Q&A: Liza MinnelliLiza Minnelli's legendary 1972 concert "Liza With a 'Z' "—now restored—is on Showtime and is out this week on DVD. Minnelli sat down with NEWSWEEK's Nicki Gostin.
Tell me about "Liza With a 'Z'."
When I saw it again my first thought was that the costumes were so sexy. I remember Halston saying, "Well, you're shiny from sweat, so you might as well be shiny all over.' So he made all those sequined costumes.
Who is a bigger gay icon? You or Barbra?
Gay!?! Icon!?! God, I never think of it like that. What about Cher?
OK, between the three of you.
I think Cher comes first.
Why?
I don't know. I think probably Barbra and maybe even Cher and myself in school felt like outcasts because we didn't have standard looks. Maybe what a gay icon is, is a person who is rooted for—in other words, cheered on—by people who feel different.
I have to ask you about Peter Allen, your first husband. Did you not know he was gay?
Honey, I was 17 when I met him. I didn't find out until two weeks after we married. But I was the last one to see him before he died because we stayed friends, and that was tough.
Do you have any civilian friends?
I have millions. One of my best friends is a taxi driver; another is a maintenance man. I like all kinds of people, I really do.
I can't imagine your going grocery shopping or to a Duane Reade drugstore.
Yes, I goddam go to Duane Reade. I go shopping at Food Emporium. I go everywhere. People are wonderful. They say hi and I say hi, and we keep going. That's New York.
from Newsweek
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