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Barbra's Million Dollar Baby Turns 40

On this day in 1966, Barbra's son, Jason Emmanuel Gould, was born at Mount Sinai Hospital. One newspaper declared "Million Dollar Baby" born. Barbra told the press shortly after "It's the only thing going to give me roots again". Jason Gould is Barbra's only child.

New Ad in USA Today

There is a full page ad in USA Todays Weekend edition Dec 29 from CPI thanking Barbra, Marty and us (the fans). The most acclaimed female artist of our time.

Playbill: Diva Talk (A great review)

Some of you may remember this from October -- but I thought it deserved another mention as Playbill.com reproduced it for their review of 2006.

In October I received an invitation that I will probably never be offered again: the chance to attend a Barbra Streisand dress rehearsal at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, PA. The afternoon performance was the first Streisand would give before launching her recent acclaimed concert tour, which was co-directed by the star and Richard Jay-Alexander. Streisand, who, at 64, remains a striking figure, began her concert with Richard Maltby and David Shire's "Starting Here, Starting Now," and I have to admit hearing the sound of her voice live — those lush, rich, golden, rounded tones that seem to magically pour out of her — was surprisingly moving.

There have been many singers throughout the years who, intentionally or not, have imitated her sound, but when hearing Streisand live, one quickly realizes there is no substitute for the real thing. One of the many things that struck me during the generous, three-hour concert was the warmth that Streisand exudes on stage. And, not only is she tremendously intelligent — evidenced in both her spoken word and her lyrical interpretations — she is also extremely funny, joking throughout the show, often at her own expense.

In an afternoon of one superb performance after another, my favorites included "The Way We Were" (there was a gentle hush as Streisand delivered the opening lines, and I suspect there was nary a dry eye as she finished the Marvin Hamlisch-Alan and Marilyn Bergman tune on a beautiful sustained, almost ethereal high note); the Funny Girl anthem "People" (the crowd jumped to its feet as Streisand's voice soared on the song's climax: "People who need people are the luckiest people in the world!"); a wonderful, poignant medley of Rodgers and Hammerstein's "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught" and Sondheim's "Children Will Listen"; "Unusual Way" (Streisand's voice was perfectly suited to the beautiful Nine ballad, and her acting of the song was also impeccable. In fact, it made one long to hear what she could do with some of the more current theatre scores); and a particularly impressive rendition of "Have I Stayed Too Long at the Fair?"

Happy Holidays To You All

Dear all

Thank you all for your support over the past year, and beyond. It's been a great year for Barbra fans. New DVDs, box sets and of course the tour. We're confident that 2007 will be another great year. Don't forget to keep checking back daily/weekly for news.

Happy New Year to you all!

Craig

The BarbraNews.com Shop

Amazon has notified us that many Barbra products are reduced during their sale. New items include the NEW A Star Is Born DVD with deleted scenes, extra features, commentary from Barbra + more. Barbra's new video of Smile with Tony Bennett. You can also buy Barbra's Actors Studio Interview or her 1986 Concert 'One Voice', her Television Specials -- and LOTS more.

Click here if you're in the US
Click here if you're in Canada
Click here if you're in the UK/Europe.

Please note -- some items above are only available in the US / Canada -- but you can still order from the US website if you live outside the US / Canada.

Barbra Thanks Rosie

As some of you may know -- Rosie O'Donnell came to Barbra's rescue in October, when Barbra had to suddenly find somewhere to stay when her hotel room was cancelled because of building work. Rosie offered her Miami mansion to Barbra -- and Barbra gratefully accepted. Here is a thank you note which Barbra left for Rosie.
This is taken from Rosie.com/Flickr and belongs to Rosie O'Donnell (Visit her website at www.rosie.com to hear more about her great foundation, cruises, blog and more).

New Tour Album Delayed

According to sources, the new release date for the new Tour Album will be confirmed in January. Some online shops have changed the date to March 2007. We'll have a confirmed date here next month. Hopefully with cover art and track listing.

Barbra in Billboard Magazine

The Dec. 23 issue of Billboard has a new, full-page, color "Thank You, Barbra & Marty" ad re: The Tour, from Michael Cohl and CPI. In addition, she appears on the year-end Top 25 Boxscore chart 4 times (Madonna is #1 on the list), with another color pic of her accompanying an article on the Top 25 tours of '06. Also look for Barbra on related tour lists, including #7 on Top 25 tours; Rolling Stones are #1).

Streisand, Sony give $20,000 to Columbus youth program

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Barbra Streisand has left behind more than memories in the wake of her October concert at Value City Arena.Along with Sony, her record label, the singer recently donated $20,000 to the Short Stop program of Directions for Youth & Families in Columbus.The program seeks to create opportunities for growth and development among young people ages 7 to 19."It was truly a holiday present," said Steve Votaw, head of Directions for Youth, whose annual budget totaled $7.2 million in 2005.

Columbus marked the second stop on Streisand's fall concert tour, her first in 12 years.As a way of giving something back to the 14 U.S. cities she visited, Streisand joined Sony in making a donation to a needy school or organization providing arts education in each one."We asked for some recommendations from the Columbus Foundation and went on and did our own research, then made a decision with the Streisand family," said Rupa Balasubramanian, a program associate with the Streisand Foundation.Since the singer's foundation was created in 1986, it has awarded nearly $15 million in grants to various national organizations.Its urban funding has historically focused on programs in the Los Angeles area.

Her half of the donation will support programming, Votaw said, and the Sony half will cover "audiovisual equipment used in performances we do with our kids."Votaw, who struggled to believe the initial message from the Streisand Foundation informing him of the grant, cited "a lot of excitement at the office.""It was really neat."

Welcome

Hi everyone -- Welcome to the new look BarbraNews.com page. I hope you like the new look! Happy Holidays to you all -- and thanks for your support. 2007 is going to be another great Barbra year -- with some more surprises ;-)

New All About Barbra Magazine -- Shipping Now!

Issue 66 of All About Barbra Magazine will be available soon. Click here to view the website + ordering information.

New Barbra Video on DVD

Product Description

Tracks:

1."Smile" Barbra Streisand

2."Sing You Sinners" John Legend

3."Because Of You" k.d. lang and Chris Botti

4."The Best Is Yet To Come" Diana Krall

5."The Shadow Of Your Smile" Juanes

6."Rags To Riches" Elton John

7."Just In Time" Michael Buble

8."For Once In My Life" Stevie Wonder

9."Steppin' Out With My Baby" Christina Aguilera

10."I Left My Heart In San Francisco" Tony Bennett

Product Description:

TONY BENNETT: AN AMERICAN CLASSIC is a ground-breaking television event that takes us on a musical journey of this legendary entertainer's life. Re-creating the venues of Tony's career, from the downtown Greenwich Village club where Tony was discovered, to the Columbia recording studios of the early 60's, from rat pack Las Vegas to Carnegie Hall, Tony will be joined for each show-stopping number by the myriad of superstars that appear with him on his Duets album. In a bold re-invention of the form, each set piece was filmed as a small movie by an Academy Award-winning team, lead by director Rob Marshall (Memoirs Of A Geisha, Chicago.) Seamlessly woven throughout the program will be introductions and narrative insights. This event invites us to celebrate the life of who Frank Sinatra called "the greatest singer ever." As the special ends, Tony Bennett will take the empty stage, this time alone, and deliver his signature classic, "I Left My Heart In San Francisco."

Click here to order the DVD

A Star Is Born -- DVD Out Now (US/Can)

30 years later, still a love story that’s ageless and evergreen…
A Star Is Born
Academy Award® & Golden Globe® Award Winner
for Best Original Song “Evergreen”
First Time on DVD November 28
Bonus Features Include Streisand Commentary, Remastered Dolby Digital® 5.1 Soundtrack, Additional Scenes/Alternate Takes and Wardrobe Tests


Burbank, Calif., September 11, 2006 – The incomparable talent of the one and only Barbra Streisand, the magnetism of Kris Kristofferson and the reckless world of rock ‘n’ roll create a winning combination in A Star Is Born which celebrates its 30th Anniversary by making its debut on DVD November 28, following Ms. Streisand’s highly anticipated national concert tour, beginning October 4 and ends November 20, eight days prior to the DVD’s introduction. The deluxe presentation from Warner Home Video (WHV) of this 1976 box-office blockbuster based on the original screen love story includes an all-new audio commentary from Streisand (who not only starred in the film, but produced it as well), a remastered Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, additional scenes and wardrobe tests, also with Streisand commentary. A Star Is Born may be purchased at $19.97 SRP/$14.95 MAP.

A Star Is Born was nominated for four Academy Awards® and won five Golden Globes®, including Best Picture, Actress, Actor and Original Score. Paul Williams, Kenny Loggins, Leon Russell and others worked with Streisand on the popular song score, topped by the Streisand/Williams hit “Evergreen” which won both the Oscar® and Golden Globe® as Best Original Song.

The story centers around rock star John Norman (Kristofferson) whose career has peaked. One night, after a concert, he stumbles into a club where he sees a singing group fronted by young singer Esther Hoffman (Streisand). The two quickly fall in love, although Esther has trouble with John's rock star lifestyle. One night, a typically burned-out John lets Esther sing a few songs at one of his shows and before long she's the talk of the record business. While Esther's star begins to rise, John's continues to sink, and while she desperately tries to help him clean up and focus on his music, it may be too late to save him.

The 1937 version of A Star Is Born, starring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March, captured seven Academy Award nominations and won one (Best Screenplay); the 1954 version, with Judy Garland and James Mason, was nominated for six Oscars.

A Star Is Born DVD Special Features include:
§ Commentary by Barbra Streisand
§ Wardrobe tests: with commentary by Barbra Streisand. Includes montage cut to the song “Queen Bee” from the original wardrobe tests.
§ Additional scenes with optional on/off commentary by Barbra Streisand
§ A Star Is Born trailer gallery
§ Soundtrack remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1

Now in its fifth decade, Barbra Streisand’s extraordinary career has earned her recognition and popularity as an actress, singer, director, producer and activist. A true Renaissance woman, Streisand has received two Oscars®, including one for Best Actress, eleven Golden Globes®, six Emmy® Awards, a Tony® Award, ten Grammy® Awards, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute and others. Streisand also has achieved sales unequaled by any other female recording artist, and with 49 gold albums, she is second in the all-time charts, exceeded only by Elvis Presley.

Basics
Street Date: November 28, 2006
Languages: English, French
Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
Format: Widescreen
Color / Closed Captioned

A Star Is Born
$19.97 SRP / $14.95 MAP DVD
Rating: R
Run Time: 140 minutes

With operations in 90 international territories, Warner Home Video, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, commands the largest distribution infrastructure in the global video marketplace. Warner Home Video's film library is the largest of any studio, offering top quality new and vintage titles from the repertoires of Warner Bros. Pictures, Turner Entertainment, Castle Rock Entertainment, HBO Home Video and New Line Home Entertainment.

CLICK HERE TO ORDER DVD

In Praise Of Marty -- New Barbra Byte

In Praise of Marty

by Allison J. Waldman

A funny thing happened while I was watching the new DVD release of “A Star Is Born.” I gained a new appreciation of Marty Erlichman. Don’t laugh – I’m serious. Its time to step back and evaluate the amazing job this man has done supporting, nurturing and enabling Barbra’s career for nearly five decades. The moment that brought Marty into focus for me was when Barbra pointed him out in “A Star Is Born.” Barbra’s commentary explained that Marty was playing a producer, a role he understood because he’d been a producer, and the behind the scenes look at the money men talking about the concert receipts while the artist is still on stage was likely a scene Marty had played in real life many times over. Then, almost casually, Barbra says, the moneymen only care about money, “But not my Marty.”

Wow! Doesn’t that say it all – “my Marty.” By using the possessive pronoun, Barbra reveals that Marty isn’t just anyone in her life; he’s her guy. Big brother, father confessor, loyal advocate, sage advisor, unflinching devotee, chief cook and protector extraordinaire – Martin Erlichman has been to Barbra Streisand just about the most important asset in her career.When Marty first entered Barbra’s life, she was truly a neophyte.

Barely out of school, struggling to make it as an actress while being wooed as a singer, an agent had already duped her. She was justifiably suspicious of the burly, young man who offered to be her personal manager. He convinced her of his sincerity by simply stating that he had no desire to change her; furthermore, he envisioned her future as grandly as she did. They shared the same dream. She would live it, he would facilitate it. Early on, Barbra realized that Marty wasn’t like other show biz handlers. She once said, “Others care about money; Marty cares about me.”It’s ironic that Barbra’s reference to Marty in “A Star Is Born” caught my attention because in reality, that was the film that caused a break in their relationship. For a while there, Jon Peters was acting as Barbra’s personal manager and Marty went off to work on other projects. You can read into that what you will. To me, I think it was a wise move by Marty.

He never lost touch with Barbra, but he let her live her life, and at that moment in time, Jon mattered most to her.Marty was back for “Yentl,” and everything since. He’s been hugely important in Barbra’s concert work, and he’s made sure to pave the way for whatever Barbra wants to do professionally. Reportedly, the only agreement between Barbra and Marty is a handshake. I don’t know if I believe they’ve never formalized their business with a contract, and if they haven’t, more power to them. Clearly, whatever the vibe, however they work it, somehow it’s been beyond successful. It’s funny -- I always knew Barbra had great talent when it came to entertaining. Now, I know she has a great talent for people, too.

BarbraNews.com Talks To The Streisand Foundation

BarbraNews.com recently spoke to Margery Tabankin of The Streisand Foundation. Read the interview here.

Barbra's Tour Breaks Records

November 27, 2006, 11:15 AM ET

Ray Waddell, Nashville

Despite talk in the early going of slow ticket sales, Barbra Streisand's first live performances in six years put up record-setting box office numbers. The 20 concerts grossed $92,457,062 and set house gross records in 14 of the 16 arenas played on the tour.In the other two arenas, Madison Square Garden in New York and the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, she already holds the building record, according to tour producer CPI. Streisand now has the top three grosses in the Garden and the top two at the MGM.Tour producer Michael Cohl had predicted as much earlier, scoffing at industry scuttlebutt that the tour was not performing up to par at the box office. Now that the trek is done, Cohl is happy. "I say 'nay' to the naysayers," he tells Billboard.com. "That was probably one of the most satisfying parts of the whole thing. But the most satisfying part for me was how amazing the show was. I watched every night and I loved it. I'd never seen her in concert and she was sensational."Cohl does not rule out more dates by Streisand in 2007. "We're talking about it," he says. "From the stage in Los Angeles she said that she's thinking of going to Europe and the Far East, so here's hoping it happens."
2006 has been a huge year for Cohl and his CPI team. CPI also helmed the Rolling Stones' A Bigger Bang tour, which broke the all-time tour record this year at about $437 million, and the $28 million tour by the Who. "It was the most amazing year of my life, let's face it," he says. "It was a busy a year. But I had sat around and done very little hanging out in Florida for over a year, trying to figure out what to do and whether or not to do it. And as soon as the Stones decided they were going to work, then I was going to go back to work, so you may as well go at it whole hog. So I did."

BarbraNews Attends Final 2 Stops On Tour

Craig Hall (BarbraNews.com) flew from the UK to the LA / Vegas to attend the final two stops on Barbra's National Tour. Read all about the experience here.

Barbra's National Tour Comes To An End

Barbra performed in Los Angeles last night -- the final stop on her National Tour. BarbraNews.com was there! What a show. You can read all about the tour here, in our recap.

Older News.

For all earlier news -- click here for the old website