Reuters reports that Marvin Hamlisch’s memory was honored by singers Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli and Aretha Franklin on Tuesday. The three performers wanted to remind everyone about the contributions that Hamlisch had both in the movies industry, as well as on their personal lives.

Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli and Aretha Franklin walked up on the stage inside New York’s Juilliard School for the Arts to honor Marvin Hamlisch’s memory. Organizers chose this location for the event because Marvin was accepted there as a student at 7 years old after he proved juries that he has a talent for mimicking music when he was only 4.

Entertainers and fans were all present at the Tuesday event because Hamlisch marked their lives in one way or another. He passed away on August 6 saddening everyone who had the opportunity to work with him including Barbra Streisand. The actress and singer was his close friend in the past 45 years, so she was more than glad to take part at the commemoration.

The tribute ended with Barbra’s interpretation of the song “The Way We Were”, which used to be Marvin’s favorite piece from Streisand’s collection. She briefly spoke about the first time the two met on the set of “Funny Girl”, Streisand’s 1963 movie. According to her statement, Marvin was the rehearsal pianist for the film, but he soon befriended everyone as he would often buy coffees for the cast. He was asked to get Barbra a chocolate doughnut because she didn’t drink coffee, but he always brought her two and so, their “love affair” begun.

Barbra explained that they became close friends because they shared the same passion for movies, films and food. In addition, they were both Jewish, so they made lots of fun about their common heritage. Streisand’s beliefs were shared by the rest of the celebrities who were present at the show including Michael Douglas, Sarah Jessica Parker and lyricists Alan and Marilyn Bergman.