Barbra and Cher

To Babs’ credit, the “Streisand Effect” is being used by pundits this week to describe the ongoing conspiracy.

Streisand has had a beef with Cher going back decades.

Cher’s career is still going strong and she’s relevant with every generation today thanks to social media and Zoomers kissing her ass and quoting her. Babs’s fanbase is long dead. She was never hip. Barbra has no sense of humor and is well-known to be abusive to everyone around her.

The Globe is pure fiction.

Who gives a fuck but you, OP?

Chastity and Jason had playdates together. They had to have known each other.

Cher has quoted Barbra asking her "Why do you still do all this?". They're very different women.

Supposedly they got together once at Barbra's compound to bond over caviar and champagne, but Cher told Babs the champagne was burnt and that was of course unforgivable.

? Relevant. She's been a joke for decades.

I doubt that Babs and Cher share their observations of "The Bold & the Beautiful" or borrow sugar from each other like ordinary neighbors of the past.

I suspect it was a scissoring one-off that one of them thought would lead to something more and the other one married James Brolin instead...

Because Barbra pushed Sonny into that tree, Rose.

Because Cher heard Babs say behind her back, "The Mirror has two faces, but Cher has fifteen. A number she also thinks is the perfect age for a boyfriend."

Babs wishes she had Cher’s legacy. South Park destroyed her and turned her into a punching bag.

Cher was once quoted as saying that Barbra can’t say fuck you with her face, but can say it with her voice.

She was pissed that Barbra did A Star, and asked to a reporter what the fuck Babs knew about rock and roll.

[quote] Cher’s career is still going strong and she’s relevant with every generation today

Hardly, R3.

Oh, please, R12. South Park destroyed her? And yet she had record-setting concerts well after that South Park episode. You're ridiculous.

Some of the posts and replies on this thread and elsewhere give me pause. They have odd syntax or peculiar grammatical errors. My theories are that somebody is using AI and bots to create and post to the Datalounge. Or second theory, is that some troll is deliberately mangling their syntax in order to hide.

You keep on it, Sherlock aka R16

"Because Barbra pushed Sonny into that tree, Rose."

What thread can't go without a Golden Girls reference?

They were pretty chummy in the 60s, especially when their children had gone to the same school together (along with Dionne Warwick's two sons, which Warwick had talked about in the past). I wouldn't say the three of them were besties, but pretty close and bonded with their kids. They used to carpool their kids to school (at least Warwick and Cher did, not sure if Barbra ever got behind the wheel or had a driver for the kids).

From the way Warwick described it, by the mid-70s she left California and moved East to NY / CT. She drifted away from them. Cher and Barbra were still in LA, but had their dust-up when Barbra got "ASIB" in 1975. But as time went on, Cher and Barbra reconnected, and I believe Cher and Warwick did as well (when Warwick had her 80s comeback with Arista).

They were always stealing each others' boyfriends.

I would guess Cher has more money given that she still tours and is favored by millennials and even some gen z, largely due to her internet presence. Babs isn’t nearly as well-known among younger generations.

What happened to Cher’s face?

Lucy was going to join them in a three-way, and each thought the other soured the date.

Actually, Gary talked Lucy out of it, concerned for her hip (and his security).

She's 79 dear.

[quote] What happened to Cher’s face?

The same thing that happened to Barbra's: massive plastic surgery, fillers, and Botox.

Cher now has two bottom lips.

I can't believe her son Elijah Blue turned 49 last week. I remember when she had her baby boy - it was all over the news and magazines that week.

Cher was literally at her home waiting for the Star is Born contract to arrive so she could sign it. After an hour of waiting, she called up the producers to ask what the holdup was. They broke the news to her that Barbra Streisand had changed her mind at the last minute and wanted to do the movie. Cher was stunned and heartbroken. I'm sure a few vases were thrown against the wall.

R27 Was Cher literally sitting at home waiting for the script, or just sitting at home waiting for the script ? There's a big difference there which can solve a big mystery which has been haunting us for 50 years.

Was Cher really going star in "A Star Is Born" when Barbra decided to do it?

Never heard that before.

R29 Cher was considered for the part, along with Sonny, a few years prior BEFORE their 1974 divorce. Once the divorce went through, the studio moved on from them (rightly so) and started talking with Streisand and her new beau, Jon Peters. For some reason, Cher kept pushing for the part (ignoring the fact that WB was not interested in her for some time) and kept telling the press she had the role, and was 'waiting' for the contract to be delivered to her door. While she was waiting impatiently, Streisand was signing the contract. Cher claimed (back then) she found out the news from her agent and the next day she read it in 'Variety'.

Interestingly, Cher barely mentions this at all in her memoir. She glazed over the whole ASIB deal.

Sonny as John Norman Howard? He'd probably insist on wearing full clown make-up during the bathtub scene, and at the end of the credits it would read, "Mr. Bono's polyester from... his own closet."

R31 Don't forget, the original idea was Carly Simon and James Taylor (they said no). They then turned to Sonny & Cher. They really wanted a married couple as the stars in the beginning.

Cher and Josh Brolin were on Graham Norton where Josh asked Cher if she had met his stepmom. There was an awkward moment and Cher said a blunt "uh huh" or yes" I don't remember. It was shade.

Cher refused to get the tight perm required to play Esther Hoffman Howard, so they were forced to go with Barbra instead.

I'm still figuring out how the kids can be all the letters. It's biologically impossible.

Cher wasn't doing 'rock' in the 70s, either. She was doing middle of the road-type songs, then pop/disco ditties. And no one would consider her bankable for a Major Motion Picture in 1975.

Cher is a working Diva.

Because they were competing for our love.

Cher did this with Kris instead.

[quote]Cher and Josh Brolin were on Graham Norton where Josh asked Cher if she had met his stepmom. There was an awkward moment and Cher said a blunt "uh huh" or yes" I don't remember. It was shade.

She probably answered that way not as shade to Barbra, but she was shocked by what a stupid question he asked. They've been in the same business since the early 60s, both became major superstars, both shared the same manager for a while, both have been photographed at the same events, and his stepmom offered her the role of 'Mame' in the early 2000s.

And he asked, 'Have you ever met her ?'

Yeah, Cher might have been wondering if Josh was up to something when he asked that question. Also, was Cher dating Gene Simmons at the time of A Star is Born, because I could imagine Cher invisaging the two of them or Allman, maybe...

According to her memoir, she was involved with David Geffen in the mid-70s when she left Sonny (and had no place to go but into the arms of Geffen). Too bad Geffen wasn't as powerful as he became ten years after - he would've gotten Cher the role.

Yes, Cher was indeed offered the lead female role in the 1976 version of "A Star Is Born". She was initially cast as Esther, but ultimately had to withdraw due to her pregnancy. Barbra Streisand then took on the role.

Cher's endless final tours have worn less well than Bab' reluctant debutant nonsense.

They look good together. I think this was the telethon for Haiti.

Oh the "literally" troll has been triggered @ r28. Get over it and get a fucking life.

R19, Streisand lived in New York in the 60s, and her son wasn’t born until 1966. Cher wasn’t remotely near Babs in career success at that time. Or ten years later, for that matter.

Cher didn't hit her career peak until the late 80s, when she was in her 40s.

Shared the same manager? That’s bullshit. Do you guys just make this stuff up?

Barbra and Cher lived on the same street in Holmby Hills at one time. Cher was still married to Sonny, and Barbra lived next door to Gregory Peck.

R49 No we don´t.

But we know who Sandy Gallin is who for a very short time took over as manager of Babs when she kicked Jon Peters to the curve and before she reconciled with Marty Erlichman.

Did Babs have any No. 1 singles in the 1960s?

Don’t think so, R52. She was too busy starring in a hit Broadway musical, the kind Cher wouldn’t get in even to audition for.

[quote]Yes, Cher was indeed offered the lead female role in the 1976 version of "A Star Is Born". She was initially cast as Esther, but ultimately had to withdraw due to her pregnancy. Barbra Streisand then took on the role.

This is what we call 'fan fiction'.

She was never offered the lead, was never initially cast as Esther, and never ultimately withdrew. Never.

[quote]Shared the same manager? That’s bullshit. Do you guys just make this stuff up?

Do your research, cupcake, before you make a fool of yourself.

Sandy Gallin was Cher's manager and 'close friend' throughout the 1980s. In the mid-1980s, Streisand hired Gallin to be her manager, when she dropped Jon Peters. Gallin was famous for throwing summer pool parties and Christmas parties for his clients, where they all got together.

R52 Streisand's first #1 single was 'The Way We Were' in March, 1974. She had four more #1 singles after that - one as a solo off her studio album, another #1 hit from a movie she starred in, and two as duets with another hit-making singer.

She was never a 'singles' seller, as fans spent more money buying her full albums, sending her to #1 on the Albums Chart - 11 times since 1963.

R46 Did you literally post that ?

R19 Streisand moved to LA in 1967, when she was filming 'Funny Girl'. She has maintained an apartment in NYC, but since 1967 she has been a California permanent resident.

R55, you must read more carefully. R51 beat your ass earlier.

R59 I didn't know we were in a race.

[quote]She was never offered the lead, was never initially cast as Esther, and never ultimately withdrew. Never.

This reminds me of the popular story that Lena Horne was cast in the lead of Show Boat (1951), then fired from by the cruel racist studio heads. Boo hoo, poor her. The reality is that she was never considered let alone cast. In fact, Lena was in the process of dissolving her MGM contract in 1950. There is no Show Boat movie story in either of Lena's autobiographies from 1950 and 1965. The whole thing was made up and embellished for her 1981 stage show, The Lady & Her Music.

R58, Barbra lived there in 1967 in a rented house, she didn't "move" to California. She was a legal resident of New York State until the 70s. She was looking for a new apt on the UES in 1970, and eventually bought a town house she never moved into.

AND Babs kept her old apt on CPW, then bought another one in the bldg to combine and make it larger. Steve Ross and Warner Bros took the town house off her hands, All in the early 1970s.

Aside from Lena Horne and 'Showboat', let's not forget David Gest and Liza Minnelli back in 2003-04, telling everyone within earshot that Minnelli had 'signed the contracts', and the cameras were ready to roll on ALW's movie of his musical 'Sunset Boulevard'.

After months of listening to this, and reading it in the press, ALW finally dropped his balls and made it very clear there was no truth to what the couple was saying. Minnelli was never even on his radar, never mind signing contracts. He was still trying to get it made with one of his top three picks: Streisand, Streep, and Close. None of the lights were ready to burn, and none of the cameras were set to roll.

Forbes has raised Steisand's net worth to $510 million.

I can't believe that she was complaining a couple weeks ago about *only* being paid $7 million for Meet the Fockers.

There’s an OH Dear coming for you R65.

And why should she get half the money the male actors got for The Fockers regardless of how much she’s worth? People are supposed to be paid for the work they do, not for their net worth. Are you dialing in from 1960?

[quote]I can't believe that she was complaining a couple weeks ago about *only* being paid $7 million for Meet the Fockers.

You're right. The whole cast and crew should have worked for free. The Kraft services should have donated all the food, and the studios should have donated the spaces and services.

Miss Streisand is a titan of industry. Cher, a national treasure. Incomparable.

R65, I’m sure the money would have gone to YOU if she hadn’t complained about having been short changed.

"She was pissed that Barbra did A Star, and asked to a reporter what the fuck Babs knew about rock and roll."

Sonny and Cher passed, as did Carly Simon and James Taylor. Per the podcast Blank Check when they did a Babs series a few years ago.

R70 Sonny & Cher didn't 'pass' - they were dropped from consideration when they divorced in 1974.

Cher kept pushing, thinking it would still work, but WB knew audiences wouldn't take them as a 'couple' after their divorce. Cher then kept pushing for herself - WB wasn't interested.

I would loved to have seen what Sonny and Cher would have done with A Star is Born if for no other reason than getting to see the millions of different fur vests Sonny would have worn.

I don’t know if Cher was much of an actress in 1974, but Sonny was NO ACTOR. Never.

[quote]After months of listening to this, and reading it in the press, ALW finally dropped his balls and made it very clear there was no truth to what the couple was saying. Minnelli was never even on his radar, never mind signing contracts. He was still trying to get it made with one of his top three picks: Streisand, Streep, and Close.

Shame, because Minnelli would have been a much better choice than Streep and even Close (though she won a Tony for it)

People clown Liza, but she delivers the goods. Not doing a movie version of Gypsy with her in the 80's was a HUGE mistake. There's no one that sings Some People better than Minnelli.

Liza and Goldie Hawn should've done the movie version of Chicago in the late 70s or early 80s. They would've been perfect.

As a delusional looney like Norma Desmond, Liza would have been FABULOUS!

Liza would have been great onstage but what makes her memorable in the theater makes her pretty unbearable on the big screen. Couple that with her homely looks and it's understandable why so many movie roles eluded her.

^ the singing voice isn't suited for records or film either

Liza would've been awful as Norma Desmond on screen. She could barely stand up straight in the early 2000s, never mind star in a musical.

Gest got Liza back on her feet and looking amazing. 2003 and 2004 Liza was the last time she truly brought it, she could have done Norma.

R80, we may be the only ones who think that but I agree that Gest got Liza into the best shape I'd seen her in in years.

[quote]and his stepmom offered her the role of 'Mame' in the early 2000s.

R40. Barbra offered Cher the role of Mame? What?! Please explain. How was Barbra going to do that? Was Babs a possible producer or director of 'Mame?' We all heard that Babs was connected to 'Gypsy' for years, but not 'Mame.'

Liza’s wobbly singing voice was perfect for the ancient Norma Desmond

A Shtar Wasz Born wazh shupposhed to be mine.

R82 Either you weren't born yet, or you were in a coma. Which one ?

Back in the 90s, after CBS had a blockbuster ratings hit with "Gypsy" starring Bette Midler in 1993, the tree networks tried to copy that success and turn a big Broadway family musical into a television movie to air during the season and bring in the ratings. ABC had the most luck when it broadcast Jason Alexander in "Bye, Bye, Birdie" in 1995, and then again in 1997 with "Cinderella", starring Whitney Houston and Brandi (original plan was Diana Ross / Houston but they wisely figured out Houston was a little too old, in her mid-30s, to be Cinderella). In 1998, ABC announced plans to bring "Mame" to the network for its next big Broadway project for the 1999-2000 season. ABC announced Barbra Streisand (then in her mid-50s) would star, direct, and co-produce along with Jerry Herman.

By the time the 1999-2000 season began, the project had been delayed to the following season (the blame was on Streisand focusing on her New Year's Eve concert and subsequent tour in 2000). Time went on, and the project stalled (supposedly Herman and Streisand couldn't find the right writers and other creative problems). ABC then made the announcement that the movie would be part of the 2001-02 season, but Streisand would only direct and co-produce. It was also said that Streisand offered her friend Cher the role of Mame, and Cher accepted (Cher was in her mid-50s). The project continued to stall as Cher and Streisand couldn't get their schedules to work. Time dragged on, but ABC insisted the movie was not canceled, just delayed to the following season (2002-03).

By early 2003 (with no movement on the ABC project), Herman made an announcement that he was pulling the plug on the ABC movie deal. Herman said he struck a deal with investors, and he was going to bring his three musicals back to Broadway for revivals over the following three seasons: "La Cage" in 2004-05, "Mame" for 2005-06 (he mentioned he wanted Michele Lee, after seeing her in 'Allergist's Wife" a few years prior), and "Hello Dolly" in 2006-07. Streisand and Cher separately acknowledged the ABC movie was off (and Streisand started looking at 'Gypsy' for herself).

The December 2004 revival of 'La Cage' was a financial disaster and a major setback for Herman. When it closed after 6 months, Herman announced he was not moving forward with 'Mame' and 'Dolly'. He also said he was not interested in bringing 'Mame' to TV any longer. In an interview months later, he blamed the failure of the ABC deal on Streisand (saying she didn't take it serious enough), but Streisand ignored him. He claimed he never ever approved casting Cher, and he would never had let it happen. Cher, on the other hand, provided emails and voice messages from Herman, saying how excited he was that she accepted the offer to star in Mame, and he couldn't wait to see what she and Barbra had in store for the character.

And then it was all over by 2006.

Thank you r85.

Barbra is immensely talented and is a wonderful mother.

Cher is an Armenian prostitute and one of the worst parents in show business.

Barbra would be the same kind of prostitute if anyone gave a shit.

Glad I’m finally.over those two ridiculous women.