Malcolm

Producer Sid Luft, who is credited with reviving the
career of his then-wife, Judy Garland, in the 1950s, has died. He was
89.


Luft, whose credits include ''Kilroy was Here'' (1947), ''French
Leave'' (1948) and ''A Star is Born'' (1954), died Thursday in Santa
Monica of an apparent heart attack, John Kimble, a longtime friend and
business partner of Luft, said Friday.


Luft and Garland were married in 1952 and divorced a tumultuous 13
years later. The marriage was Garland's third and Luft's second.


They had two children together, Lorna in 1952 and Joey in 1955. Luft
also was stepfather to singer-actress Liza Minnelli, daughter of
Garland's second husband, Vincente Minnelli.

With the death of Sid Luft, this means all 5 husbands of Judy Garland are now deceased

Luft was credited with helping resurrect Garland's career after she was
released from her contract at MGM in 1950 following a series of
personal and professional crises. It was at MGM that she became a star
and made such films as ''The Wizard of Oz'' and ''Meet Me in St.
Louis.''


''A Star Is Born,'' produced by Luft and directed by George Cukor,
brought Garland an Academy Award nomination for best actress. The
oft-filmed story of a troubled movie star whose career is overshadowed
by that of his protegee also got five other nominations, including best
actor (James Mason), best score and best song.


But Luft's marriage to Garland was marked by numerous separations.
During their divorce hearing in 1965, Garland told a judge that Luft
was an abusive husband.


''He struck me many times. He did a lot of drinking,'' Garland, who
died in 1969, told Superior Court Judge Edward R. Brand.


In 1993, when Luft tried to auction off the 1939 best juvenile actress
Oscar that Garland won for her performance in ''The Wizard of Oz,'' the
Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences sued and won. The academy
claimed it had the right to buy the Oscar -- for $10.


After he and Garland divorced, Luft married Patti Hemingway in 1970.
That union also ended in divorce. He married actress Camille Keaton in
1993