An exclusive interview with the truly legendary Liza Minnelli, who discusses her career, future projects, and her upcoming Lifetime Achievement award from the Actor’s Fund.

By Jeremy Kinser

As far as show business pedigrees go, there’s Liza Minnelli and then there’s everyone else. Born in 1946 to indisputable Hollywood royalty, Judy Garland and Oscar-winning film director Vincente Minnelli, Liza literally has talent in her bloodline. She made her first film appearance at the age of 3 in the final scene of her mother’s 1949 musical In the Good Old Summertime. After spending much of her childhood on sound stages, by the early 1960s Liza emerged from her parents’ shadows and established herself as a triple threat—a charismatic and gifted singer, dancer and actress—in her own right. In 1965, she headlined the Broadway musical Flora, the Red Menace, which not only earned her a Tony Award for best actress it also marked her first collaboration with songwriters John Kander and Fred Ebb, who would become her very close friends. Film work soon beckoned. For her first starring role in a film, Minnelli gave a finely-etched performance as sensitive, unloved Pookie Adams in 1969’s The Sterile Cuckoo, and received an Academy Award nomination as best actress. 1972 was a banner year for Minnelli. Portraying the “divinely decadent” Sally Bowles in Bob Fosse’s film version of Kander and Ebb’s Cabaret, she gave a universally acclaimed performance that would win her both a Golden Globe and Academy Award. The same year she reteamed with Fosse for the concert special Liza with a Z, a ratings blockbuster that was restored and rebroadcast to rapturous reviews earlier this spring. In 1975, Minnelli returned to Broadway to replace her ailing friend Gwen Verdon in Kander and Ebb's Chicago, directed by Fosse. Minnelli found one of her many signature tunes belting out the title number in Martin Scorsese's 1977 musical, New York, New York, in which she starred as a WW2 big band vocalist. The same year she again teamed with Kander and Ebb for The Act and she earned a second Tony for her turn as a nightclub singer coping with life and show business. Minnelli scored a box office hit as the lovestruck Linda in 1981’s Arthur, opposite Dudley Moore. In 1984, she and Chita Rivera were daughter and mother in Kander and Ebb’s The Rink. Minnelli won a Golden Globe for television dramatic debut in 1985’s A Time to Live. A sold-out Radio City Music Hall series of dates in 1991 launched a lengthy US concert tour. Shortly before undergoing throat surgery in 1997, the trooper returned to the Broadway stage, temporarily replacing Julie Andrews in Victor/Victoria. In 1999 she returned to live performing, paying tribute to her father in Minnelli on Minnelli. After being hospitalized with encephalitis the following year, Minnelli underwent back and hip replacement surgery. In one of the great comebacks in recent showbiz history, Minnelli triumphantly returned to the stage in 2003’s Liza’s Back and was in better voice than she’d been in for years. 2003 saw her back on the small screen as zany Lucille 2 in the much-loved Fox sitcom Arrested Development.

Throughout a sometimes tumultuous personal life, health crises, and all the peaks and valleys that come with career longevity, Liza has always had the love and support of gay audiences (she’s the daughter of Dorothy, after all) and she’s given back to us, tirelessly donating her time and energy to the fight against AIDS.

As she prepares to add the prestigious “Julie Harris Award” for Lifetime Achievement to her crowded awards shelf, we chat with the living legend about her extraordinary career.

IN Los Angeles: On June 11, you'll receive the Julie Harris Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Actor's Fund. Besides the year 1972 when you pretty much owned the world, what do you regard as other highlights of your incredible career?

Liza Minnelli: Well first of all, what an honor to have. I mean I grew up in Hollywood, but I had such a love for theater and dance you know, I just had to be in New York! But this award is coming from a place, and from people, that have the same love and appreciation for the theater that I have and so many of the people involved with the Actor's Fund and the this award are in L.A. So it makes it that much more special.

Ok I guess there still is a question there, right? To tell you the truth, I've had so many great memories and made so many great friends, it's so hard to pick out specific highlights. I think Flora (the Red Menace, for which Minnelli won her first Tony award in 1965) was probably one of my most shining moments and really one of the best things that could have ever happened to me was meeting John Kander and Fred Ebb. I would really have to say that's one (well, two) of the biggest highlights of my career, and my personal life.

Do you have any plans to return to the Broadway stage? Please say yes.

Oh God, you know, I guess I'd never turn down anything spectacular! How's that!

Our fingers are crossed. In the past few years, you've made a triumphant return to the stage in Liza's Back, you've gained a new generation of fans through your work on Arrested Development, and knocked the socks off everyone this past spring with the restored Liza with a Z. What's left on your to-do list?

Let me tell ya, that list—it's pretty long! I have so much I want to do and you know, there's always something. There has to be or what do you do? Right now, I'm working on a screenplay, and on a new album of my godmother Kay Thompson’s songs.

During the Liza with a Z press blitz, you mentioned you were working on an original musical with Craig Zadan and Neil Meron: What, if anything, can you reveal about the plot and who you'll play?

I can't give away much, but it's about a woman who owns a club in New York and the club is a kind of place where young musicians are showcased, and has this wonderful perspective. OK, that's all I'm gonna say but I promise you'll love it!

Since the remastered version of Liza with a Z was such a tremendous success. Any chance of revisiting the film you made in 1976 with your father, A Matter of Time—which hasn't been seen in nearly 30 years and restoring his cut and the film's reputation?

Sure! Anytime I can be part of presenting Daddy's work I'd do it. You know he was just so brilliant, oh yes, that'd be swell!

At the L.A. screening of Liza with a Z, both your brother Joey and sister Lorna were in attendance. How close are you three?

Oh, well, they're my family! I really love them both and I'm so proud of Joey and Lorna and we have always been there for each other and she has such a wonderful family of her own. Sometimes it's hard when you're on opposite coasts, but we always find time to get together.

This is the 25th year since the first reported case of AIDS. You've lost many close friends to the disease. You have been an activist since the beginning and even recorded a fund-raising anthem “The Day After That.” What sort of responsibility did you feel back then for raising awareness?

It's really the same responsibility I feel today. I think it's the same responsibility we should all feel. It doesn't matter if you're a singer or a dancer or a cab driver. We can all do something, it's just that we do it in different ways. I use music, and image, and whatever else I can to help raise awareness. My friend Kenneth Cole dedicates so much of his own time and energy for AIDS research, it's wonderful. For some people it's talent, for some people it's money, some people donate time. And for some people it's easier to help the fight for prevention with education. There are so many ways that everyone can help, but the fact of the matter is that there will be a cure, and isn't sooner better than later?

You’ve had such a remarkable life and career. What would you most like to remembered for?

One of the things I hope I'm remembered for is being able to discover new talent, but another I'm proud of is helping people forget. Like when people come to one of my concerts or stage performances, or laugh at Lucille 2 or Linda, or relate to Sally or Pookie...any of those things, but if for one second or one minute or two hours people are able to just forget about everything else and be entertained—I'd like to be remembered for that.

On Sunday, June 11, Liza Minnelli will be honored with the “Julie Harris Award” for Lifetime Achievement at the 10th Annual Tony Awards Party to benefit the Actors Fund of America. The event will be held at Skirball Center, 2701 North Sepulveda Blvd., L.A. To purchase tickets, call (323) 933-9266 x 54. For more information, visit www.actorsfund.org.