Sidney Luft


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Sidney Luft

Sid Luft
Born Michael Sidney Luft
November 2, 1915
New York City, New York
Died September 15, 2005
Santa Monica, California
Cause of death Myocardial infarction
Residence USA
Nationality American
Ethnicity German-Russian-Jewish
Occupation Impressario
Spouse(s) Lynn Bari (1943-1950)
Judy Garland (1952-1965)
Patti Hemingway (1970-1971)
Camille Keaton (1993-2005)
Children John Luft
Joey Luft
Lorna Luft

Sidney Luft (November 2, 1915 – September 15, 2005) was an American show business figure best known as the third husband of iconic American singer/actress Judy Garland.

Contents

Early life

He was born Michael Sidney Luft in New York City, New York to Jewish immigrants from Russia and Germany. His family moved to more upscale Westchester County, and that is where he grew up.

Career

Luft was once an amateur boxer and bar-room brawler and had the nickname "One-Punch Luft." He was a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force and in the early 40s was a test pilot for Douglas.

He is credited with keeping the brilliant, but tormented and difficult Garland working and with setting up a deal with Warner Brothers to bankroll his wife's comeback film, a 1954 musical remake of A Star Is Born plus future projects.

Sid Luft's name is on the film's credits as producer. Although it won an Oscar nomination for Garland, box office receipts proved disappointing. The studio canceled the Luft-Garland contract, which would have starred Judy in two additional Warner films, and given Luft a berth at Warner's as a producer.

Luft's first Hollywood assignment was as the secretary/manager of dancer Eleanor Powell. As Powell's film career declined, Luft managed and married Lynn Bari, a good actress who never managed to achieve Hollywood A-list status.

When Bari's career waned, Luft met Garland and became her manager, soon divorcing Bari in favor of the more promising Garland. He is generally referred to as a producer but records show he only produced two B movies, both for the low-tier Monogram, prior to his marriage to Judy Garland, one movie starring Garland, and none thereafter.

Personal life

He was married four times:

  • On November 28, 1943 he married Lynn Bari. They had one child, a son, named John. They divorced on December 26, 1950.
  • On June 8, 1952 he married Judy Garland. They had two children, Joseph "Joey" Wiley Luft (a scenic photographer, born March 29, 1955 in Los Angeles, California) and Lorna Luft. They divorced in 1964, but it was not finalized until 1966.
  • In 1970, New York, he married Patti Hemingway, from whom he was later divorced. When they met, Hemmingway was only 18 and Luft was 52 years. Now known as Patricia Savarese, she is an emerging artist, at the Gallery Savarese, San Diego. She is also the director of The Rancho Santa Fe Art Gallery and served as the public relations chair of The Rancho Santa Fe Art Guild. She was born Patricia Hemingway, (no relation to the writer Ernest Hemingway), in Lincoln, Illinois, in a family of three children.[citation needed]

Many, including Judy Garland's daughter Liza Minnelli, attribute her greatest concerts and the movie of A Star Is Born to Luft. Garland was most content while working.

Decline and Death

Sidney Luft died September 15, 2005 in Santa Monica, California of a heart attack, aged 89. Sid Luft's funeral service was held at the Riviera Country Club; a favorite golf course of his and Judy's, along with many other notables of the movie and television community. The piano that played throughout Sid's service, was the very piano used by composer Harold Arlen to play the score of "A Star is Born" for Judy after a golf game the two shared.

See also

Filmography

References

Alexander Charles Luft (nephew)

External links







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