Barbra Streisand has always had a strong sense of vision. In 1964, while Streisand was starring in Funny Girl on Broadway, CBS offered her the chance to star in her own TV special. You might think that Streisand, just 22 at the time, would jump at the chance and give the network whatever it wanted. CBS was at the peak of its powers, with 14 of the season’s top 15 shows in the Nielsen ratings.
Streisand accepted the offer, but she insisted on doing it her way. She didn’t want to introduce guest stars and recite the inane scripted patter that was a variety show staple for decades. She realized that, for all her gifts, she could never be Dinah Shore, who oozed warmth and likability and won five Primetime Emmys in the ’50s.
Fortunately, CBS agreed to her stipulations. The special, My Name Is Barbra, aired on April 26, 1965, four days after Streisand turned 23. There were no guest stars. Streisand didn’t say a word in the first act — it was all music.
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When the special was first released to the home video market in 1987, Streisand taped an intro that explained her thinking: “In those days, musical variety specials featured several guest stars and were always shot in television studios. But that didn’t appeal to me. I wanted the show to have a different look, so Joe Layton suggested we go outside the studio to shoot part of the show. Well, you can imagine how nervous that made the network, especially when they learned there would be no major guest stars — not even any minor ones — just me and a bunch of great songs and some wonderful musicians.”
At the 17th Primetime Emmy Awards, held on Sept. 12, 1965, My Name Is Barbra won five Emmys, including one for Streisand for outstanding individual achievement in entertainment – actors and performers. In her acceptance speech, Streisand made note of the power of television: “I couldn’t believe the amount of people that watch you in one given amount of time…I figured it out and I’d have to work in the theater, in Funny Girl, 58 years to reach the same amount of people.”
Columbia Records released two studio albums featuring music from the special, My Name Is Barbra and My Name Is Barbra, Two. Both reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The first received a Grammy nom for album of the year.
Streisand’s Emmy for My Name Is Barbra contributed to a unique and remarkable winning streak. She won a Grammy (two, actually) for her first album (The Barbra Streisand Album), an Emmy for her first TV special and an Oscar for her first film (Funny Girl). She had been nominated for a Tony for her first Broadway show (I Can Get It for You Wholesale) but lost to Phyllis Newman, a featured player in Subways Are for Sleeping. Fortunately, the loss didn’t seem to do lasting damage to Streisand’s career.