Liza Minnelli - ©Theda Bara

The name I highlight in this post is that of the award-winning American actress, singer, and dancer Liza Minnelli, who became world-famous in the 1970s for her portrayal of “Sally Bowles” in the musical film “Cabaret” (1972), a film that earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1973. Liza is recognized for her powerful voice and impeccable performances, being considered one of the queens of Broadway and Hollywood.

Liza Minnelli is the daughter of the renowned actress Frances Ethel Gumm, better known by her stage name Judy Garland (1922-1969), and filmmaker Vincente Minnelli, pseudonym of Lester Anthony Minnelli (1903-1986).

Liza Minnelli, at 76 years old, made a moving appearance at the 2022 Oscars in a wheelchair alongside American singer, songwriter, and actress Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, better known as Lady Gaga (1986-), to present the Best Picture award, marking the 50th anniversary of “Cabaret”. Despite the warm reception, friends alleged that the star was “sabotaged” by the event's production, as she wanted to use a “director’s chair” and was forced to use a regular wheelchair (because the motorized chair could slip on stage during the presentation), all against her will.

In addition to the Oscar, Liza Minnelli won four Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Musical in 1965 and 1978, a Special Award in 1974, and an award for Best Special Event in Theatre in 2009. She also won a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in 1973 for “Cabaret”; two Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical in 1973 for “Cabaret” and Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film in 1986 for “A Time to Live” (1985); two Grammy Awards in 1973, in the category of Best Variety or Music Program for “Liza with a Z” and in 1991 for “Music Legend”.

The actress has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard, in the Live Theatrical Performance category.

Liza May Minnelli was born on March 12, 1946, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, United States, and is currently 79 years old.

The actress has been married four times. Her first marriage was to Peter Allen (1944–1992), an acclaimed Australian singer, songwriter, and pianist, from 1967 to 1974; Liza Minnelli’s second marriage occurred in the same year as her separation, to Jack Haley Jr. (1933–2001), an acclaimed American director, producer, and screenwriter, from 1974 to 1979; her third marriage also occurred in the same year as her separation, to Mark Gero (1952-), an American sculptor without much talent, from 1979 to 1992; Finally, Liza married David Alan Gest (1953-2016), an American television promoter and producer, from 2002 to 2007. Liza Minnelli has no biological or adopted children.

Haiku: Good Times - ©Theda Bara

Haiku and Art by ©Theda Bara — 2026

When a song from the past plays on the radio

You will remember

The good times!

Rex Harrison - ©Theda Bara

In this post, I will highlight the British stage and film actor, Sir. Rex Harrison, who won the 1963 Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in the film “My Fair Lady” (1962), playing the role of phonetics professor “Henry Higgins”, tasked with making a flower-selling beggar woman pass herself off as a lady of high society.

Rex Harrison was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) in July 1989. The official ceremony took place at Buckingham Palace on July 25, 1989, when he was 81 years old.

In addition to the Oscar, Rex Harrison won two Tony Awards: in 1953 for “The Four Poster” (1952), playing “John Edwards”, and in 1957 for “My Fair Lady” (on Broadway). He also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical in 1963 for “My Fair Lady”.

Sir. Rex Harrison has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 6390 Hollywood Boulevard in the Television category and at 6904 Hollywood Boulevard in the Film category.

Reginald Carey Harrison was born on March 5, 1908, in the Huyton-Roby neighborhood of Lancashire, England, and died on June 2, 1990, in New York City, United States, at the age of 82, one year after receiving the title of Sir.

The actor was married six times. His first wife was French teacher Noel Marjorie Collette Thomas (1911-1991), with whom he lived from 1934 to 1942. The couple had one son, British actor Noel John Christopher Harrison (1934-2013); his second wife was German actress and writer Lilli Palmer (1914-1986), with whom he lived from 1943 to 1957; his third wife was English actress and singer Justine Kay Kendall McCarthy (1927-1959), with whom he lived from 1957 to 1959; His fourth wife was British actress Rachel Roberts (1920-1980), to whom he was married from 1962 to 1971. Rex Harrison’s fifth marriage occurred in the same year as his separation from his fourth wife. He met British actress and socialite Elizabeth Rees-Williams (1936-2022), a romance that lasted four years, from 1971 to 1975. Later, she married British actor Richard St. John Harris (1930-2002), famous for playing “Albus Dumbledore”, the headmaster of “Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry”, in the first two “Harry Potter” films: “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” and “Harry Potter and the  Chamber of Secrets”. He played the character until his death in 2002, when Sir. Michael John Gambon (1940-2023) took over the role from “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” onwards. Finally, Rex Harrison’s last marriage was to the Franco-British fashion designer Mercia Tinker (1938-), from 1978 to 1990, leaving her a widow.

Haiku: Life is Worth Living - ©Theda Bara

Haiku and Art by ©Theda Bara — 2026

Life is worth living

Life is our greatest treasure

Life is beautiful in everything we have!

Sidney Poitier - ©Theda Bara

In this post, I will highlight Sidney Poitier, a Bahamian-American actor, director, writer, and diplomat (Poitier was born in the United States but grew up on Cat Island, in the Bahamas). In 1964, he received the Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in “Lilies of the Field” (1963), playing the unemployed construction worker, “Homer Smith”. 

Sidney Poitier was the first Black man to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, a historic milestone in cinema, breaking racial barriers and paving the way for other Black actors, although Hattie McDaniel (1893-1952) was the first Black person to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in the film “Gone With The Wind” (1940), playing the character “Mammy”. The actor also received an honorary Oscar in 2022.

Sidney Poitier received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from the 44th President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama II (1961-), in a ceremony at the White House on August 12, 2009. This is the highest American civilian honor, in recognition of his contributions as a pioneering actor and advocate for civil rights.

In addition to two Oscars and a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama Film in 1964, Poitier also received two more Golden Globes: the Henrietta Award in 1969 and the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1982; and a Grammy for Best Spoken Word Album in 2001 for “The Measure of a Man: A Spiritual Autobiography”. Two BAFTA awards: Best Foreign Actor for “The Defiant Ones” (1959), for his role as “Noah Cullene”, and a Fellowship award in 2016.

Sidney Poitier has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at 7065 Hollywood Boulevard, in the Film category.

Poitier was born on February 20, 1927, in Miami, Florida, United States, and died on January 6, 2022, in Beverly Hills, California, United States, a month before his 95th birthday.

The actor was married twice and had only daughters. His first marriage was to Juanita Hardy (1950-1965), an African-American model with whom he had four daughters: American actresses Beverly Poitier-Henderson (1952-), Pamela Poitier (1954-), Sherri Poitier (1956-) and the youngest, Gina Patrice Poitier Gouraige (1961-2018). His second marriage was to Canadian actress Joanna Marie Shimkus (1943-), from 1976 to 2022, who eventually became Poitier’s widow. The couple had two daughters: Canadian-American director and actress Anika Poitier (1972-) and Canadian-American actress Sydney Tamiia Poitier (1973-).