Liza Minnelli recently spoke out about her late co-star Gene Hackman, a year after his passing.
Just after marking the first anniversary of Hackman’s death, the 79-year-old actress candidly addressed his conduct during the filming of “Lucky Lady,” a movie they worked on together over 50 years ago.
Minnelli described Hackman’s behavior on the set of the 1975 comedy-drama as “downright rude.”
During the making of “Lucky Lady,” Minnelli was in her late 20s, while Hackman was 45. They shared the screen with Burt Reynolds, and their characters were entangled in a love triangle.
In her newly released memoir, “Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!,” Minnelli delves into tales involving other Hollywood legends. She recounts a passionate affair with renowned director Martin Scorsese and shares anecdotes about the iconic Elizabeth Taylor and the legendary Michael Jackson.
Moreover, Minnelli makes a significant disclosure in her memoir, revealing details about her mother, Judy Garland’s, intense romantic involvement with “Uncle” Frank Sinatra during her marriage to Minnelli’s father, Vincente Minnelli.
Liza Minnelli called out her late costar Gene Hackman for being ‘downright rude’ just shortly after the one-year anniversary of his death; pictured in October 2024
In her newly published memoir, she recalled how they did not get along while filming Lucky Lady together five decades ago; pictured in 1996
In her memoir, which hit the shelves on Tuesday, Minnelli recounted friendly encounters with many famous names.
She also shared some less positive anecdotes about other peers, including her late costar.
In her tell-all, she opened up about the lack of chemistry she had with Hackman while they were filming the Stanley Donen-directed flick in the 70s.
‘I don’t like to whine, but Stanley later shared publicly that Gene was very dismissive of me during the film,’ she wrote in her memoir, per Entertainment Weekly.
‘It’s hard to go to work when the chemistry is absent,’ she continued before adding: ‘I think it’s fair to say that Gene was downright rude.’
In Lucky Lady, which ended up being a box office flop, Minnelli starred as a songstress and a widow named Claire.
During the Prohibition era, she gets involved in smuggling alcohol with her lover Walker Ellis (Reynolds) and his friend Kibby Womack (Hackman).
The trio end up getting entangled in a love triangle and have to simultaneously avoid capture as they break the law all while navigating their relationship conflicts.
She wrote about their lack of chemistry on the set and said Hackman was ‘very dismissive’ towards her; pictured in June 1975
In the 1975 comedy drama film, Minnelli and Hackman starred alongside Burt Reynolds in the film with their characters forming a love triangle; pictured in 1975 Lucky Lady movie still
Minnelli insinuated she had tense interactions with Hackman and did not enjoy working with him even though they had romantic scenes together; pictured in 1975 Lucky Lady movie still
‘It’s hard to go to work when the chemistry is absent,’ she wrote in her memoir about their movie, which ended up becoming a box office flop
Hackman died at the age of 95 in February last year alongside his wife Betsy Arakawa, who was 65, in their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico; pictured in January 2003
Arakawa died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare rodent-borne disease. Hackman later died of heart disease with complications from Alzheimer’s disease; pictured in 1994
Hackman died at the age of 95 in February 2025 alongside his wife Betsy Arakawa, who was 65, in their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Arakawa was Hackman’s caretaker while he was battling Alzheimer’s disease, and in late February of last year, the bodies of the couple were found at their rural home.
It was later revealed, according to the medical examiner’s report, that the Oscar winner died approximately a week after his classically trained pianist wife passed away.
Arakawa died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare rodent-borne disease, per the Mayo Clinic.
Hackman later died of heart disease with complications from Alzheimer’s disease.
In her bombshell tell-all, the daughter of Judy Garland shared many anecdotes about crossing paths with some of the most famous names in Hollywood history. Her time working with Hackman half a century ago was only one out of many other stories; pictured in March 2019
She opened up about her love life over the years and also openly criticized the people that she wanted to in her new memoir. Kids, Wait Till You Hear This! is out now
Minnelli also shared other stories in her memoir including her extramarital affairs with Peter Sellers and Martin Scorsese — and how she was later snubbed by the latter when they ran into each other at the 2014 Oscars.
In one chapter, she claimed Lady Gaga ‘sabotaged’ her dignity at the 2022 Oscars as she expressed her distaste for courting sympathy.
In her tell-all, she also complained about the late composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim as she recounted how a licensing dispute delayed the release of her album: Live at Carnegie Hall.
And in addition to opening up about her interesting romantic life in her memoir, she also did not shy away from sharing her honest opinion about her former lovers.
While reflecting on her ‘traumatizing’ marriage to her fourth husband David Gest, at one point, she referred to him as a ‘loser,’ a ‘treacherous thief’ and even writing: ‘I clearly wasn’t sober when I married this clown.’
And as the self-proclaimed ‘original nepo baby,’ she also opened up about her complicated and chaotic relationship with her mother — sharing revelations about Garland and director dad Vincente Minnelli as their only daughter.
Kids, Wait Till You Hear This! is out now.
