Streisand: Her Life (128 page)

N
o biography can be written without the help of many people, and I am very grateful to all those who assisted me with this one. I’m particularly indebted to my friend and associate Chris Nickens, who brought his encyclopedic knowledge of Barbra Streisand’s career and of Hollywood history to the project. He did much research, conducted many of the interviews, and reviewed the manuscript at every phase. This book is inestimably better because of his contributions.

Mike Szymanski worked his usual wonders as researcher, scouring vital records, court records, property rolls, tax rolls, and business records in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and New York for inform
ati
on about Barbra. He also located and interviewed some of the people quoted in this book.

I am most thankf
ul to
the late Larry Rowland, whose impressive collection of Streisand audiotapes enriched this book. Larry obsessively taped Barbra’s earliest television appearances and many of her live performances, beginning in 1961. I will always be grateful for his willingness to let me listen to them.

Bill Doty, Carol Salvo, Patricia McNamee, Richard Gelbke, and Helen Boyden of the National Archives were very helpful in my efforts to trace Barbra’s genealogy, as was the staff of the New York Public Library genealogy division. Staff members at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the University of Southern California library, the Brooklyn Public Library, the Columbia University Archives, and the Los Angeles Public Library, were also helpful.

Theresa Frank of the Erasmus Hall Alumni Association helped me trace dozens of Barbra’s high school classmates. And I am grateful to Ernest Lehman for allowing me access to his papers, which are housed at the University of Texas at Austin.

My editor Betty Prashker, whose idea this book was, contributed a keen editorial eye to these pages, as did David Groff, my original editor. Ken Sansone, Julie Lovrinic, Phyllis Fleiss, Andrew Martin, Jo Fagan, Mark McCauslin, Lauren Dong, Nancy Maynes, and Heather Kilpatrick of Crown provided many professional courtesies.

Kathy Robbins, my agent, provided invaluable advice
and g
uidance, as always. Elizabeth Mackey, Steve Bromage, Larry Platt, Bill Clegg, and Meghan S
erco
mbe of the Robbins Office were always cheerfully helpful.

For the 2012 edition, heartfelt thanks for all their help to Laura Van Wormer, Ned Barrett, Carolyn Katz, Bjarne Blume, Blake Dearborn, Kennet Plantell, James Miele, Elyse Solove, and everyone involved with Author & Company.

Others whose help is greatly appreciated are J. B. Annegan, Brad Aul, Trevor Bandera, Joellen Bard, Jim Bloor, Gary Bornstein, Richard Branson, Kevin Burns, Anthony Caldera, Rick Carl, Harvey Caspari, Rafe Chase, Emily Cobb, George Coleman, Maurice Tei Dunn, Ronnie Durrence, Joni Evans, Lydia Encinas, Mrs. Phyllis Farrand, Cindy Koren Gerstl, Richard Giammanco, Tom Gilbert, Phil Graham, P
aul G
rein, Cathy Griffin, Stacie Guy, Susan Kamil, George Maharis, Rick Miller, Michel Parenteau, Arlene Patlevic, Vernon Patterson, Lynne Pounder, Gregory Rice, Randall Riese, Eli Rill, John Sala, Patricia Scarborough, Dave Scheer, Bob Scott, Anne Sheehan of the
Chatham Courier
,
Elaine Sobel, Lyle Spielman, Karen Swenson, Sam Teischer, Jan van Willigen, Guy Vespoint, Allison Waldman, Faye Wallace, Lois Weinsaft, and George Zeno.

Matt Howe’s superlative website BarbraArchives.com was a tremendous help in my research.

Finally, love and thanks to my family and friends, whose support means so much to me: my late father, Joe Spada; my brothers, Richard and Lewis; and my treasured friends Glen Sookiazian, Laura Van Wormer, Dan Conlon, Richard Branson and Ned Keefe, John Figg, Michael Koegel, and Kevin Scullin.