House of Vincente Minnelli.The Legend. The Lies. The Truth.
Written by Michael Feinstein
Once again the inaccurate story about Liza Minnelli trying to evict her step mother from her fathers’ house has surfaced and it is time to set the record straight. By the time Vincente Minnelli died in 1986, Liza had been paying for the upkeep of his house at 812 N. Crescent Drive for many years, as sadly, Vincente had run out of money. Liza was not aware of this until she was called by Leonore Gershwin several years earlier, informing her of such and immediately swung into action, taking care of her father’s needs including upkeep of the house. In his will Vincente left the house to Liza and stated that it was his “wish” that Lee remain in the house. Unfortunately, after Vincente’s death (and maybe earlier) Lee Anderson Minnelli used those funds earmarked for the upkeep of the house, for personal needs including cosmetic procedures, thus the house was in terrible shape. The grounds were like a jungle, the pool was empty and it was dangerous to inhabit. When I visited Lee the house smelled strongly of cat urine and was just a mess, and a housekeeper and her family were squatting on the lower level, unknown to Lee because she was essentially bedridden by that time. When Liza found out what was happening and visited Lee she was horrified. So she found a wonderful new home for Lee in an upscale assisted living facility in Beverly Hills and asked Lee to move into it. Lee resolutely refused. Liza tried and tried to convince her but she was intractable. So for Lee’s safety she decided to sell the house. What happened after was sad to behold, because Lee Minnelli was a former publicist who put out the story that her daughter-in-law was trying to evict her, when the truth was that Liza was trying to help her. The press unfairly slammed Liza and she was frustrated that Lee would turn against her, but never spoke publicly about it. By the time the house sold Liza was stuck with Lee as a squatter when she refused to leave and had to pay monthly fees to the new owner until Lee vacated. Lee had a cat named Ninny whom I inherited after her passing and made sure that Ninny had the most wonderful senior life. I hope this real story helps set the record straight for I was there and watched Liza behave heroically, trying to do the right thing, only to become maligned for those very actions. Such is life.
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