The 'Woman in Love' star felt disappointed with the 'Singin' in the Rain' hitmaker as he yelled at her and was 'so rude' to the dancer when directing her in the 1969 musical.
- Nov 12, 2023
AceShowbiz - Barbra Streisand was left dismayed when she got to work with Gene Kelly. The 81-year-old singer was directed by the late "Singin' in the Rain" actor - who died in 1996 at the age of 83 - in the 1969 movie-musical "Hello Dolly" but claimed that he didn't "live up to her fantasy" and confronted him after she watched him being "rude" to a dancer on set.
"I was disappointed when the reality of the man didn't live up to the fantasy I had from watching him on screen," she wrote in her new memoir "My Name Is Barbra".
"One day he was so rude to a female dancer that I asked him privately, 'Why were you so mean to her?' And he basically laughed it off and said, 'Yeah, I was pretty tough on her, but that's okay. I used to yell like that at another dancer, and she became my wife.' "
The "Yentl" star appeared alongside Walter Matthau in the film and also alleged that the late actor - who died in 2000 at the age of 79 - had yelled at her on set and now wishes she could have stood up for herself.
She added, "I don't think I'm paranoid, but I felt as if Gene and Walter [Matthau] had an attitude toward me, and it was not positive . . . especially on Walter's part. In fact, he was overtly hostile, and I couldn't figure out why."
"He closed his eyes and yelled, 'Who the hell does she think she is? I've been in this business thirty years, and this is only her second movie . . . the first one hasn't even come out yet . . . and now she's directing?' And then he looked at me with pure venom and said, 'You may be the singer in this picture, but I'm the actor! I have more talent in my farts than you have in your whole body!'
"I wish I could have answered him back. But I never want to be mean or malicious. That's not who I am. I want to be strong, not unkind."
