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Barbra Streisand and Omar Sharif, both married at the time, had an affair that lasted for the duration of the production. Director William Wyler, who knew about the affair, tried to channel their real-life chemistry into their performances. Streisand had also enjoyed a liaison with Sydney Chaplin, who portrayed Nick on stage. Both affairs would contribute to the end of her shaky marriage to Elliott Gould.
William Wyler was asked by a friend whether Barbra Streisand had been hard to work with. He replied, "No, not too hard, considering it was the first movie she ever directed."
While the first half of "My Man" was recorded live at Columbia's soundstage, to maximize Barbra Streisand's dramatic rendition, beginning unconventionally in a close-up, and also because she was admittedly terrible at lip-syncing, the second half, where the tempo picks up, was dubbed by Streisand.
Barbra Streisand once stated that if any of her films could be put in a time vault, she would want to be remembered for this one.
A publicity photo of Omar Sharif and Barbra Streisand kissing was released to the newspapers. With the emotions of the Six-Day War still running high, the Egyptian press began a campaign to get Sharif's citizenship revoked over the kiss. The Egyptian headline read: "Omar Kisses Barbra, Egypt Angry." When asked to respond to the controversy, Streisand tried to make light of it. "Egypt angry!" she said. "You should hear what my Aunt Sarah said!"
Funny Girl (1968) cost $14.1 million, making it the most expensive film of 1968. But having grossed $24.9 million, this was the highest-grossing film of 1968.