38 years ago this evening, in the backyard of her Malibu ranch, Barbra Streisand performed live in front of an 'invitation only' audience - her first full-length live concert performance in 20 years. What motivated her to perform that night was her commitment to supporting anti-nuclear activities and the preservation of our environment, civil liberties, and human rights. HBO struck a deal with Streisand's manager Martin Erlichman to help pay for the production, and to pay an exorbitant amount of money to broadcast the concert for one night only - on December 27, 1986. There was one hitch - if Streisand didn't like the performance, she would not allow it to be broadcast; a gamble HBO's head Mike Fuchs was willing to take. In the end, she approved - and HBO had one of the biggest spikes in new subscriptions that week. It paid off, according to Fuchs (at the time).
The specially-built amphitheater in Streisand's backyard sat approximately 500 politicians, entertainers, and A-list movie stars. Admission was $5,000 per couple ($14,000 in today's value). All the money raised ($1M - $2,806,459 in today's value) was donated to the Hollywood Women's Political Committee and to six Democratic Senatorial campaigns, with a goal to win the Senate back in November (they succeeded). Her friend Marilyn Bergman, who was a big factor in Streisand's return to live singing, said Streisand raised the most money by any one woman in history.
Some of the biggest names in Hollywood attended, including Sally Field, Bette Midler, Whitney Houston, Bruce Willis, Burt Bacharach, Penny Marshall, Sydney Pollack, Walter Matthau, and Goldie Hawn. Barry Gibb made a surprise appearance, singing the two duets from her 'Guilty' album. Comedian Robin WIlliams opened the show with his ad-libbed monologues, joking about all the celebrities in front of him ('everyone in Hollywood I always wanted to work with - but haven't').