According to an item in the on-line news service thisislondon, Liza Minnelli was the victim of an attempted robbery March 21 in London.

After recording an interview with Jonathan Ross for BBC-TV, Minnelli and her new husband, David Gest, were on their way to attend the opening of a new club in the West End. While stopped at a traffic light near the Holland Park tube station, three youths spotted — through a half-opened window — a diamond crucifix-style necklace around Minnelli's neck.

As one of the men tried to reach through the window to grab Minnelli's necklace, the chauffeur spotted him through his rearview window and quickly closed the window, trapping the robber's hand momentarily. As another of the young men tried to open the door, the chauffeur quickly sped away.

The 56-year-old Minnelli, who was just married to the 48-year-old Gest, was visibly shaken by the incident and remarked, "It was so terrifying. There were these three black kids who just picked on us at the lights. They obviously saw what I was wearing and tried to grab for it. Luckily, they had no joy and we got away. The young guy's hand was getting caught in the closing window, but he got away. It was really horrific — very frightening."

Minnelli and Gest were married March 16 in New York. Singer/actress Minnelli is the daughter of the late, famed actress Judy Garland and director Vincente Minnelli. A performer since a young child, Minnelli has conquered the worlds of stage, recordings, film and television and is perhaps best known for her screen work as Sally Bowles in the Academy Award-winning film of Kander and Ebb's Cabaret. Minnelli, who was last on Broadway in her one-woman show, Minnelli on Minnelli, has been beseiged by various health problems in the past few years. New husband Guest, however, promises to bring Minnelli back to her former glory, which begins with a European concert tour in April. —By Andrew Gans