My Name Is Barbra

It was on this date in 1965 that Barbra Streisand made her TV debut on CBS with a special called, “My Name Is Barbra”.

Two years after the release of her first two albums—and a Grammy Award to boot, Barbra was working some of the best nightclubs in the country. In another year, she would be nothing short of a phenomenon.

Not only could she sing, she could act! As the lead character Fanny Brice in “Funny Girl” on Broadway, Streisand was winning rave reviews, with additional Grammy AND Tony nominations as well.

Time magazine did a cover story on her, but proposed that many Americans still asked “Who?” when her name was mentioned.

All of that changed as the special “My Name is Barbra” aired to a national audience. The deal was a 10 year, $5 million dollar arrangement---huge money to be sure. What really set this transaction apart was the creative control that Barbra demanded (which would become her trademark).

With her newfound power, Streisand eschewed many of the variety show conventions and put together a TV special without other major stars—or even minor ones. It was, as Barbra put it, “just me, and a bunch of great songs and musicians”

Here’s a clip of the finale of that show I yanked from YouTube—much of the rest of the show is also up there in pieces if you care to watch:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YE9X8cYglfA

While the network may have been nervous about her departure from the norm, her shooting on location instead of in a studio and the lack of a supporting cast of stars, it was thrilled with the results. “My Name Is Barbra” was both a critical and ratings success for CBS, propelling Barbra Streisand to the lofty status of “household name”—a perch she has maintained ever since.

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