Judy Garland
Frances Ethel Gumm stood on the stage of her father's movie theater in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, at the age of two. She sang a chorus of Jingle Bells alongside her elder sisters Mary Jane and Dorothy Virginia during a Christmas show. The family operated the theater and showcased vaudeville acts for local audiences. Her parents met in Wisconsin before settling in that small town where she was born on the 10th of June 1922. The trio performed there for several years with their mother playing piano to accompany them. In 1928 they enrolled in a dance school run by Ethel Meglin and appeared as part of the Meglin Kiddies troupe. Their film debut came in 1929 with a short subject called The Big Revue. They followed this with appearances in Vitaphone shorts like A Holiday in Storyland and The Wedding of Jack and Jill. By 1934 the group had toured the vaudeville circuit as The Gumm Sisters for many years. George Jessel encouraged them to choose a more appealing name after the audience laughed at their surname. Theater legend suggests Carole Lombard's character Lily Garland inspired the change or perhaps drama critic Robert Garland did. Frances changed her name to Judy later that year inspired by a popular Hoagy Carmichael song. The group broke up by August 1935 when Mary Jane flew to Reno to marry musician Lee Kahn.
Louis B. Mayer sent songwriter Burton Lane to watch the Garland Sisters perform at the Orpheum Theater in downtown Los Angeles in September 1935. A few days later she auditioned at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios in Culver City without a screen test. She performed Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart and Eli, Eli, a Yiddish song written in 1896. The studio signed her immediately despite being thirteen years old and older than traditional child stars. Her physical appearance became a dilemma for executives who wanted glamorous leading performers. Charles Walters noted she was the ugly duckling among real beauties like Ava Gardner and Lana Turner. Mayer referred to her as his little hunchback while she wore removable caps on her teeth and rubberized discs to reshape her nose. In 1938 sixteen-year-old Garland was cast as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz based on L. Frank Baum's book. Producers Arthur Freed and Mervyn LeRoy had wanted her from the outset but first tried borrowing Shirley Temple from Fox. Deanna Durbin was unavailable so they cast Garland instead. Shooting commenced on the 13th of October 1938 and finished the 16th of March 1939 at a cost exceeding two million dollars. Her blue gingham dress blurred her figure to make her look younger. The film generated critical success though its high budget meant it did not return profit until re-released in the 1940s. At the Academy Awards ceremony that year she received an Academy Juvenile Award for performances including The Wizard of Oz and Babes in Arms.
Garland stated that she and Mickey Rooney were constantly prescribed amphetamines to stay awake during the frantic pace of making one film after another. They also took barbiturates before bed to sleep which led to addiction and a lifelong struggle according to her testimony. The studio demanded she diet constantly even serving her only chicken soup and black coffee when she ordered regular meals. During filming of The Pirate she suffered a nervous breakdown and was admitted to a private sanatorium. She made her first suicide attempt in July 1947 by cutting her wrist with broken glass. She spent two weeks at the Austen Riggs Center psychiatric hospital in Stockbridge Massachusetts. In 1948 while taking prescription barbiturate sleeping pills along with illicit morphine she developed a serious alcohol problem. These issues caused her to miss shoot days leading MGM executive Arthur Freed to suspend her on the 18th of July 1948. Ginger Rogers replaced her in The Barkleys of Broadway. After regaining strength she returned to work but faced further difficulties. When principal photography on Summer Stock finished in spring 1950 she had lost fifteen pounds looking more slender yet the film posted an eight thousand dollar loss due to costly delays. On the 17th of June 1950 the studio suspended her contract replacing her with Jane Powell in Royal Wedding. Reputable biographies stated she slightly grazed her neck with broken glass requiring only a bandage though public reports claimed she slashed her throat.
Bing Crosby invited Garland onto his radio show Kraft Music Hall on the 11th of October 1950 after learning she was depressed and running out of money. She made eight appearances during the 1950-51 season which immediately reinvigorated her career. Soon after she toured for four months to sold-out crowds across Europe including England Scotland and Ireland. Her performances at the London Palladium lasted four weeks receiving rave reviews and an ovation described by the manager as the loudest he had ever heard. She said I suddenly knew that this was the beginning of a new life because Hollywood thought I was through. Her engagement at New York's Palace Theatre in October 1951 exceeded all previous records for both theater and herself. She received a Special Tony Award for her contribution to the revival of vaudeville tradition. In November 1964 she returned to the London Palladium performing with her eighteen-year-old daughter Liza Minnelli. One of her final appearances there was shown on British television network ITV. A 1963 concert appearance at Carnegie Hall became a considerable highlight called many times the greatest night in show business history. The two-record album Judy at Carnegie Hall charted ninety-five weeks on Billboard including thirteen weeks at number one. It won four Grammy Awards including Album of the Year Best Female Vocal of the Year Best Album Cover and Best Engineering Contribution.
CBS made a twenty-four million dollar offer to Garland for a weekly television series called The Judy Garland Show deemed by press as the biggest talent deal in TV history. Although she stated in 1955 she would never do a weekly series she was several hundred thousand dollars in debt to the Internal Revenue Service from unpaid taxes in 1951 and 1952. The failure of A Star Is Born meant she received nothing from that investment so she accepted the deal. Her weekly series debuted the 29th of September 1963 but lasted only one season before cancellation in 1964 after twenty-six episodes. Despite its short run it earned four Emmy Award nominations including Best Variety Series. By fall 1966 agents Freddie Fields and David Begelman had mismanaged her money resulting in her owing around three million dollars total to IRS and personal creditors. Tax liens were placed on her Brentwood home recording contract with Capitol Records and any other business deals. She sold her home at far below value leaving her in desperate financial straits. In February 1967 she was cast in Valley of the Dolls by 20th Century Fox but dismissed after being treated poorly on set. Her final US appearances came in July 1967 during a twenty-seven show run at New York's Palace Theatre earning over two hundred thousand dollars. Federal tax agents seized the majority of her earnings on closing night.
Garland escorted Brigadier General Benjamin O. Davis Sr. to a reception honoring him at Ira Gershwin's home in April 1944. Davis was the first black general and highest-ranking black officer in the U.S. military attending for Frank Capra's documentary premiere about black Americans serving in World War II. In September 1947 she joined the Committee for the First Amendment supporting the Hollywood Ten during House Un-American Activities Committee hearings led by J. Parnell Thomas. The group sought to protect civil liberties of those accused of communist ties including Humphrey Bogart Lauren Bacall Dorothy Dandridge Lena Horne and others. Garland took part in an all-star radio broadcast called Hollywood Fights Back on the 26th of October 1947 exhorting listeners to write letters to Congress. She donated money to campaigns of Franklin D. Roosevelt Adlai Stevenson John F. Kennedy Robert F. Kennedy and Henry A. Wallace. On the 28th of August 1963 she marched with James Garner Josephine Baker Sidney Poitier Paul Newman and Sammy Davis Jr. in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Earlier that month she planned participation alongside Eartha Kitt Marlon Brando and Charlton Heston. On the 16th of September 1963 she held a press conference with daughter Liza Minnelli Carolyn Jones June Allyson and Pam Powell protesting the bombing of Birmingham Alabama's 16th Street Baptist Church which killed four young girls.
Garland married her fifth husband Mickey Deans at Chelsea Register Office in London on the 15th of March 1969 three months before her death. Her health deteriorated by early 1969 though she performed five weeks at Talk of the Town nightclub paying two thousand five hundred pounds weekly. She made her last concert appearance in Copenhagen during March of that year. On the 22nd of June 1969 Deans found her dead in the bathroom of their rented house in Cadogan Lane Belgravia London. Coroner Gavin Thurston stated cause was an incautious self-overdosage of barbiturates with blood containing equivalent of ten Seconal capsules. Autopsy showed no inflammation of stomach lining indicating drug ingested over long period rather than single dose. Death certificate listed it as accidental citing United Press International article Judy Took Too Many Pills. A British specialist noted she lived on borrowed time owing to cirrhosis though second autopsy reported no evidence of alcoholism or cirrhosis. Ray Bolger commented at funeral she just plain wore out. An estimated twenty thousand people lined up to pay respects at Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel in Manhattan where remains remained open all night. James Mason gave eulogy calling her great gift ability to wring tears from hearts of rock. Garland interred initially in Ferncliff Cemetery Hartsdale New York but disinterred January 2017 and re-interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery Los Angeles upon children's request. Her estate came to zero despite earning millions due to years of mismanagement by representatives.
Continue Browsing
Common questions
When was Judy Garland born and where did she grow up?
Frances Ethel Gumm was born on the 10th of June 1922 in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. She grew up there while her family operated a movie theater that showcased vaudeville acts for local audiences.
How did Judy Garland get her stage name from Frances Gumm?
George Jessel encouraged the group to change their surname after the audience laughed at The Gumm Sisters name. Frances adopted the name Judy later in 1934 inspired by a popular Hoagy Carmichael song and possibly influenced by Carole Lombard's character Lily Garland or drama critic Robert Garland.
What caused Judy Garland's health struggles during her time at MGM Studios?
Judy Garland took amphetamines to stay awake and barbiturates to sleep which led to addiction and a lifelong struggle according to her testimony. The studio demanded constant dieting and served her only chicken soup and black coffee when she ordered regular meals.
Why did Judy Garland return to live performance after leaving Hollywood?
Bing Crosby invited Judy Garland onto his radio show Kraft Music Hall on the 11th of October 1950 after learning she was depressed and running out of money. Her performances at the London Palladium lasted four weeks receiving rave reviews and an ovation described by the manager as the loudest he had ever heard.
When and how did Judy Garland die according to official records?
Deans found Judy Garland dead in the bathroom of their rented house in Cadogan Lane Belgravia London on the 22nd of June 1969. Coroner Gavin Thurston stated cause was an incautious self-overdosage of barbiturates with blood containing equivalent of ten Seconal capsules.