Reminisce on Barbra Streisand’s Iconic ‘Funny Girl’ with These 8 Fun(ny) Facts About the 1968 Movie

Funny Girl , released in 1968, follows the life of comedian Fanny Brice and her journey to becoming a star. Based on the original Broadway production, which was written by Isobel Lennart and composed by Jule Styne, the movie became a smashing success. In fact, Funny Girl was the highest grossing film of 1968, raking in $58.5 million at the box office — just one of a number of facts and behind-the-scenes secrets to learn about the movie.

1. ‘Funny Girl’ was based on a Broadway musical

Before Funny Girl became a hit musical movie in 1968, it was a Broadway sensation. Starring a young Barbra Streisand, the show opened in 1964 and spanned over 1,300 performances. In 1967, the show ended its run and it wasn’t long before Streisand found herself starring in the movie musical version. Funny Girl was also Streisand’s final time on the Broadway stage as she switched over to film following the end of this show.

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2. ‘Funny Girl’ was based on a real-life comedian

The musical/comedy is not just a work of fiction. Funny Girl is loosely based on the real life of comedian, singer and actress Fanny Brice. The star’s son-in-law, film producer Ray Stark, always wanted to produce a project about his mother-in-law’s fascinating life.

“ We'd bring up various names of film actresses who could play her role,” Stark explained. “One suggestion in those years was Judy Garland. So, you can see this has been a long-range proposition with me; more than 10 years.”

3. ‘Funny Girl’ was Streisand’s breakout role

Of course, Streisand was already a phenomenon as Fanny Brice on Broadway, but the 1968 movie was her breakout film. It was also the turning point in her career, as she predominantly worked on movies following the success of Funny Girl .

Streisand spoke about her decision to switch to movies and how she grew bored of doing the same thing every night on the stage. “ I just fell in love with film ,” Streisand said. “I fell in love with doing a scene once or five times or whatever it was in a day or two, and it's over. You don't have to do the same show, say the same words, night after night. It became boring. I was ready to move on.”

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4. The film’s soundtrack was also a success

Not only did the Broadway show and film take off, but the soundtrack from Funny Girl was also a smashing success. The album peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart and ended up selling over 250,000 copies by the month after its release.

5. The movie was nominated for a number of Academy Awards

Funny Girl ’s success wasn’t just from fans loving the movie — it also received a total of 8 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Sound and Best Film Editing. However, Funny Girl only snagged one Academy Award, which went to Streisand for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

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6. Some of the movie sets were modeled from real-life

Since the story of Funny Girl is loosely based on the life of Fanny Brice, production took their work very seriously. Some of the sets used in the movie were modeled after the real Ziegfeld Theatre, which is where Brice used to perform.

7. “The Swan” was written specifically for the movie

Adapted from the musical version, the 1968 movie made a few changes from the musical, including a few song changes. “ The Swan” was written specifically for the film version as a replacement for the song, “Rat-a-Tat-Tat.” It was decided that “Rat-a-Tat-Tat” was too dated for the film version.

8. There is a sequel

Not only can you enjoy the 1968 movie, but in 1975, the sequel Funny Lady was released. Streisand reprised her role as Fanny Brice, while Omar Sharif reprised his role as Nicky Arnstein. Funny Lady also starred James Caan as Billy Rose, who becomes Fanny’s new love interest.

The movie ended up being a success, just like the first film was, and was nominated for five Academy Awards and six Golden Globe awards.

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