February 13, 1972 –
Bob Fosse’s film version of the musical Cabaret, starring Liza Minnelli, Michael York and Joel Grey opened on this date.
The character of Sally Bowles was based on Jean Ross, an aspiring actress, singer, and writer who had an abortion while working as a cabaret singer in Weimar Berlin. Ross was displeased with Christopher Isherwood’s portrayal of her as apolitical and antisemitic. She was a member of the Communist Party and later was a war correspondent in the Spanish Civil War. Her partner in the late 1930s was Claud Cockburn, the father of journalist Alexander Cockburn, who described her as “a gentle, cultivated, and very beautiful woman, not a bit like the vulgar vamp displayed by Liza Minnelli.” Claud Cockburn’s granddaughter is actress Olivia Wilde.
The Haus of Dcaligari 