Rachel Weisz
British actress
Vincente Minnelli, an acclaimed American stage and film director, is best known for his innovative and artistic musical films. He directed numerous critically acclaimed movies, including several Best Picture winners, during his prolific 50-year career at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Minnelli’s personal life was also eventful, as he was briefly married to legendary actress Judy Garland, with whom he had a daughter, the famous Liza Minnelli.
Table of Contents
About the Vincente Minnelli
Vincente Minnelliwas an American stage director and film director. For a career spanning over half a century, he is best known for his sophisticated innovation and artistry in musical films. As of 2024, six of his films have been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
Minnelli made his stage debut as an actor in a production of East Lynne, staged by the Minnelli Brothers’ Tent Theaterand Panama Hattiestarring Judy Garland. He married Garland a year later, and their daughter Liza was born in 1946. He subsequently directed Garland in The Clockand The Pirateand Gigiand Goodbye Charlie (1964). He directed his final film A Matter of Time (1976), starring his daughter Liza. Ten years later, in 1986, Minnelli died at his Beverly Hills residence, at age 83.
Frequently Asked Questions
Vincente Minnelli was born on February 28, 1903 as Lester Anthony Minnelli.
Before becoming a film director, Vincente Minnelli worked as an apprentice window designer at Marshall Field’s department store in Chicago and as a costume designer for the Balaban and Katz theater chain.
As of 2024, six of Vincente Minnelli’s films have been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
Vincente Minnelli married Judy Garland in 1945, and they had a daughter named Liza Minnelli in 1946. However, they divorced in 1951.
Vincente Minnelli directed several critically acclaimed films, including An American in Paris, Gigi, The Bad and the Beautiful, and Lust for Life, the latter two of which won Academy Awards.
30 Quotes by Vincente Minnelli
- 1.
I allow an area for improvisation because the chemical things actors bring to stories make it not work.
Vincente MinnelliAmerican stage and film director (1903-1986)
- 2.
It’s the story that counts.
Vincente MinnelliAmerican stage and film director (1903-1986)
- 3.
But I think musicals are going to have to deal with important subjects.
Vincente MinnelliAmerican stage and film director (1903-1986)
- 4.
West Side Story was terribly important because of the style of the dancing and the gangs of New York.
Vincente MinnelliAmerican stage and film director (1903-1986)
- 5.
I use colors to bring fine points of story and character.
Vincente MinnelliAmerican stage and film director (1903-1986)
- 6.
Dali was the great painter then and surrealism was a way of life.
Vincente MinnelliAmerican stage and film director (1903-1986)
- 7.
If anybody reads a story in a magazine or book, different pictures compete in their minds.
Vincente MinnelliAmerican stage and film director (1903-1986)
- 8.
I had given up the theater and everything propelled me into entertainment. And I didn’t resist it.
Vincente MinnelliAmerican stage and film director (1903-1986)
- 9.
Designing Woman was written for the screen.
Vincente MinnelliAmerican stage and film director (1903-1986)
- 10.
Color can do anything that black-and-white can.
Vincente MinnelliAmerican stage and film director (1903-1986)
- 11.
Cedric Gibbons was the grand cardinal of the art department.
Vincente MinnelliAmerican stage and film director (1903-1986)
- 12.
But I went down to Venezuela and spend a few weeks going through jungles. It’s fantastic looking.
Vincente MinnelliAmerican stage and film director (1903-1986)
- 13.
Fortunately, John Houseman is a marvelous writer and he sat in on so many story conferences. He worked with Welles, you know, and he’s a marvelous man.
Vincente MinnelliAmerican stage and film director (1903-1986)
- 14.
We shot that in all the real places where Van Gogh worked.
Vincente MinnelliAmerican stage and film director (1903-1986)
- 15.
That’s what I think musicals will come to. No backstage stories, nothing of that sort.
Vincente MinnelliAmerican stage and film director (1903-1986)
- 16.
But surrealism is present in most of my pictures.
Vincente MinnelliAmerican stage and film director (1903-1986)
- 17.
In the Thirties, when I was in New York, I did the first surrealistic ballet in a show of mine.
Vincente MinnelliAmerican stage and film director (1903-1986)
- 18.
No, I only like whether I like the story or not, essentially see something in it that isn’t completely there.
Vincente MinnelliAmerican stage and film director (1903-1986)
- 19.
I made three films with Douglas, two with Charles Boyer.
Vincente MinnelliAmerican stage and film director (1903-1986)
- 20.
I always liked the Van Gogh story because I was terribly involved in that.
Vincente MinnelliAmerican stage and film director (1903-1986)
- 21.
I learn new things all the time.
Vincente MinnelliAmerican stage and film director (1903-1986)
- 22.
American films are terribly popular all over the world and American movie stars are terribly important. I don’t know why.
Vincente MinnelliAmerican stage and film director (1903-1986)
- 23.
I always have coffee without sugar, you know. Just cream.
Vincente MinnelliAmerican stage and film director (1903-1986)
- 24.
I see wonderful films by Bertolucci, Visconti, and Fellini.
Vincente MinnelliAmerican stage and film director (1903-1986)
- 25.
I started out to be a painter and was born into the theater.
Vincente MinnelliAmerican stage and film director (1903-1986)
- 26.
It’s always the story that interests me.
Vincente MinnelliAmerican stage and film director (1903-1986)
- 27.
I’ve worked with an awful lot of people. Katy Hepburn, Spencer Tracy.
Vincente MinnelliAmerican stage and film director (1903-1986)
- 28.
I seem to be drawn to things that actually happen.
Vincente MinnelliAmerican stage and film director (1903-1986)
- 29.
The Pirate is surrealism and so, in a curious way, is Father of the Bride.
Vincente MinnelliAmerican stage and film director (1903-1986)
- 30.
Nowadays the audience has changed. No one can anticipate the audience.
Vincente MinnelliAmerican stage and film director (1903-1986)