Funny Lady
| Funny Lady | |
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Theatrical poster
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| Directed by | Herbert Ross |
| Produced by | Ray Stark |
| Written by |
Jay Presson Allen Arnold Schulman |
| Starring |
Barbra Streisand James Caan Omar Sharif Roddy McDowall Ben Vereen |
| Music by |
Fred Ebb John Kander Peter Matz |
| Cinematography | James Wong Howe |
| Edited by | Marion Rothman Maury Winetrobe |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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136 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $40,055,897 |
Funny Lady is a 1975 American biographical comedy-drama musical film starring Barbra Streisand, James Caan, Omar Sharif, Roddy McDowall, and Ben Vereen.
A sequel to the 1968 film Funny Girl, it is a highly fictionalized account of the later life and career of comedian Fanny Brice and her marriage to songwriter and impresario Billy Rose. The screenplay was by Jay Presson Allen and Arnold Schulman, based on a story by Schulman. The primary score was by John Kander and Fred Ebb. It was directed by Herbert Ross.
Although she was contractually bound to make one more film for producer Ray Stark (Fanny Brice's one-time son-in-law), Streisand balked at doing the project. She told Stark "that it would take litigation to make her do a sequel." However, Streisand liked the script, which showed Fanny to be "...tougher, more acerbic, more mature...", and she agreed to do the film.
The first actor to read for the role of Billy Rose was Robert Blake. Other actors were mentioned, including Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, but ultimately James Caan was chosen. Streisand explained: "It comes down to whom the audience wants me to kiss. Robert Blake, no. James Caan, yes."
Stark, unhappy with the scenes shot by the original cinematographer, lured an ailing James Wong Howe out of retirement to complete the film. It proved to be his final project, and it earned him an Academy Award nomination.
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Wikipedia