CELEBRITY
Barbra Streisand Memoir Says Mandy Patinkin Expected To Have An Affair On ‘Yentl’ Set
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Barbra Streisand has revealed in her new memoir that she almost replaced actor Mandy Patinkin in 1983’s Yentl after he said he expected they would have an affair.
Streisand, 81, wrote in My Name Is Barbra that the now 70-year-old actor had become difficult on the set of her directorial debut, Yentl, which she also wrote and starred in. The film follows an early 20th century Jewish woman who pretends to be a man in order to receive a religious education.
Streisand wrote that Patinkin was cast to star opposite her as Avigdor, and said he disturbed my equilibrium on set, when he began acting angry.
She recalled asking to speak with him about his behavior, and in a meeting in her dressing room, Patinkin told her, I thought we were going to have a more personal relationship.
‘What?’ I had no idea what he was talking about, Streisand wrote. She wrote that he replied, I thought we were going to have an affair.
Streisand went on to win the best director Golden Globe for Yentl in 1984, the first woman to win in the category.
My Name Is Barbra covers Streisand’s upbringing, and her long career on stage and screen, and includes details from her relationships along the way, including her friendships with Omar Sharif and Marlon Brando, and her 25-year marriage to actor James Brolin.
She also reveals paths not taken, such as casting Elvis Presley in 1976’s A Star Is Born.
We talked about the film, and Elvis was interested,” Streisand wrote. “But obviously it didnt work out. The role ultimately went to Kris Kristofferson.
Elvis had gained a lot of weight and was no longer at the top of his game, although he was still drawing big audiences, she wrote. Maybe the story was a little too close to his own life, and [his manager] the Colonel talked him out of it.
TMX contributed to this article.
