A great story Saxon C! I think Mr. Luft's autobiography (published after his death in 2006) was a very good and interesting read - he clearly loved Judy and wanted her to be free of the addictions which so plagued her, and their family life together. I wish I could have spent an afternoon at Santa Anita Racetrack with Sid Luft - he was a very knowledgeable horseman! Cheers!

he was an opportunistic con man

@@rivaridge7211 ask john fricke about the kind of character sid was.

I'm not sure that is accurate. Her three children, certainly, loved her very, very much.

she did go into rehab when liza was a toddler.. I was a huge fan about a decade ago and have forgotten a lot of the details but I do remember she did go a couple of times. I think once was was before in the good old summer time? I think what damaged Judy the most wasn't family enabling her as much as believing that these drugs were ok because they were prescription - it was the ignorance around medication (like you said) at the time and studio 'doctors' prescribing her uppers and downers to keep her going like a wind up toy. I can forgive the ignorance around drug addiction but not the ignorance of treating humans like machines. MGM has a lot to answer for!

@@ImTash I thought she went to Betty Ford clinic, so addictions had to he known about mb not to extent it is now tho

@@Rjs81187 There weren't really any rehab facilities in those years, not as we know them today. There were "rest cures" in hospitals and such. The Betty Ford Clinic opened in 1982, years after Judy's death. You may be thinking of Liza; she had one or two stints in that facility.

Surprise! Surprise! People use. Welcome to planet earth, People: the greatest circus in the universe!

I agree

Judy was warned about Sid Luft before she married him.

I've just read "Judy and I" by Sid Luft and I'm not so sure I'd agree!..He may have liked a nice lifestyle but he did do his best to steer Judy on the straight and narrow, albeit to benefit both of them. I think she was destined to have a relatively short life (Through no fault of her own) and if he hadn't been in her life, it would have been much shorter!..Being married to Judy must have been like being married to a box of nitroglycerin, ready to go off at any moment..Imagine being married to a woman hooked on amphetamines who didn't sleep and having to stay awake in case she decided to lock herself in the bathroom whilst proceeding to slash her wrists or throat with a razor blade..It would have been a nightmare!!!

Luft was, and will ALWAYS be, a complex, character in her short, brilliant life. But there's no denying that her first few years after leaving MGM, which had become a living hell for her, were her happiest, and most successful. She ate what she wanted, partied, gave the greatest concerts of her life, realized she was REALLY a star, and madly in love with a masculine, powerful (and straight!) man. Those early to mid-'50's were kick ass for her. And "A Star is Born" is a masterpiece, most definitely the best of all the versions.

I agree with most of all that you've said! One thing I've always thought was appalling was the fact that he had many of Judy's personal belongings(long after their divorce): clothes, photos, car and awards; and then not even a decade after her death auctioned most of it off! Everything should've been handed down to her children, poor Liza had to purchase a few things from that auction. Anything that Lorna and Joey didn't want should have been given to Liza at no expense! He shouldn't have had the right to keep profiting off of Judy, even in death! One thing I always thought was funny is that he tried to sell Judy's Academy Award twice. The first one being a replacement that she was given after losing the original and the second was the original which Sid Luft just so happen to have. That's not a coincidence, I believe he had it the whole time and was planning on selling it; which he eventually tried to do! Luckily the Academy found out and got it back because of contractual obligations, but it was the replacement. And from what I know Lorna has the original and received it after he again tried to sell it off! Judy was clearly nothing but a profitable love affair to him! Yes he may have loved her to some extent, but there's way too much "evidence" to also say her used her to profit!

Abusive? You are nuts! He did not abuse her or anyone.

sid luft was an opportunistic con man

liza abandoned her mother

ORHUGS: If you want a "polite" interview then don't let Mike Wallace interview you. Sid knew what he was getting into when he consented to be interviewed by Mr. Wallace. Mr. Wallace had already clearly established himself as one who will ask the tough questions and will not ignore the elephant in the room. If you want a "polite" interview then go to Johnny Carson.

Because he's the inconsiderate Mike Wallace...not nice. What about his Streisand interviews?

Bucky Brown he never beat her!🤦‍♀️🙄

What an ego Judy had, too.

@@cardmonkey633 JUDY HAD AN EGO BECAUSE SHE WAS TALENTED , SID THOUGH...

She wasn't actually obese. turned out she was bloated from the drugs and they had to take out over 20qts of fluid from her body. She was close to death.

Lorna and Joey loved their father, and Lorna speak of him with very tenderness at her book. If he was a terrible father, she never would made this.

He was a meal ticket and so was all of her husband's it said she was the best actress of all time and no one notices

Lorna and Joey loved Sid... that's all I need to know.

Who in the heck is Lola?

Kim, what? He was a meal ticket? That means that she took advantage of Sid, and her other husbands. I think you have it backwards.