{"id":10436,"date":"2023-11-07T08:40:06","date_gmt":"2023-11-07T03:10:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/the-funny-girl-who-wants-more-fun-barbra-streisand-reveals-all-in-new-memoir-music-entertainment\/"},"modified":"2023-11-07T08:40:06","modified_gmt":"2023-11-07T03:10:06","slug":"the-funny-girl-who-wants-more-fun-barbra-streisand-reveals-all-in-new-memoir-music-entertainment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/the-funny-girl-who-wants-more-fun-barbra-streisand-reveals-all-in-new-memoir-music-entertainment\/","title":{"rendered":"The Funny Girl who ‘wants more fun\u2019: Barbra Streisand reveals all in new memoir | Music | Entertainment"},"content":{"rendered":"

[ad_1]
\n<\/p>\n

\n
\n

\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/p>\n

Barbra Streisand reveals all in new memoir (Image: Getty)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

\n

Scarlet and Violet, the two puff-ball white Coton de Tulear purebred pooches she had cloned at the cost of \u00a340,000 from the DNA of her dear departed pet dog Samantha, gather around Barbra Streisand\u2019s feet, proof money can buy you love, even if the tail-waggers momentarily appear more interested in the egg sandwiches nestled on her coffee table.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can clone the look of a dog, but you can\u2019t clone the soul,\u201d says Hollywood\u2019s longest-reigning diva, having learned that you can\u2019t judge a book \u2013 or a dog, or an actress \u2013 by its cover. The cover of her long-awaited memoir, My Name Is Barbra, published today, defiantly features a 1967 photo of her famous profile highlighting the distinctive nose that studio bosses begged her to streamline with surgery: a declaration that we must accept her as she is.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I ever had my nose fixed, it would ruin my career,\u201d she realised early on. \u201cI considered having my nose fixed, but I didn\u2019t trust anyone enough to fix it\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thing someone would have done would be to cut my bump off. But I love my bump. I wouldn\u2019t cut my bump off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her memoir is a tale of life\u2019s bumps, with few straight paths to success. It\u2019s a 992-page doorstop of a book, a weighty tome without an index so that Hollywood celebrities have to read her entire story rather than just dip into the pages where their own name appears.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

That was her idea: Streisand spent ten years spilling blood, sweat and tears on every page, and she\u2019ll be damned if you don\u2019t read every word.<\/p>\n

At 81, the star of Funny Girl and A Star Is Born, whose hit songs include People, Happy Days Are Here Again, and My Man, recounts her early struggles to become an actress, turning to singing to earn a living, the recording of her classic albums, directing The Prince of Tides and Yentl, divorcing Elliott Gould, and her 25-year marriage to James Brolin.<\/p>\n

By any measure, it\u2019s a storied life filled with incredible success but, talking yesterday, Streisand heartbreakingly claimed she has not \u201chad much fun\u201d in her life. Speaking to BBC Breakfast, she said: \u201cI want to live life. I want to get in my husband\u2019s truck and just wander, hopefully with the children somewhere near us when they come over. They love playing with the dogs, we have fun. I haven\u2019t had much fun in my life, to tell you the truth. And I want to have more fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Streisand is one of the rare few to have won America\u2019s top four show business awards: two Oscars, ten Grammys, five Emmys and an honorary Tony.<\/p>\n

She scored a best actress Oscar in 1969 for the big screen adaptation of musical comedy Funny Girl, the same year Katharine Hepburn also won the gong for The Lion In Winter in a rare tie.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

READ MORE <\/strong> More unheard John Lennon and George Harrison Beatles songs ‘still possible’ <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\"Barbra<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/p>\n

Barbra in 1968 comedy Funny Girl (Image: National Screen Service)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

\n

In 1983, she wrote, directed and starred in Yentl, the first Hollywood movie where a woman was at the helm as both writer, producer, director and star. She began work on her memoir in 2009, but admits: \u201cIt\u2019s so difficult because I don\u2019t want to relive my life. Once is enough.\u201d She hoped to publish in 2017. Now six years late, it\u2019s poised to become an instant bestseller.<\/p>\n

Her Malibu home overlooking the Pacific is elegant but practical: almost every room has a \u201cpee pad\u201d for her dogs to preserve the antique rugs.<\/p>\n

In her closet she still has the vintage shoes and waistcoat that she wore as an 18 year old to her first paid solo singing gig at New York\u2019s tiny Bon Soir club in 1960.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the way, I remember thinking: \u2018This could be the beginning of a big change in my life.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, it was. But with success, managers and agents wanted to reshape her in every way; not just her nose. \u201cPeople wanted me to be called Barbra Sands,\u201d she says. \u201cI thought, \u2018What? No!\u2019 Streisand is my name.\u201d Writing her memoir, she rewatched her old movies. The ending of A Star Is Born could use a rewrite, she believes, having been rushed into finishing the movie.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
Experience the Express like never before<\/header>\n
    \n
  • <\/g> <\/clippath> <\/defs> <\/svg> Advert-free experience without interruptions.<\/li>\n
  • <\/g> <\/clippath> <\/defs> <\/svg> Rocket-fast speedy loading pages.<\/li>\n
  • <\/g> <\/clippath> <\/defs> <\/svg> Exclusive & Unlimited access to all our content.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
    \n

    She is also reworking the ending of The Way We Were, which she hates. Insiders on that film claim Streisand lusted after co-star Robert Redford, but she insists: \u201cGuys with blond hair and blue eyes were never my type. I did think he was very handsome\u2026 a wonderful jawline\u2026 great teeth.<\/p>\n

    \u201cBut what intrigued me most about Bob was his complexity. You never quite know what he\u2019s thinking, and that makes him fascinating to watch on-screen.\u201d Redford initially rejected the role, calling his character Hubbell Gardiner \u201cshallow and one-dimensional,\u201d so Streisand ordered rewrites to beef up Redford\u2019s part.<\/p>\n

    She bitterly laments director Sydney Pollack cutting two key scenes, and regrets sobbing uncontrollably while filming a break-up, saying: \u201cIt\u2019s not good enough\u2026 all the emotion just overflowed\u2026 I should have done less\u2026 I wish I could do it over.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Her 1969 hit Hello Dolly! doesn\u2019t impress her either. \u201cI think it\u2019s so silly,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s so old-time musical.\u201d<\/p>\n

    She hasn\u2019t always had the best of luck with men, either. Romances with hairdresser-turned-producer Jon Peters, and film composer Richard Baskin both ended before reaching the altar. Marlon Brando warrants a chapter to himself, meeting Streisand at a party in 1966 and telling her: \u201cI\u2019d like to f*** you,\u201d despite his wife in the next room.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

    She declined the offer, but they became lifelong friends. But she opened her heart to Ryan O\u2019Neal, Don Johnson and Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.<\/p>\n

    On first meeting second husband James Brolin, who had just received a crewcut for a movie role, her opening words were: \u201cWho f***ed up your hair?\u201d<\/p>\n

    While filming The Way We Were she rejected romantic overtures from doting screenwriter David Rayfiel, saying: \u201cAt that time I was not interested in people who were too fond of me. It was one of my problems\u2026 I was drawn to men I couldn\u2019t have. I was working out issues with my stepfather… even though his name was Lou Kind, he was anything but.\u201d Barbara Joan Streisand was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1942, and was only 15 months old when her father died. Times were tough.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI lived in one room with my mother, in the same bed, and my brother had a foldaway cot in the same room,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n

    Her mother Diana, a perpetually unsatisfied perfectionist, wanted Streisand to pursue a career in school administration so that she could take her summers off. Instead, she grew her nails long, making her unsuitable for secretarial work. \u201cI never learned to type,\u201d she admits, obliging her to write in long-hand the journals that helped shape her memoir. \u201cI often felt like an outcast growing up,\u201d Streisand reveals in her book. \u201cNobody in high school was particularly impressed with my voice, and neither was I.\u201d<\/p>\n

    She decided at 13 to become an actress, dropping the middle \u201ca\u201d from her name at 18. \u201cI wanted to be recognised, because I wasn\u2019t seen a lot as a child,\u201d she says. \u201cThat\u2019s what motivated me.\u201d Fired by ambition, she told herself: \u201cI have to become famous, just so I can get someone else to make my bed.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

    \"My<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/p>\n

    My Name Is Barbra by Barbra Streisand (Image: Barbra Streisand)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

    \n

    Struggling as an actress, she was conflicted upon first finding fame as a singer, thinking: \u201cWhat am I doing here? I was supposed to be on stage, playing Juliet.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Streisand explains her stage fright, which has limited her live performances: \u201cWhen I get nervous my heart pounds and it affects my voice, which starts to shake and I lose control. It\u2019s a terrible feeling.\u201d She reveals its origins in a failed romance with her Funny Girl co-star on Broadway, Charlie Chaplin\u2019s son Sydney. After they broke up Chaplin cursed and jeered her onstage nightly, quietly enough that only Streisand could hear him. Nauseous and unable to concentrate, she never acted on Broadway again.<\/p>\n

    Another chapter is devoted to The Boys\u2019 Club: the sexist studio system that fought her ambition to be an actress, writer, director and producer, which she finally achieved with Yentl, though it took 14 years to make. Harvey Weinstein once threatened her, but she never suffered sexual harassment, saying: \u201cI wasn\u2019t blond enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Despite her many triumphs, Streisand\u2019s insecurities run deep, and she is loathe to watch her own films or listen to her albums. \u201cI always see something to change\u2026 I am very hard on myself,\u201d she told Vanity Fair. \u201cI\u2019m not completely sure that what I do is so great.\u201d Her dogs, and millions of fans, might disagree.<\/p>\n

      \n
    • My Name Is Barbra by Barbra Streisand (Cornerstone, \u00a335) published Tuesday. For free UK P&P, visit expressbookshop.com or call Express Bookshop on 020 3176 3832<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

      [ad_2]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      [ad_1] Barbra Streisand reveals all in new memoir (Image: Getty) Scarlet and Violet, the two puff-ball white Coton de Tulear purebred pooches she had cloned at the cost of \u00a340,000 from the DNA of her dear departed pet dog Samantha, gather around Barbra Streisand\u2019s feet, proof money can buy you love, even if the tail-waggers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10438,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[766],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10436"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10436\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farratanews.online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}