The “MASH” and “Ocean’s 11” actor and musical theater veteran, who said he had always wanted to meet the music superstar, got his chance when he arranged a face-to-face at one of the musician’s Las Vegas shows at the International Hotel. But when they finally met, the “Hound Dog” singer didn’t want to talk music or art as Gould had hoped. Instead, it was Streisand who was top of mind.
“He said to me, ‘Why did you and Barbra break up? You’re two of my favorite people,’” the 85-year-old recalled in a recent interview with Fox News Digital.
Taken aback by the Presley’s inquiry, Gould said he replied: “Shut up, Elvis.”
Don’t meet your heroes, kids.
The actor was accompanied by his “California Split” co-writer Joseph Walsh for the occasion and Gould recalled how when Presley opened the door to his dressing room, they were met by Elvis’ father, Vernon; his manager, Col. Tom Parker; and a gold-gilded .45-caliber handgun in the singer’s belt. The film star recognized that their encounter was fleeting, and at one point — when Vernon Presley and Parker left the room — the counterculture icon tried to give the music superstar some sage advice.
“He said, ‘Hey, man, you’re crazy,’” Gould said. “I said, ‘I ain’t crazy, Elvis. I’m scared just like you. Your daddy and the colonel aren’t going to let us be alone for too long. You’re a cash cow to these people. Why don’t you come out and just be free, just be a free spirit? Leave Elvis here and come out and be free.’”
It’s unclear how Presley responded, but the star ultimately met his fate in 1977, when he died of a heart attack at age 42.
Understandably, even the King of Rock ’n’ Roll was consumed by the dissolution of Gould and Streisand’s marriage. The ultra-famous pair had been a Hollywood “it” couple for years after they met and co-starred in the Broadway musical “I Can Get It for You Wholesale.” Streisand, Gould has said, recited her phone number at the end of her audition for a callback. Instead, the call eventually came from him. He was 23 and she was 19 at the time.
They wed in 1963 and had a son, Jason, before they divorced in 1971 as Streisand’s career was taking off.
“It was difficult to be married to someone who was married to their success,” Gould told the Independent in 2012. “I was very young, she was very young, and we went as far as we could together.”
When asked why they split, Gould said, “We had to.”
“It’s all been written and everything has been said but … fame and fortune are not the answer,” he told Fox News Digital. “If there wasn’t peace and harmony, I was going to have a lot of problems. … But the real question is not why we grew apart, but how could we have grown apart?”
For the record:
12:19 p.m. Oct. 24, 2023A previous version of this article reported that both Elliott Gould and Barbra Streisand remarried and had more children. Only Gould had more children.
The “Friends” and “Ray Donovan” alum added that he and Streisand, who both remarried, now have “a special and unique relationship”: “She’s family. She’s the mother of my son. My children are no errors. I’m devoted to my children and their mother[s].” Gould has two additional children with his ex-wife Jennifer Bogart. Streisand has been married to Josh Brolin since 1998.
The “A Star Is Born” singer and “Funny Girl” star’s take on the split might be one of the many topics she touches on in her long-awaited memoir, “My Name Is Barbra,” which is due Nov. 7.
Meanwhile, Gould is currently making the rounds to promote his upcoming TCM Classic Cruise, a weeklong vacation for classic-film cinephiles that sets sail on the Disney Magic on Nov. 6. The former counterculture icon will introduce two of his most acclaimed films onboard: 1973’s “The Long Goodbye” and 1974’s “California Split.”
The “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice” Oscar nominee will be joined by his fellow classic film stars Kim Novak, George Chakiris, Lorna Luft and filmmaker Ernest Dickerson. The ship sets sail from San Diego with stops in Cabo San Lucas and Ensenada.