EDGE Interview: With Vintage Albums Released, Lainie Kazan Looks Back... And Forward with New Gigs

EDGE: And how did that go?

Lainie Kazan: I only went on twice – in one day. She was going to be out with strep on a Tuesday night. Meanwhile, I had been collecting names and numbers of people who wanted to see me in the show. We called them all. When I got there Barbra was in the wing. So, I didn't go on. The next day they called and said I was to go on for the matinee and the evening, but I couldn't tell anyone. I asked if I could at least call my mother. What they didn't know was that she had a duplicate copy of the list and she called everyone on it. So, I did two performances and soon after gave my two weeks notice.

EDGE: Were you disappointed?

Lainie Kazan: No. It was such an important role in my life. But I guess it didn't mean much to her (Streisand). She didn't even mention me in her book. Oh well. I did a lot with her. I gained a lot of knowledge and a lot of experience. Not knowing it then, she taught me a lot. But it wasn't perfect. She was always late to rehearsals. Always late. But I went on and I really knew my work and knew my lines. They wrote me up in all the newspapers and in Time Magazine. I was on a lot of tv shows that year: Mike Douglas, Merv Griffin, Ed Sullivan. Then I got a record contract with MGM and my whole career and life opened up.

EDGE: You were a headliner in Vegas long before they had what they call a residency. What was it like back then in the days of supper clubs and nightclubs?

Lainie Kazan: It was different back then. It was wonderful. I sang in the most beautiful hotels in the world. It was very exciting. I sang in the Persian Room at the Plaza, the Fairmont in San Francisco. I met all these wonderful showbiz people. I remember my first nightclub performance was in the Virgin Islands. I was so nervous. It didn't take long to get over that. Once the music starts, I come alive. I love to sing. I always did. I miss it so much.

EDGE: What was it like to see your name in lights in Vegas?

Lainie Kazan: My name was on the building and my picture was on one entire side of the building. I didn't really think about it back then. It didn't do anything for me. It was such a busy, hectic time. It was so intense; you didn't really have time to get it.

EDGE: How did you end up running a club for Hugh Heffner?

Lainie Kazan: I got a job in this beautiful place on a lake in Wisconsin. I can't remember the name now, but it was a Playboy Club. I asked if I could come spend a weekend there. I was aching to lie down in a comfortable place – some of the places you stay in on the road are real toilets. There was a band named Shaggy Gorilla Minus One Buffalo Fish there - playing rock and roll! And I said to my host, My God they should have jazz in here. Jazz, jazz, jazz. Jazz and Playboy are synonymous. Next day he asked me if I wanted to go meet with Heff and tell him my idea. They gave me a club in LA, Lainie's Room, that was hugely successful. I had them in the black in no time. In '76 I opened the New York Club on Valentine's Day. I was an entrepreneur. I knew what I wanted when I played, so I knew how to make the artists happy. I used to say 'Hef, please don't make these girls wear bunny tails and ears.' It was so repulsive to me, but it was their job. I kept the clubs going for 4-1/2 years.

EDGE: You're like the Energizer Bunny of showbiz. We haven't even touched on your movie career yet.

Lainie Kazan: I did so many films. I think the most exciting one was "My Favorite Year" (Golden Globe nomination) with Peter O'Toole. And I did "Beaches," "Pixels," "You Don't Mess with the Zohan," and of course "My Big Fat Greek Wedding."

EDGE: Before we get to that, what was it like filming "Gigli?"

Lainie Kazan: I loved it. I loved the film. I was there from the beginning when Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez got together. They fell in love. It was beautiful. I think it was kismet. It was lovely to be a part of it.

EDGE: Let's get back to "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." You were so perfectly cast that if I didn't know better, I'd swear you were Greek.

Lainie Kazan: Laughs. When I went to do the third movie in Greece, people would talk to me in Greek and I laugh and say it's all Greek to me. What a beautiful experience. We're all like a real family.

EDGE: How did you get involved in this little film that nobody saw coming?

Lainie Kazan: My manager, Ben Levine, called and said they want you to go to Tom Hanks' office and read this script. It's a Greek tale. I think you'll be very excited about it. It was Tom Hanks, so I was ready to go. Plus, they served breakfast. I didn't hear from them for another year then I got a call that they were going to Toronto and offered me scale plus ten (agent's fee). I knew it wasn't a lot of money, but I wanted to do it anyway. I had a good feel about it. It was the hit of the year. We didn't make a lot of money, but I was paid quite well on the second one and the third.

EDGE: When you look back at your career is there anything you would do differently?

Lainie Kazan: I would've fought for my part in "Seesaw." (She was the original leading lady in the musical but was fired along with the director and choreographer during the pre-Broadway run.) I just couldn't bear what happened to me. Michael Bennett came in to direct it. It was his first big job and I felt like a guinea pig. I felt like I was in his way, fighting for my position. I was doing really good stuff. I think he was afraid of me. I wish I had fought harder.

EDGE: What's next for you?

Lainie Kazan: I did this little film called "The Italians" and it's made me want to work some more. I'm singing at Herb Alpert's Vibrato Grill & Jazz in Beverly Glenn, CA on May 7th. It's a beautiful nightclub owned by Herb Alpert. We'll see what happens after that.

EDGE: Any chance you'll be playing New York?

Lainie Kazan: I'm always a New Yorker through and through. I miss it so much. If I do sing there, I hope to see you.

Lainie Kazan appears at Herb Alpert's Vibrato Grill & Jazz in Beverly Glenn, CA on May 7th. For more information, For more information, follow this link.

For more on Lainie Kazan, visit her website.