Vincente Minnelli
Vincente Minnelli (
February 28,
1903 –
July 25,
1986) was the professional name of
Lester Anthony Minnelli. An accomplished stage director, he was brought to film in the early
1940s by director
Arthur Freed, who recruited talent from
Broadway, and is considered by critics to be the virtual father of the modern musical.
Minnelli was born in
Chicago, Illinois,
United States, the youngest surviving child of Mina Mary LaLouette Le Beau and Vincent Charles Minnelli, musical conductor of
Minnelli Brothers' Tent Theater. Minnelli's mother was of
French Canadian descent, while his paternal grandfather, Vincent Minnelli, was a Sicilian immigrant, and his paternal grandmother, Nina Pickett, was from
Ohio.[
1]
With his background in
theater, Minnelli was known as an
auteur that 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, he directed
Meet Me in St. Louis (
1944), during which he befriended the film's star
Judy Garland. The two then began a courtship that eventually led to their marriage the following year. Their one child together,
Liza Minnelli, grew up to become an
Academy Award-winning singer and actress.
He directed numerous films, mostly
musicals, including
An American in Paris (
1951),
Brigadoon (
1954),
Kismet, (
1955), and
Gigi (
1958). His last film was
A Matter of Time (
1976).
Minnelli's critical reputation has known a certain amount of fluctuation, being admired (or dismissed) in
America as a
"pure stylist" who, in
Andrew Sarris' words,
"believes more in beauty than in art". His work reached a height of
critical attention during the late
50s and early
60s 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. However, Minnelli's films are today considered some of the finest of the 20th century, being a part of the great era of the M-G-M musical. A celebration of his work and that of many other talents appeared in
That's Entertainment!, which showed clips from many of his films.
He died at the age of 83 from
Alzheimer's disease, and was interred in the
Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery in
Glendale, California. He is survived by his
British-born wife Lee Anderson Minnelli (born c.
1907). His widow sued Minnelli's daughter
Liza Minnelli over a controversy relating to Liza Minnelli declining to pay the bills on her
Beverly Hills home which Liza Minnelli (allegedly under the influence of her then husband
David Gest) wished to sell and then move her stepmother into alternative accommodation, Lee however refused, later appearing to reconsider.
Panama Hattie (
1942) (uncredited)
Cabin in the Sky (
1943)
I Dood It (
1943)
Meet Me in St. Louis (
1944)
The Clock (
1945)
Yolanda and the Thief (
1945)
Ziegfeld Follies (
1946)
Undercurrent (
1946)
Till the Clouds Roll By (
1946) (Judy Garland's segments)
The Pirate (
1948)
Madame Bovary (
1949)
Father of the Bride (
1950)
Father's Little Dividend (
1951)
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 (
1954)
The Cobweb (
1955)
Kismet (
1955)
Lust for Life (
1956)
Tea and Sympathy (
1956)
Designing Woman (
1957)
The Seventh Sin (
1957) (uncredited)
Gigi (
1958)
The Reluctant Debutante (
1958)
Some Came Running (
1958)
Home from the Hill (
1960)
Bells Are Ringing (
1960)
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (
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 (
1970)
A Matter of Time (
1976)
*
Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database*
Classic Movies (1939 - 1969): Vincente Minnelli*
Vincente Minnelli's Gravesite
