Lorna Luft
(born November 21, 1952) is an American television, stage, and film actress and singer. She is the daughter of the legendary singer and actress Judy Garland and Sid Luft, and the half-sister of Liza Minnelli.
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LORNA LUFT TICKETS
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Biography
Luft was born in
Santa Monica, California to Judy Garland and her third husband
Sid Luft. She debuted at age 11 on the memorable 1963 Christmas episode of her mother's
CBS television series,
The Judy Garland Show
[1], with siblings
Liza and Joey; Lorna sang "
Santa Claus Is Coming to Town".
She soon joined the family act on a summer concert tour, the highlight being Garland’s third and final appearance at
New York's famed
Palace Theatre on
Broadway in 1967
[2]. In this month-long engagement Judy Garland "shared" the bill with two of her children, Lorna (14 years old) and Joey (12 years old). The show was recorded live and released on
ABC Records as
Judy Garland: At Home At The Palace
[3].
Luft lives with her second husband, musician Colin R Freeman
[4].
With first husband musician and artist manager
Jake Hooker, she has children Vanessa and Jesse Richards.
Television
Luft appeared as Nurse Libby Kegler on the hit
CBS series
Trapper John, M.D.
during that show's final season, 1985-1986. She also appeared in 2 episodes of the new 2007
Logo animated series
Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple In All The World
.
Stage
Luft made her
Broadway debut in 1971 at the
Shubert Theatre as a replacement cast member in the musical
Promises, Promises
[5], adapted from the classic 1960
Billy Wilder film
The Apartment
. The show is best known for the hit song "
I'll Never Fall in Love Again".
Luft starred in the 1981 national tour of
They're Playing Our Song.
In 1983, she played
Peppermint Patty in the
Off-Broadway production of ''Snoopy
|! The Musical
[6] (a sequel to
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown'' with
Farrah Fawcett [7] [8].
From 1992 through 1994, she played Adelaide in the American and world tour productions of
Guys and Dolls
. In 1996, she appeared in an
Irish production of
Follies
in
Dublin with
Enda Markey,
Dave Willetts and
Millicent Martin.
In 2002, she starred as "Mama Rose" in a
University of Richmond school production of
Gypsy.
Recent activity
In November 2006 through January 2007, she performed in the UK premiere of
Irving Berlin's
White Christmas: The Musical,
a new stage adaptation based on the film. Lorna reprised her role in
White Christmas
the next year, playing the
Edinburgh Playhouse from
November 19 to
December 8,
2007 and the
Wales Millennium Centre in the
Donald Gordon Theatre from
December 13,
2007 through
January 12,
2008.
In October 2007, she released her debut CD
Lorna Luft: Songs My Mother Taught Me
in the United Kingdom. Produced by
Barry Manilow and Colin R. Freeman, the album celebrates the music of her legendary mother, Judy Garland. In 2005 she toured Ireland with her stage show, "Songs My Mother Taught Me."
In June 2006, she surprised audiences at
Carnegie Hall by performing a duet with
Rufus Wainwright on the song "
After You've Gone" at the end of Wainwright's tribute concert of Judy Garland's triumphant 1961 comeback at Carnegie Hall.
For the first time ever, she is to appear in
The Wizard Of Oz
, the stage show of the movie that made her mother famous, at The Lowry Centre in
Manchester,
England. She will be portraying the role of the
Wicked Witch of the West, originally played by
Margaret Hamilton in the 1939 film.
In April 2009, Lorna completed a successful UK tour of the critically acclaimed
Hugh Whitemore play
Pack of Lies
, in which she played the role of Helen Kroger. Lorna starred alongside
Jenny Seagrove,
Simon Shepherd and
Daniel Hill.
In May 2009, Lorna appeared in
W Magazine as a special guest performer for the acclaimed avant-garde
Theo Adams Company's latest project titled 'Performance' photographed by
David Sims.
[9]
On July 1st 2009, Lorna appeared at the
Mermaid Theatre, London to record
Friday Night is Music Night. Lorna Luft and Friends - A Tribute to Judy Garland also featured
John Barrowman,
Frances Ruffelle and
Linzi Hateley
Films
In film, Lorna Luft played "Paulette Rebchuck" in the camp classic
Grease 2
. Other films include
Where the Boys Are '84
,
54
and
My Giant
.
Autobiography
She is the author of the 1998 book
Me and My Shadows: A Family Memoir.
Among its revelations is that she had a romantic crush on
Barry Manilow [10].
In 2001, the book was adapted as an
Emmy-winning [11] TV miniseries Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows.
It starred
Judy Davis as the adult
Judy Garland, with
Tammy Blanchard as Judy in her teenage years.
Hugh Laurie portrayed Vincente Minnelli,
Victor Garber as
Sid Luft, and
Marsha Mason as Ethel Gumm.
Charitable work
In addition to performing Luft participates in various children's and
AIDS-related charities, including the annual
Los Angeles AIDS Walk and The Children's Wish Foundation International.
[12] She has been an advocate for
drug rehabilitation, and has spoken for The Council on Alcohol & Drugs.
Recordings
Singles
- Our Day Will Come
(Epic Records single)
- Long Time
(European single)
- Born Again
(European single)
- Where the Boys Are
(CBS Records Single)
- The Whole World's Goin' Crazee
(CBS Records Dance Single)
Albums
- Songs My Mother Taught Me
(October 2007 - UK)
DVDs
- Lorna Live in Oz (2009 Australia)
Cast albums and compilations
- Grease 2
(film soundtrack)
- George and Ira Gershwin's Girl Crazy: Complete Original Soundtrack
- Stairway to the Stars
(Live concert recording)
- Cole Porter Centennial Gala
(Live concert recording)
- The Christmas Album...A Gift of Hope
Other recordings
- She released a single version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", an electronic duet with her mother.
- She sang backing vocals on the Blondie album Eat to the Beat
.
- She performed "After You're Gone" with Rufus Wainwright for Rufus Does Judy at Carnegie Hall in June 2006.
References
- ''The Judy Garland Show'', episode #1.15, aka "The Judy Garland Christmas Special" (home video title) at Internet Movie Database
- Judy Garland: At Home at the Palace'' (show) at Internet Broadway Database
- ''Judy Garland: At Home at the Palace'' (recording) at Allmusic
- Me and My Shadows: A Family Memoir. Living with the Legacy of Judy Garland
- ''Promises, Promises'' replacement cast at Internet Broadway Database
- ''Snoopy!!! The Musical'' at Internet Off-Broadway Database
- ''Me and My Shadows'', p. 321
- ''Extremities'' at Internet Off-Broadway Database
- [1]
- ''Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows'' (miniseries) - Awards at Internet Movie Database
- Lorna Luft Official Site, "Theatre and Concerts" section