207251645

I'd like to meet:

Judy Garland was born Frances Ethel Gumm on June 10, 1922 in Grand Rapids Minnesota, to Fred and Ethel Gumm. Growing up Francis had the nickname of “Baby” since she was the baby of the family. Francis gave her singing debut at the age of two, sing Jingle Bells at her father’s theatre the “New Grand” in Grand Rapids. After that Francis performed in the group the “Gumm Sisters” with her two older sisters Mary Jane (Suzy) and Dorothy Virginia (Jimmie). Later Francis and her family moved to Lanchester California, where the girls were closer to the Hollywood scene and her father was to manage a new theatre. On the car ride to California the Gumms’ performed at different night clubs and theatres to pay for the journey. In Lanchester, the girls took dance lessons and acting lessons. Francis went to school Lawlor School for Professional Children along with the peers of Mickey Rooney, Donald O’Connor, Gloria DeHaven, and many others. The school only held classes till noon so then the children were able to take their various lessons in the afternoon.

The Gumm Sisters were to perform at the 1934 Worlds Fair in Chicago. Ethel and the girls were to drive from Lanchester to Chicago. It was there at the Worlds Fair that someone said they would never be taken seriously with the name “Gumm”. The family then changed their name to the Garlands. Francis also changed her first name to Judy after the hit song “Judy”. Later in 1934 the Garland sisters broke up due to her sisters’ marriage.

In 1935, Judy signed a 7 yr contract to MGM, the best studio in town at that time period. 6 weeks after being signed to MGM Judy’s father died. Later Judy was to say “it seemed their was nobody on my side” on her father’s death. Judy’s first movie was “Pigskin Parade”. For the movie she was borrowed out to 20th Century Fox Studios. In 1936 Judy signed her first record. In 1937 Judy made her first movie with Mickey Rooney “Thoroughbred’s Don’t Cry” produced by MGM. They became the first teen idol pair. Together they starred in 10 movies. Mickey became a lifetime friend of Judy’s. The last performance they gave together was on the Judy Garland Show. Mickey soon gave the nickname “Joots” to Judy. Soon around town, they were known as ‘Mick ‘n’ Joots”. Mickey also helped Judy get used to the movie making business.

In the year 1939, Judy made the movie she is probably most known for, “The Wizard of Oz”. The movie script was bought for Judy for her birthday from MGM and the movie was supposed to send her straight to stardom. Soon though, MGM saw that this movie if it didn’t turn out good could cost them millions. With a risky deal like this they wanted a bigger name for the lead. They wanted Shirley Temple for the part of Dorothy. But soon they found that since Shirley was under contract at Fox that they would not borrow her out for the project. Judy was then put in the lead. When it came out the movie was not a huge success, but in years afterward it became a huge success when shown on the television. During the shooting of the “Wizard of Oz” this was when Judy was to have started her drug intake that haunted her for the rest of her life. Also the studio labeled her as “fat” and put her on crash diets only allowing her to eat broth and cottage cheese.
.

In 1941 Judy married her first husband composer David Rose. Since the studio didn’t want this to happen, the couple eloped in Las Vegas. During the marriage Judy became pregnant but to protect her girl next door image she was forced to have an abortion. This caused great tension on the marriage and it eventually ended in 1943.

In 1942 Judy made her first movie with Gene Kelly “For Me and My Gal”. This was Gene’s first movie and Judy helped him in getting used to this type of acting compared to the theatre (just like Mickey did years before with Judy). Gene was rumored to have gotten the job through Judy. Judy had supposedly seen Gene star in a Broadway show and said that he would be perfect for the main role opposing her. He then got the job and a contract to MGM. Together Judy and Gene made three films together.

In 1944 Judy made the well known movie “Meet Me in St. Louis” produced by MGM and directed by newcomer Vincente Minnelli. Judy though detested to making the movie since it was “another child role” as 17 year old Esther. She tried everything to get out of having to make the movie. When it came time to rehearse the script, Judy acted as though it were a joke making fun of everything written in the script. Also she did not approve of Vincent’s methods of directing. For example Vincente wanted the movie to seem unscripted and more natural. Judy was against that. He would have them rehearse scenes thousands of times until he was satisfied. Judy though thought it would be fine with only a few run troughs. Eventually Judy grew to like Vincent’s methods and soon fell in love with him. They soon silently started seeing each other, even though most people knew what was happening. When the movie came out it was a mild success.
In 1945 Judy made her first non musical role in “The Clock”. The movie was originally to be directed by Fred Zinnemann. Judy made it clear that she did not like him and soon he was fired from the picture. Judy then insisted on having Vincent take over the film. Vincente then became the director of “The Clock” The film showed that Judy could succeed in more then just musicals. Shortly after the closing of “The Clock” Judy and Vincente married with the blessing of the studio. Louis B. Mayer himself even walked Judy down the aisle. They then honeymooned in New York where Judy promised to stay of the pep and the other pills that the studio had her on.

Shortly after their honeymoon, Judy announced that she was pregnant. The studio blessed it and allowed her to keep it. Since she had a contract to make two movie a year starring or not, she had to make another movie. She performed in the movie “Words and Music”. They put a frilly dress on her during the number to hide her showing stomach. After the film was completed, Judy went on maternity lead. On March 12th 1946, Liza May Minnelli was born. After Liza was born, Judy was put into the film “The Pirate” also starring Gene Kelly.

In 1948, Judy made the well remembered movie “Easter Parade”. Originally Vincente was set to direct and Gene Kelly was to play opposite Judy as Don Hewes. Gene way into rehearsals for the musical, broke his ankle and was unable to continue on. This then brought Fred Astaire out of retirement to replace Gene in the lead role. Before the making of the movie, there was trouble in the Minnelli marriage. They now lived in two different houses and were constantly fighting. Their marriage councilor then told the studio not to put the two working together for it would cause too much strain on the marriage. Vincente was then taken off of the picture and replaced by Chuck Walters. Also Judy was going through great troubles during the film. Her main therapist had just died, also Judy was getting skinnier and hardly eating. Mainly though, Judy was still addicted to pills even after her honeymoon promise. The movie though came out to be a huge success keeping Astaire out of retirement for a few more movies.

In 1950, Judy’s marriage to Vincente was ending and also her career at MGM. Judy had gained weight after going to a rehabilitation center to help her ease off of the pills. She was also cut off of the movie “Annie Get Your Gun” being replaced by Betty Hutton. Judy was then put onto the move “Summer Stock” opposite Gene Kelly. Gene was against doing the movie but everyone knew it was probably her last movie so he decided to help her just like she did eight years ago for him in “For Me and My Gal”. Judy arrived late most days and some days didn’t even show up.The movie turned out to be an ok success but after the movie Judy was dismissed from MGM.

After her release from MGM Judy became depressed. She cut her throat and tried to commit suicide. Eventually she and Vincente got a divorce. In 1951 Judy met producer Sid Luft. Sid soon became her manager and a romance started between the two. To start her comeback, Sid got her a four month tour of the United Kingdom. She also had an engagement for four weeks at the London Palladium. In October 1951, Judy had a booking to reopen the well known Palace Theatre and was to have a 19 week booking of vaudeville acts. She made a record at the Palace. Also she received a Tony Award for her performance. Judy then after her Palace engagement, Judy found out that she was pregnant again with Sid’s baby. They kept the news quiet. They then secretly wed on June 8th 1952 in a small town in California. On November 21st 1952 Lorna Luft was born.

Judy then wanted to remake the movie “A Star is Born”. She wanted the opposite role to be played by Humphrey Bogart. The movie was to be produced by Warner Brothers and Sid Luft. It was to be directed by George Cukor. Bogart though refused to do the film and was replaced by actor James Mason. The film turned out to be a huge success and was nominated for many awards including Best Actress for Judy. When the filming was done Judy announced that she was pregnant again. In 1955 Joseph Luft was born. Since she was recuperating after his birth she was unable to make the Academy Awards ceremony. Everyone knew she would win the award. They sent cameras and set them all up in the hospital room for her acceptance speech. The award was won by Grace Kelly.
After “A Star is Born” was completed Judy appeared in various television programs. She debuted her television career on “Ford Star Jubilee”. She then signed a three year contract with CBS. The contract only lasted around a year. She then performed in Las Vegas. Judy then appeared at Carnegie Hall on April 23, 1961, called by many "the greatest night in show business history." The 2-record Judy at Carnegie Hall was certified gold, charting for 95 weeks on Billboard including thirteen weeks at number one. The album won five Grammys including Album of the Year and Best Femal Vocal of the Year. After her success she was signed to “The Judy Garland Show”. The show only lasted for one season and was nominated for four Emmy Awards. In 1963 Judy and Sid got a divorce. After that she went on a tour of Australia which wasn’t as huge of a success. In 1965 Judy married Mark Herron. They then divorced in 1969. In 1969 Judy married Mickey Deans. On June 22, 1969 Judy was found dead by her husband. She had died of an accidental drug overdose after all of those years since she had been addicted since she was 16 years old. She was then 47 when she died. An estimated 20,000 people lined up for hours at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home to see her for the last time. RIP Judy Garland.

<t...