One of the most famous families in Hollywood, Vincente, Judy, and Liza each won an Oscar and were huge stars in their own right. Unfortunately, Judy and Vincente got a divorce when Liza was just 5 years old, and the family disbanded. But the Beverly Hills mansion stayed intact, and Liza spent the remainder of her childhood living there with her father after the divorce. She would stay with him for half of the year, and with mother Judy for the other half.
Vincente Minelli died in this mansion, and so did his fourth wife, Lee Minelli. Lee was the mansion’s last inhabitant, and the center of a nasty and long battle with Liza over the custody of the abandoned mansion.
In 1960, Vincente Minnelli’s legacy was impressed on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame with a star for his work in movies. He was a stage and film director, with a background in theater. In 1951, he directed 'An American in Paris', which earned him his first Oscar. He won the Academy Award for Best Director, again, for 'Gigi', which showed in movie theaters six years later.
Vincente was born in Chicago, in 1903, to a family of Sicilian revolutionaries and theater professionals. His father, who was a music teacher and composer, was the musical conductor for the Minnelli Brothers’ Tent Theater, and his mother, a stage actress. The family followed the theater from town to town around Illinois and Ohio, before settling down in Delaware, Ohio. Vincente Minnelli relocated to Chicago after high school. His first job was costume and set design for the Chicago Theater.
Working at the Chicago Theater presented opportunity for the young Vincente. It merged with a national chain that included Paramount-Publix theaters, which found him assigned to work on shows in NYC. Soon, he moved to Greenwich Village and landed a gig at Radio City Music Hall.
For the Shubert’s, the founding family of Broadway, he presented his first play, 'At Home Abroad'. The well-received production ran for two years. His plays were continually warmly received, and by 1940, MGM producer Arthur Freed invited him to try his hand at film.
His first MGM film was called 'Cabin in the Sky' (1943). In 1944, he released 'Meet Me in St. Louis', starring Judy Garland. Vincente fell in love with the famed darling Dorothy of 'The Wizard of Oz', although they had first met in 1940. Their courtship led to marriage in June of 1945. The pair would continue to collaborate on films.
Over the course of his life, Vincente married four times. Indeed, he tied the knot with his first wife, accomplished actress and singer Judy Garland, on June 15, 1945. Like her husband, Garland was involved in many movies throughout her career. She received considerable recognition for her work, too, picking up a Golden Globe and Special Tony, among other awards. The star is perhaps best known, however, for her role as Dorothy in 1939’s 'The Wizard of Oz', for which she earned a Juvenile Oscar.
Garland’s fame in the Forties was astronomical. She sang, danced and acted. Her multi-talents brought Judy a juvenile Oscar for 'The Wizard of Oz' and a Best Actress Oscar nomination for 'A Star is Born'. She had her own TV show called 'The Judy Garland Show', and she became the first woman to win an Album of the Year Grammy for her live recording, 'Judy at Carnegie Hall'. In 1999, she was named one of the 10 greatest female stars of classic American cinema.
Judy Garland was not Vincente’s last wife, but she was his first. He married three other women, the last of whom, Lee Minnelli, resided in his former mansion until her death.