Family Requests That Minnelli Rites Remain Strictly Private

Funeral plans for Oscar-winning director Vincente Minnelli will not be divulged in an effort to keep the last rites a family affair, a mortuary spokeswoman said Sunday.

“The family requested that everything be strictly private,” said Lillian Lonnon, spokeswoman for Forest Lawn Memorial Park. “The family asked that absolutely no information be given out.”

Minnelli, who directed such movie classics as “Gigi,” “Brigadoon” and “An American in Paris,” died Friday after he failed to awaken from his usual after-dinner nap, said his wife, Lee. He had spent the day with his daughter, singer-actress Liza Minnelli, whose mother was the late singer-actress Judy Garland. He was 83.