10 June 1922: Judy Garland Was Born

On the 10th of June, 1922, the singing and dancing actress Judy Garland was born. She is probably most well-known for her role as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, which later became a cultural icon because of her character. She's also known for her brilliant singing voice, her incredible stage persona, and her overall absolute beauty. Of course, she is also the mother of another Queen of Broadway, Liza Minnelli.

She was born in Grand Rapids, Minnesota and was the youngest daughter of vaudevillians who settled there. She later moved to California for her childhood career and because of rumours surrounding her father. In California, she attended Hollywood High School.

In 1928, she was enrolled in dance school with her two sisters, Mary and Dorothy. Initially performing as the Gumm Sisters (since that was their real last name) they changed their surname to Garland. According to people this was part in thanks to George Jessel, and part to Carole Lombard. Jessel stated:

"I think that I ought to tell the folks that it was I who named Judy Garland, Judy Garland. Not that it would have made any difference—you couldn't have hidden that great talent if you'd called her "Tel Aviv Windsor Shell," you know, but her name when I first met her was Frances Gumm and it wasn't the kind of a name that so sensitive a great actress like that should have; ... and so we called her Judy Garland, and I think she's a combination of Helen Hayes and Al Jolson, and maybe Jenny Lind and Sarah Bernhardt." (George Jessel)

Her physical appearance was a problem for MGM studios and in turn, they made her very self-conscious about it. Apparently, only standing at 4ft 11inches tall made Judy Garland not look as intimidating as other stars. And, her "cute" looks weren't glamorous enough compared to other actresses of the day like Ava Gardener and Elizabeth Taylor. This was the beginning of a lot of stress for Judy Garland concerning her appearance and I'm going to say it; it's all MGM Studios' fault. The director, Charles Walters, had this to say about Judy Garland:

"Judy was the big money-maker at the time, a big success, but she was the ugly duckling... I think it had a very damaging effect on her emotionally for a long time. I think it lasted forever, really." (Charles Walters)

MGM actually had her wear rubber discs that would reshape her nose and removable caps on her teeth in order to maintain her image. Dotty Ponedel became Judy Garland's make-up artist for Meet Me in St. Louis, when Garland was only 21. Ponedel immediately objected to the discs and caps, saying that Garland was a naturally pretty girl and didn't need them. Ponedel went on to be Garland's go-to make-up artist for the rest of her movies on MGM.

Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland then went on to star in movies together, and admitted that they were given amphetamines to stay awake through filming one film to another and they were given barbiturates to sleep. This, obviously led to addiction and dependence.

Of course, there is also the strict diet that MGM studios put Judy Garland on—giving her only a bowl of soup and pieces of lettuce to eat, controlling it very carefully.

Throughout the rest of her career with MGM Studios, she was in and out of psychiatric facilities and had a massive problem with drugs, especially morphine-infused painkillers.

She began showing up late on set or, not at all. After a while, she would be dropped as a star and made a guest on several of her films. Thankfully, in the September of 1950—after Garland's supposed suicide attempt, she and MGM parted after 15 years.

In 1951, Judy Garland returned to the stage and performed at sold-out concerts across Britain for four months. It was called one of the greatest comebacks in all of history and yet, in 1952—Garland would divorce Vincent Minnelli and marry Sidney Luft.

She went on to star in the remake of A Star is Born in 1954 and she was nominated for Best Actress in the following Academy Awards. In 1959, after a great run of shows and success—she was hospitalised for a while with acute Hepatitis. She was told by doctors that she wouldn't live very long and if she did, she most likely wouldn't sing for a very long time.

Yet, her concert on the 23rd of April, 1961 at Carnegie Hall was called one of the greatest nights in show-business history. Judy at Carnegie Hall the album, went on to win four Grammy awards the next year.

"The Judy Garland Show" also may have only lasted one season in the early 60s, but it contained guests like Frank Sinatra and had 26 episodes. Oh, yes and it was nominated for some Emmy Awards.

After being abused by her husband—Judy Garland sued Sidney Luft on grounds of cruelty. She returned to the stage and began performing with her then 18-year-old daughter, Liza Minnelli.

Judy Garland was due to perform at various concert halls in Sydney, Australia, but no concert hall was big enough to accommodate all the people who wanted to see her; so she instead performed at the Sydney Stadium.

She continued performing, married again and dropped her managers. She sold her home below the sale price, and her health deteriorated by the late 60s. She performed in London and was paid around £2,500 per week and her final stage appearance was in Copenhagen during the March of 1969. During this time, she had also divorced and remarried again—this time to a man called Mickey Deans.

Mickey Deans found his wife dead on the bathroom floor on the 22nd of June, 1969. Her death was ruled to be caused by an overdose of barbiturates and it was also stated as being "accidental."

On June 27th, 1969, Judy Garland's funeral was held to a crowd lining the streets of approximately 20,000 people. Her legacy is that of gold and she is remembered as being one of the greatest performers in all of history.

Her best films include:

• The Wizard of Oz
• Little Nellie Kelly
• Meet Me in St. Louis
• A Star is Born

Her best songs (in my opinion) include:

• "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart"
• "Over the Rainbow"
• "Where or When?"
• "I'm Nobody's Baby"
• "Swanee"
• "That Old Black Magic"
• "The Trolley Song"
• "Meet Me in St. Louis"
• "You'll Never Walk Alone"