Liza Minnelli, Tonys remember Judy Garland on her 90th birthday

By Jamie Wetherbe

June 11, 2012 12 AM PT

Tony- and Oscar-winner Liza Minnelli offered a personal message Sunday about her mother, legendary performer Judy Garland, to mark what would have been her 90^th birthday.

“Today is a day for celebration. We celebrate the privilege of having had Mama touch all of our lives. She left us with so many feelings we never would have discovered about ourselves until she exquisitely translated them to us with her voice.

“She is to be missed deeply, yes… But, what if we never had her? That’s what we celebrate today. Mama gave each and every one of us the gift of hope, laughter, and love,” Minnelli posted on her website and Facebook page.

Garland was also celebrated on Sunday’s Tony Awards telecast: During a best-plays montage Tracie Bennett took the stage as Garland to perform “The Trolley Song,” one of the singer’s big numbers from “Meet Me in St. Louis.”

Bennett was nominated for a Tony the musical biopic “End of the Rainbow,” based on Garland’s final months before a drug overdose in 1969, but Nina Arianda took home the lead actress award for her role in “Venus in Fur.”

Garland, who was married five times and had three children, made more than 20 films including 1938’s “Love Finds Andy Hardy,” 1940’s “Strike Up the Band,” 1954’s “A Star Is Born,” and of course, her much-loved 1939 movie “The Wizard of Oz.”

‘End of the Rainbow’: magic, heartbreak in Judy Garland portrayal