Melissa Gilbert and Andrew McCarthy have slightly different memories of a boozy night in the ’80s and whether McCarthy had an affair with Liza Minnelli.
In Gilbert’s 2010 memoir, “A Prairie Story,” the 62-year-old “Little House on the Prairie” star wrote about a surreal night he dined at Spago’s with McCarthy, then-boyfriend Rob Lowe, and Lowe’s agent Michael Black in the ’80s. As they were munching on pizza, Minnelli flew over to the table and was soon joined by Michael Jackson, who sat silently without saying a word.
As dessert was coming to an end, the eclectic table debated what to do next, and according to Gilbert, “the table fell silent, and that’s when Michael finally spoke the only words he would say for the rest of the evening.”
“You can come to my house,” he said. “I have a pet llama.”
The group heads to Sammy Davis Jr.’s residence without Jackson, but we can only assume he went home to pet the llama.
Eventually, the night ended at Black’s apartment, “where Andrew and Liza suddenly started flirting.”
When Page Six spoke to the Pretty in Pink star, 63, at a press day for the off-Broadway revival of Are You or Have You Ever Been, we couldn’t resist asking McCarthy about the juicy story.
“I wanted to be friends with Liza Minnelli, but I didn’t,” McCarthy admitted, although he acknowledged some elements of the story.
The author of “Who Needs Friends: An Unscientific Study of Male Friendship Across America” recalled having dinner with Gilbert, Lowe and Black at Spago’s, sitting next to the “Cabaret” star, and going to Davis Jr.’s house for drinks after dinner. Strangely, he made no mention of Jackson being at the dinner party.
“It was an incredible night,” he exclaimed. “That’s when I should have quit show business. We didn’t sing around the piano. We drank a lot, mostly. Sammy was sober, but he played bartender.”
McCarthy was unable to drive home.
“Liza gave me a ride home because I had too much to drink,” he explained.
“She was very nice to me,” he added. “They were both generous and kind. I remember Sammy saying, ‘I’ve got my eye on you young cat, I like what you’re doing!'” The meeting between the Rat Pack and the Brat Pack was great. ”
Minnelli’s publicist declined to comment on whether she played tonsil hockey with the “St. Elmo’s Fire” star.
