With his background in theatre, Minnelli was known as an auteur who always brought his stage experience to his films. The first film that he directed, "Cabin in the Sky" (1943), was visibly influenced by the theater. Shortly after that, he directed "I Dood It" (also 1943) with Red Skelton and "Meet Me in St. Louis" (1944), during which he fell in love with the film's star, Judy Garland. They had first met on the set of "Strike Up the Band" (1940), a Busby Berkeley film for which Minnelli was asked to design a musical sequence performed by Garland and Mickey Rooney. They began a courtship that eventually led to their marriage in June 1945. Their one child together, Liza Minnelli, grew up to become an Academy Award-winning actress and singer. The Minnelli family is thus unique in that father, mother and child all won Oscars.