1968's "Funny Girl," directed by William Wyler, stars Barbra Streisand as real-life actress Fanny Brice. The movie portrays Brice's rise through stage ranks, including starring in the "Ziegfeld Follies," to fame and fortune. "Funny Girl" also delves into Brice's marriage with gambler Nicky Arnstein (Omar Sharif).
Streisand made her name as Brice in the 1964 Broadway production of the story, but when a film version was pitched to Columbia Pictures, executives weren't too excited over the idea of a film unknown carrying the picture. Producer Ray Stark insisted on Streisand. "I just felt she was too much a part of Fanny, and Fanny was too much a part of Barbra to have it go to someone else," he told Turner Classic Movies.
