Streisand / Movies

To publicize Funny Lady, Columbia Pictures issued a series of press releases, each covering a different aspect of the film, or featuring interviews with the film's principle actors. 

• Funny Lady Production Notes
• Barbra Streisand Offers Different Screen Portrait of Fanny Brice
• Barbra Streisand—Then and Now
• Billy Rose's Fabulous Aquacade Re-Created for Funny Lady 
• Omar Sharif Today Mixes Some Work with Lots of Play
• The Full and Friendly Life of Roddy McDowall
• Accessories Play a Big Role in Streisand’s New Fashion Picture

Columbia Pictures also distributed a special exhibitor’s promotional package for Funny Lady. (see photo gallery below)

The package featured an 11x14-inch gatefold cover: “The Funny Girl you fell in love with becomes the Lady you will never forget.” Inside was a full-color photograph of Streisand in her Bob Mackie-designed “Great Day” costume; the pre-printed signature from Barbra said, “Dear Exhibitor—See you Easter ‘75!”

Included was a five-page production sheet that gave background on the cast and production team. The rarest part of the package was a 10-inch record featuring excerpts from the songs “Great Day,” “I Found a Million Dollar Baby (in a Five and Ten-Cent Store),” “Love Song” (which was “If I Love Again”), “Blind Date” and “Production Number” (which featured the rare “All My Life on the Stage” — the introduction to “Let's Hear It For Me”).

Below: A photo gallery of various Funny Lady publicity materials.  Use the blue arrows to navigate.

Premieres

Barbra Streisand's big movie received three premieres.

First up was a charity event on behalf of the Special Olympics for Retarded Children. Held in Washington, D.C. at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the premiere was attended by President Ford on March 9, 1975. Ray Stark managed to talk Barbra Streisand into performing live that evening — not only to the Kennedy Center audience, but to America!  The evening’s concert segment was broadcast live on ABC-TV. (For more information see this Barbra-Archives page.)

On March 11, 1975, Funny Lady had an aggressive premiere at New York’s Loews Astor Plaza theater when the crowds got too pushy after Streisand arrived. She wore red fox to the premiere, but at the afterparty in the Champagne Room of El Morocco she changed into a pink turban and jersey ‘20s dress under a silver fox jacket. Barbra was escorted by her boyfriend Jon Peters; Ray and Fran Stark asked about 150 guests to the supper and the New York Daily News reported that “Barbra sat in a corner banquette, surrounded by her entourage, and kept saying she wished they’d stop playing Barbra Streisand records on the hi-fi. ‘I don’t even do that at home,’” she said.

Next, Funny Lady opened the Los Angeles International Film Exposition (Filmex) at Plitt’s Century Plaza Theater on March 13, 1975. 

Funny Lady had a Royal Premiere in London on March 17, 1975 at the Odeon Theatre Leicester Square. Streisand wore a custom-made full-length cape of crushed velour with hood. Because Palace protocol demanded that women (and not men) wear gloves to meet the Queen, Streisand asked Queen Elizabeth “Why do women have to wear gloves and not the men?” 

“I'll have to think about that one,” the queen replied. “I suppose it's tradition.”

Streisand was not able to appear at the French premiere on March 18th.

“Funny Lady” Featurettes & Production Shorts

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