Liza & Fosse No. 4 - Cabaret 1973 Academy Awards
- Lauryn Johnson
- Jun 21
- 3 min read
Liza arrives at the 1973 Academy Awards
March 27, 1973
“At that point in time, the Oscars ceremony was still a hometown celebration, as well as a global broadcast. I was facing an audience packed with people whom I'd grown up with, a community I knew. It was an echo of the feelings I had eight years before at the Cocoanut Grove. But the stakes were much bigger now. Before the night began, the unspoken buzz in the room was: Is this little girl gonna make good tonight? Will she measure up? I was fighting nerves and fidgeting away. It felt like an eternity as so many other awards took up almost the entire evening before they finally got to my category. I was jittery, proud, resigned, on edge. All of it. Papa was sitting to my right. To my left was my nineteen-year-old lover, Desi Arnaz Jr., whom I'd known since childhood—the gorgeous son of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. He was also my fiancé! (More on that soon.) Finally, the big moment arrived. Raquel Welch tore open the envelope, and Gene Hackman boomed: 'And the award goes to... Liza Minnelli!' Oh. My. God. They called my name! It’s me!
“The audience was cheering, and now I'd have to say something—not just to people in the room, but to the eighty-three million people watching on TV around the world. I hugged Papa. He always believed in me and spotted a spark of talent in me long before anyone did. He screamed in my car so loudly that, to this day, I have an incurable case of tinnitus. It would be a constant, sweet reminder of the wonderful man who was always my biggest fan. He was crying, and I thought this is his life, his business, and I just did him proud.
“At that moment, my life was like the inside of a diamond, crystal clear. Then I turned to my left and kissed Desi. It was time to get up to the stage, where Welch and Hackman were waiting. Thank God I wore a stunning bright yellow ensemble designed by Halston. My jewelry was by Tiffany & Co.'s Elsa Peretti. The two of them were a pair, and I was their muse. […] I loved them both, and I looked like a million bucks. The vivid yellow was Papa's favorite color. I asked him if I looked okay, and he said, 'You look perfect, Liza. You're not overdressed and you're not underdressed.' This is what runs through your mind at such a moment.
“Finally, I reached the stage, and once again heard the words of 'A Quiet Thing' by Kander and Ebb in my brain: 'When it all comes true... just the way you'd planned.' The room quieted and I began to speak: 'Making the film of Cabaret was one of the happiest times of my whole life,' I said. 'I would like to thank everybody connected with it--especially the artistic staff: Mr. Bob Fosse. And Fred Ebb and John Kander. And thank you for giving me this award. You've made me very happy.' Nobody had to play me off the stage after a lengthy speech.
“It was short and very much to the point. This was something I achieved by myself, for myself. I had made it to this point because I was surrounded by people who changed my life. Papa stood by me from the beginning. Kander and Ebb saw something in me on the afternoon I showed up to Fred's apartment in a ratty sweater. Halston gave me a distinctive look that utterly captivated Hollywood and New York. Bob Fosse helped unlock the dancer and actress in me that was screaming to get out.
“Thankfully, it wasn't all about me that night. Bobby won the Oscar for Best Director, and Joel Grey won Best Supporting Actor. […] Fosse's reimagining of the American movie musical stood the old genre on its head. Once escapist entertainment, it was now an art form that questioned the world around us.”
—“Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!” by Liza Minnelli, 2026
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