in her memoir. “And Judy’s own daughter, Liza Minnelli, says that her mother’s first reaction on hearing me sing was to say, ‘I’m never going to open my mouth again.’ She was like that, very self‑deprecating. And deeply vulnerable.”
My Name is Barbra, which features reflections on her career and past relationships, hit bookshelves on Tuesday.
