Vincente Minnelli 414384 224672728 2008-07-09T22:21:43Z Muro Bot 5849026 robot Adding: [[eu:Vincente Minnelli]] {{Unreferenced|date=May 2008}} {{Infobox Actor | bgcolour = silver | name = Vincente Minnelli | image = Vincente Minnelli.jpg | birthname = Lester Anthony Minnelli | birthdate = [[February 28]], [[1903]] | location = [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]] | deathdate = {{death date and age|1986|7|25|1903|2|28}} | deathplace = [[Beverly Hills, California]] | spouse = '''[[Judy Garland]]''' (1945–1951) <br> '''Georgette Magnani''' (1954–1957) <br> '''Denise Minnelli''' (1962–1971) <br> '''Lee Anderson''' (1980–1986) | academyawards = '''[[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]]''' <br> 1958 ''[[Gigi (film)|Gigi]]'' | goldenglobeawards = '''[[Golden Globe Award for Best Director - Motion Picture|Best Director - Motion Picture]]''' <br> 1959 ''[[Gigi (film)|Gigi]]'' }} '''Vincente Minnelli''' ([[February 28]], [[1903]] &ndash; [[July 25]], [[1986]]) was a famous [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]]-winning [[Hollywood]] [[film director|director]] and accomplished [[Theatre director|stage director]]. His skilled integration of story, music, lighting, and design elements in a film made him the most critically respected crafter of [[musical film|American film musicals]]. With first wife [[Judy Garland]] he was the father of [[Liza Minnelli]]. ==Biography== Born '''Lester Anthony Minnelli''' in [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], [[United States]],<ref>Sacramental records, Notre Dame-de-Chicago</ref> Minnelli was the youngest surviving child of Mina Mary LaLouette Le Beau and Vincent Charles Minnelli. His father was musical conductor of ''Minnelli Brothers' Tent Theater''. Minnelli's Chicago-born mother was of [[French Canadian]] descent and his paternal grandfather was from [[Sicily]], in [[Italy]]. With his background in [[theatre]], Minnelli was known as an [[auteur]] who always brought his stage experience to his films. The first movie that he directed, ''[[Cabin in the Sky]]'' (1943), was visibly influenced by the theater. Shortly after that, he directed ''[[Meet Me in St. Louis]]'' (1944), during which he befriended the film's star, [[Judy Garland]], although it is probable the two had met casually earlier. The two began a courtship that eventually led to their marriage in June 1945. Their one child together, [[Liza Minnelli]], grew up to become an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]]-winning singer and actress. Though widely known for directing [[musical film|musicals]], including ''[[An American in Paris (movie)|An American in Paris]]'' (1951), ''[[Brigadoon (film)|Brigadoon]]'' (1954), ''[[Kismet (1955 film)|Kismet]]'' (1955), and ''[[Gigi (1958 film)|Gigi]]'' (1958) he also helmed comedies and melodramas, including ''[[Madame Bovary (1949 film)|Madame Bovary]]'' (1949), ''[[Father of the Bride]]'' (1950), ''[[Designing Woman]]'' (1957) and ''[[The Courtship of Eddie's Father]]'' (1963). His last film was ''[[A Matter of Time (1976 film)|A Matter of Time]]'' (1976). He received an Oscar nomination as Best Director for ''[[An American in Paris (film)|An American in Paris]]'' (1951) and later won the Best Director Oscar for ''[[Gigi (1958 film)|Gigi]]'' (1958). He was awarded France's highest civilian honor, the Commander Nationale of the Legion of Honor, only weeks before his death in 1986. Minnelli's critical reputation has known a certain amount of fluctuation, being admired (or dismissed) in [[United States|America]] as a "pure stylist" who, in [[Andrew Sarris]]' words,{{Fact|date=May 2008}} "believes more in beauty than in art". His work reached a height of [[Critics|critical]] attention during the late 1950s and early 1960s in [[France]] with extensive studies in the ''[[Cahiers du Cinéma]]'' magazine, especially in the articles by [[Jean Douchet]] and [[Jean Domarchi]], who saw in him a cinematic visionary obsessed with beauty and harmony, and an artist who could give substance to the world of dreams. The MGM compilation film ''[[That's Entertainment!]]'' showed clips from many of his films. Minnelli died at the age of 83 from complications of [[Alzheimer's disease]], and was interred in the [[Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)|Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery]] in [[Burbank, California]]. He is survived by his [[Great Britain|British]]-born wife Lee Anderson Minnelli (born c. 1907). <!--NOTE: Major Wikipedia rule is that claims about living people MUST be thoroughly cited: His widow sued Minnelli's daughter Liza over a controversy relating to Liza declining to pay the bills on her [[Beverly Hills, California|Beverly Hills]] home which Liza (allegedly under the influence of her then husband [[David Gest]]) wished to sell, in order to move her stepmother into alternative, cheaper, accommodation. Lee eventually dropped the lawsuit.--> ==Family== His marriages ran as follows: * [[Judy Garland]] (15 June 1945 - 1951) (divorced), one child, [[Liza Minnelli]] (b. 1946) * [[Georgette Magnani]] (February 1954 - 1957), one child, [[Christiane Nina Minnelli]] (b. 1955); two grandchildren, [[Vincent Miro Minnelli]] (b. 1977), [[Karla Ximena Miro Minnelli]] (b. 1979) * Denise Minnelli (1962 - August 1971) (divorced); later married [[Prentis Cobb Hale]] * [[Lee Anderson]] (April 1980 - 25 July 1986) (his death) ==Trivia== {{Trivia|date=June 2007}} * Named his daughter [[Liza Minnelli]] after the Gershwin song "Liza." He had directed the number for [[Ziegfeld Follies]] (1946), but it was cut from the final version of the film. * Interred at Forest Lawn, Glendale, California, USA, in the Triumphant Faith Terraces area. * Father-in-law of [[Peter Allen]], [[Jack Haley Jr.]] and [[David Gest]] * Inventor of the "Crab Dolly", a camera dolly on wheels that can move the camera in any direction. * Insisted on using a shade of yellow in the design of his sets that had to be specially mixed. MGM painters began calling it "Minnelli Yellow." * When he was signed to MGM, he was allowed to apprentice for a year on the lot. By the time he started directing, he knew every department at the studio. * Was voted the 20th Greatest Director of all time by Entertainment Weekly. * His widow, Lee Anderson, was his companion for a long time before their 1980 marriage. * Directed 7 different actors in Oscar-nominated performances: [[Spencer Tracy]], [[Gloria Grahame]], [[Kirk Douglas]], [[Anthony Quinn]], [[Arthur Kennedy]], [[Shirley MacLaine]] and [[Martha Hyer]]. Grahame and Quinn won Oscar for their performances in one of Minnelli's movies. * Is portrayed by [[Hugh Laurie]] in ''[[Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows]]'' (2001) (TV) * Member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1967 ==Selected theatre credits== *''[[At Home Abroad]]'' (1935) (director) *''The Show Is On'' (1936) (director) *''[[Hooray for What!]]'' (1937) (director) ==Filmography== *''[[Panama Hattie]]'' (1942) (uncredited) *''[[Cabin in the Sky]]'' (1943) *''[[I Dood It]]'' (1943) *''[[Meet Me in St. Louis]]'' (1944) *''[[The Clock (film)|The Clock]]'' (1945) *''[[Yolanda and the Thief]]'' (1945) *''[[Ziegfeld Follies (film)|Ziegfeld Follies]]'' (1946) *''[[Undercurrent (film)|Undercurrent]]'' (1946) *''[[Till the Clouds Roll By]]'' (1946) (Judy Garland segments) *''[[The Pirate]]'' (1948) *''[[Madame Bovary (1949 film)|Madame Bovary]]'' (1949) *''[[Father of the Bride (1950 film)|Father of the Bride]]'' (1950) *''[[Father's Little Dividend]]'' (1951) *''[[An American in Paris (film)|An American in Paris]]'' (1951) *''Lovely to Look At'' (1952) (fashion show sequences) *''[[The Bad and the Beautiful]]'' (1952) *''[[The Story of Three Loves]]'' (1953) (segment "Madamoiselle") *''[[The Band Wagon]]'' (1953) *''[[The Long, Long Trailer]]'' (1954) *''[[Brigadoon (film)|Brigadoon]]'' (1954) *''[[The Cobweb (film)|The Cobweb]]'' (1955) *''[[Kismet (1955 film)|Kismet]]'' (1955) *''[[Lust for Life (film)|Lust for Life]]'' (1956) *''[[Tea and Sympathy]]'' (1956) *''[[Designing Woman]]'' (1957) *''The Seventh Sin'' (1957) (uncredited) *''[[Gigi (1958 film)|Gigi]]'' (1958) *''[[The Reluctant Debutante]]'' (1958) *''[[Some Came Running]]'' (1958) *''[[Home from the Hill (film)|Home from the Hill]]'' (1960) *''[[Bells Are Ringing (film)|Bells Are Ringing]]'' (1960) *''[[Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (film)]]'' (1962) *''[[Two Weeks in Another Town]]'' (1962) *''[[The Courtship of Eddie's Father]]'' (1963) *''[[Goodbye Charlie]]'' (1964) *''[[The Sandpiper]]'' (1965) *''[[On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (film)|On a Clear Day You Can See Forever]]'' (1970) *''[[A Matter of Time (1976 film)|A Matter of Time]]'' (1976) {{start box}} {{s-awards}} {{succession box | title=[[Academy Award for Best Director]] | years=1958<br>'''for ''[[Gigi (1958 film)|Gigi]]'' ''' | before=[[David Lean]]<br>for ''[[The Bridge on the River Kwai]]'' | after=[[William Wyler]]<br>for ''[[Ben-Hur (1959 film)|Ben-Hur]]''}} {{end box}} ==Notes== <references/> ==References== * John Wakeman (ed.), "World Film Directors, Volume One, 1890-1945," pp. 778-787, New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1987. ==External links== *[http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/04/minnelli.html Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database] * [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=2106 Vincente Minnelli's Gravesite] *{{imdb name|id=0591486}} {{AcademyAwardBestDirector 1941-1960}} [[Category:American film directors|Minnelli, Vincente]] [[Category:Best Director Academy Award winners|Minnelli, Vincente]] [[Category:Best Director Golden Globe winners|Minnelli, Vincente]] [[Category:Judy Garland|Minnelli, V]] [[Category:Hollywood Walk of Fame|Minnelli, Vincente]] [[Category:Americans of French Canadian descent|Minnelli, Vincente]] [[Category:Sicilian-Americans|Minnelli, Vicente]] [[Category:Deaths from Alzheimer's disease|Minnelli, Vincente]] [[Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)|Minnelli, Vincente]] [[Category:1903 births|Minnelli, Vincente]] [[Category:1986 deaths|Minnelli, Vincente]] [[da:Vincente Minnelli]] [[de:Vincente Minnelli]] [[es:Vincente Minnelli]] [[eo:Vincente Minnelli]] [[eu:Vincente Minnelli]] [[fr:Vincente Minnelli]] [[hr:Vincente Minnelli]] [[id:Vincente Minnelli]] [[it:Vincente Minnelli]] [[he:וינסנט מינלי]] [[nl:Vincente Minnelli]] [[ja:ヴィンセント・ミネリ]] [[no:Vincente Minnelli]] [[pl:Vincente Minnelli]] [[pt:Vincente Minnelli]] [[sr:Винсент Минели]] [[fi:Vincente Minnelli]] [[sv:Vincente Minnelli]] [[tr:Vincente Minnelli]]