Liza Minnelli
I'm carrying on a tradition.
But I'd rather be a first-rate version of myself than a second-rate version of somebody else.
l'm proud of my parents, and the only way that I can prove it to them is to take what they gave me and work my head off.
But I'd rather be a first-rate version of myself than a second-rate version of somebody else.
l'm proud of my parents, and the only way that I can prove it to them is to take what they gave me and work my head off.
Liza May Minnelli (born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, an Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and four Tony Awards. She is one of the few performers awarded a non-competitive EGOT having received an honorary Grammy Award. Minnelli is a Knight of the French Legion of Honour.
Quotes
[edit]- Liza Minelli said she can't sing well enough those "special songs" of her late mother, Judy Garland, so she doesn't sing them at all. The award-winning entertainer said she'd "rather present a first-rate version of myself than a second-rate version of Mama."
- As paraphrased and quoted in "News Spotlight," The Kingsport Daily News (December 11, 1974), p. 9
- I couldn't sing Mama's special songs. I couldn't do them as well. I would rather present a first-rate version of myself than a second-rate version of Mama.
- Liza Minelli, as quoted in I Remember It Well (1975) by Vincente Minelli with Hector Arce, p. 395; reprinted in "Judy and Liza, Part 3" by Vincente Minelli, in The Sydney Herald (August 15, 1975), p. 8
- I don't sing them because I couldn't sing them as well as she did. I'd rather be a first-rate version of myself than a second-rate version of anybody.
- Liza Minelli, interviewed by Gene Shalit in the September 1977 issue of The Ladies Home Journal, as quoted in "Women in the News," in The Sarasota Herald-Tribune (August 24, 1977), p. 6-D
- I'm carrying on a tradition. But I'd rather be a first-rate version of myself than a second-rate version of somebody else. I'm proud of my parents, and the only way that I can prove it to them is to take what they gave me and work my head off.
- Liza Minelli, as quoted in "The Return of Liza" by Wilmer Ames, in The Bend Bulletin Family Weekly (November 1, 1981), p. 8
- It really scared me to do what Mom did because I never did anything that she did. I promised her that I would never sing her songs, and I kept my promise. "You sing them better than anybody. I don't want to be a second-rate example of you. I want to be a first-rate example of myself."
- Liza Minelli, as quoted in "Liza Minelli 'Never Felt Better' Despite Tabloids' Whispers" by Douglas J. Rowe, in TV Plus: The Schenectady Sunday Gazette Supplement (June 9, 1996), p. 4
- My mother once told me never be a second-rate version of somebody else when you can be a first-rate version of yourself.
- "[G]racefully handl[ing] audience demands for 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow,'" as quoted in "Coy Minnelli wows spirited audience; UM announces MCA construction" by Alicia Amstead, in The Bangor Daily News (September 18, 2006), p. A10
- You don’t know how to handle anything today, because you have to go to jail to get some press or fall down drunk.
- October 26, 2007. The Washington Blade.
- They used to have clauses and contracts where you can't get bad publicity or you'd get fired. But now bad publicity is good publicity. I just keep working and don't think about it much.
- If I give you romantic advice, don't take it. Look what's happening to me. I have the best taste in friends and the worst taste in husbands. I'm never getting married again. That's just stupid. There's no reason on Earth to do that.
- Some people think reality must be constantly depressing, but I think reality is something you rise above.
- Interview with Rona Barrett. Quoted by Emanuel Levy in Vincente Minnelli: Hollywood's Dark Dreamer (2009)[1]
