Minnelli's first film appearance was at the age of three in the final scene of the 1949 musical In the Good Old Summertime, starring her mother and Van Johnson. Minnelli started performing at age 16, in 1963, in an Off-Broadway revival of the musical Best Foot Forward, for which she received good notices. The next year, her mother invited Minnelli to perform with her at the London Palladium. The audience loved her, launching her musical career. She returned to Broadway at 19, and won a 1965 Tony Award for Flora the Red Menace. Minnelli would also receive Tony Awards for The Act in 1978 and a special Tony in 1974. She was nominated in 1984 for The Rink but lost to her costar, Chita Rivera.
The film The Sterile Cuckoo (1969), in which Minnelli starred as a love-seeking teenage misfit, garnered the young actress her first Academy Award nomination. In 1972, Minnelli won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role as Sally Bowles in the movie version of Cabaret, along with Joel Grey who won an Oscar reprising his role from the original Broadway production (that of the Emcee).
Minnelli has the distinction of being one of the few Academy Award winners whose parents are both Academy Award nominees. She has also won an Emmy Award for the 1972 TV special Liza with a Z. Minnelli received a 1990 Grammy Legend Award. She received Golden Globe Awards for Cabaret and for the TV movie A Time to Live.
Minnelli, like her mother, is known for her powerful vocal style, as in her trademark songs "Cabaret" and "Theme from New York, New York". Minnelli's original version of the latter, for the film in which she was a co-star with Robert DeNiro, preceded Frank Sinatra's successful cover version (for his Trilogy album), by two years.
After her performance as leading lady to Dudley Moore in 1981's Arthur, Minnelli made fewer, and fewer successful, film appearances.
She returned to Broadway in 1997, taking over the title role in the musical Victor/Victoria, replacing Julie Andrews. In his review, New York Times critic Ben Brantley commented, "her every stage appearance is perceived as a victory of show-business stamina over psychic frailty... She asks for love so nakedly and earnestly, it seems downright vicious not to respond."
Following her 2002 wedding to David Gest, Minnelli and Gest signed with the American cable network VH1 to star in their own reality series, but production of the series was cancelled at the last minute.
In 2004 and 2005 she appeared as a recurring guest star on the critically acclaimed TV sitcom Arrested Development as the lover of sexually and socially awkward Buster Bluth.
On January 1, 2006, she sang "New York, New York" at the second inauguration of New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. Other famous performances were at the 1978 Studio 54 party honoring New York City's revival, at which a guest was Mayor Ed Koch; the reopening of the Statue of Liberty on July 4, 1986; and at a 2001 New York Mets baseball game that was the metro area's first major sporting event after the September 11 attacks.
In 2013, she guest-starred on the NBC musical drama Smash, where she performed the number A Love Letter From the Times. She also reprised her role in the fourth season of Arrested Development.
Theme From New York New York
Liza Minnelli Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I am leaving today
I want to be a part of it
New York, New York
These vagabond shoes
They are longing to stray
Right through the very heart of it
I want to wake up in that city
That doesn't sleep
And find I'm king of the hill
Top of the heap
My little town blues
They are melting away
I gonna make a brand new start of it
In old New York
If I can make it there
I'll make it anywhere
It's up to you
New York, New York
New York, New York
I want to wake up in that city
That never sleeps
And find I'm king of the hill
Top of the list
Head of the heap
King of the hill
These are little town blues
They have all melted away
I am about to make a brand new start of it
Right there in old New York
And you bet [Incomprehensible] baby
If I can make it there
You know, I'm gonna make it just about anywhere
Come on, come through
New York, New York, New York
Liza Minnelli's song Theme From New York New York is an iconic song and a classic representation of New York. It talks about a journey of a person who is leaving his hometown and heading towards New York, as he wants to be a part of it. The song starts with the lyrics "Start spreading the news, I am leaving today, I want to be a part of it, New York, New York", and it is quite evident that the person is excited and enthusiastic about his new journey. He has got a feeling that New York is the place where he can achieve anything he desires.
The next set of lyrics talks about the person's longing for freedom and a desire to explore the city. He feels that he has been confined in his little town, and his shoes are eager to roam in the streets of New York. He wants to explore every part of the city, right through the very heart of it.
The chorus of the song "I want to wake up in that city that never sleeps, and find I'm king of the hill, top of the list, head of the heap, king of the hill", has become a symbol of the city. It is a perfect representation of the persona of the city, where people never stop hustling, and every person wants to be successful and wants to be at the top.
Line by Line Meaning
Start spreading the news
Announcing my departure
I am leaving today
Leaving immediately
I want to be a part of it
Desiring to belong to a community
New York, New York
The city of New York
These vagabond shoes
My wanderlust soul
They are longing to stray
Craving to wander off the beaten path
Right through the very heart of it
Exploring the city's core
New York, New York
The city of New York
I want to wake up in that city
Desiring to wake up in the city
That doesn't sleep
A city that is always bustling
And find I'm king of the hill
To achieve success and notoriety
Top of the heap
The ultimate success and recognition
My little town blues
My feelings of being stuck in a small town
They are melting away
Those feelings are fading
I gonna make a brand new start of it
Starting over with a new perspective
In old New York
In the historic and iconic city of New York
If I can make it there
If I can succeed in New York
I'll make it anywhere
I can handle anything
It's up to you
Giving control to someone else
New York, New York
The city of New York
I want to wake up in that city
Desiring to wake up in the city
That never sleeps
A city that is always bustling
And find I'm king of the hill
To achieve success and notoriety
Top of the list
The ultimate level of success
Head of the heap
The ultimate success and recognition
King of the hill
The leader and most successful
These are little town blues
My feelings of being stuck in a small town
They have all melted away
Those feelings are fading
I am about to make a brand new start of it
Starting over with a new perspective
Right there in old New York
In the historic and iconic city of New York
And you bet [Incomprehensible] baby
Confident and sure of myself
If I can make it there
If I can succeed in New York
You know, I'm gonna make it just about anywhere
I can handle anything
Come on, come through
Encouragement and a call to action
New York, New York, New York
Emphasizing the city of New York
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Fred Ebb, John Kander
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@ustrell
I was there at Radio City that night, it was so impressive that i would cry of emotion. During the song all the people was standing up. Today, 28 years later I stll remember it with emotion 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼Liza
@mmershon7674
🥰
@simon5005
Lucky beyond words. ;-)
@alexandrealessandroriccite4649
How Lucky you were to have experienced this live Jordi
@ustrell
@@alexandrealessandroriccite4649 Thank you!. That's how I felt it and that's how I've remembered it ever since.
@deborahkelly1489
What a wonderful memory.
@Altonahh10
An empty stage, a single person singing, dancing and spreading their energy throughout the room. It doesn't need light effects and 1000 dancers. It needs someone who knows his craft. And there are only very few of them.
@danieleborsari6394
New york..
@bmisenta
She puts all her soul and energy into each song. She's one of a kind, along with her mom
@pammiesingkho1786
My GOSH ang ganda-ganda ng lola ko dito i so wish that she wud give me a free singing lesson ng macaDUET ko sya singing this song sa ganyang entablado!!!! I so wish she wud help me make IT happen!!!😆😆😆😆😆🌹🌹🌹💖🌹🌹🌹💖🌹🌹🌹💖🌹🌹🌹💖🌹