Funny Girl (Musical Soundtrack 1964), Album Art by Tālivaldis Stubis

  The “Funny Girl” illustration of an upside down female wearing roller skates was designed by Tālivaldis Stubis. The album was released and produced by Capitol Records to accompany the 1964 Broadway Musical, Funny Girl.  The lettering is right-side up, reading ‘FUNNY GiRL’ in a bold block font that has been contorted along the edges to resemble a simple dress shape. The widely circulated topsy-turvy logo was associated with practically every single piece of memorabilia surrounding both the 1964 Broadway musical and the 1968 film. 

Stubis designed the Broadway logo of an upside down girl in rollerblades, with the title words fashioned as her dress. Stubis likely designed the figure after seeing rehearsals, but the rollerskating number was cut out before the musical’s premiere, therefore theatergoers never actually spotted Ms. Streisand on skates. The hilarious scene was then reinstated for the production of the film, which was released just four years later, no doubt a result of the logo’s now widespread popularity.  This original record and the musical’s memorabilia live on, the soundtrack peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 and achieved gold record status. The iconic logo is featured on both the front in color, and the back in black & white. 

Health News Digest. “Passing of Renowned Artist Highlights Dangers” May 7, 2022. http://healthnewsdigest.com/news/Disease_420/Misdiagnosed_Amyloidosis_-_Passing_of_Renowned_Artist_Highlights_Dangers_printer.shtml

Howe, Matthew. “Streisand / Movies: Selling ‘Funny Girl’”. Barbra Archives. May 7, 2022. https://www.barbra-archives.info/funny-girl-movie-roadshow-posters-premieres 

Staff, Playbill. “Look Back at Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl on Broadway” Playbill. May 7, 2022. https://playbill.com/article/look-back-at-barbra-streisand-in-funny-girl-on-broadway 

Taubman, Howard. “Theater ‘Funny Girl’; Musical Based on Life of Fanny Brice.” The New York Times. March 27, 1964. (Retrieved May 7, 2022.) https://www.nytimes.com/1964/03/27/archives/theaterfunny-girl-musical-based-on-life-of-fanny-brice.html