The Hollywood Reporter reports that all three of Judy Garland’s children—Liza Minnelli, Lorna Luft, and Joseph Luft—will be on hand at this year’s Oscar ceremony to pay tribute to their late mother, on the 75th anniversary of her iconic performance in The Wizard of Oz.
Among critics, historians, and fans alike, 1939 is widely considered to be one of the greatest single years of moviemaking in the history of the medium, so it’s great to see that the Academy will be taking this opportunity to celebrate at least one of the films from that banner year. It would be phenomenal to see similar preparations being planned to commemorate the anniversaries of the other ’39 biggies—Stagecoach, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Ninotchka, to name a few—though currently the Academy has only announced its plans for Oz. (Snubbing the film that actually won the Oscar for Best Picture that year—Gone with the Wind—seems all the more pointed.)
Anyway, as I mentioned the other day, Vincente Minnelli, Garland, and daughter Liza are a unique family unit in award history, as they’ve each won an Oscar of their own, so it’s extremely appropriate that the Academy will be paying this special tribute to one of their favorite families by bringing the siblings together.
Specific details about the celebration have not yet been released, but the ceremony takes place next Sunday, March 2.