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Judy Garland
Frances Ethel Gumm
June 10, 1922 - June 22, 1969
Birthplace: Grand Rapids, Minnesota
"I was born at the age of 12 on a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer lot."
-- Judy Garland
Judy was considered an icon in the gay community in the 1950s and 1960s. Her death and the loss of that emotional icon in 1969 has been thought to be a contributing factor to the feeling of the passing of an era that helped spark the Stonewall Riots that began the militant gay rights movement.
Judy Garland's performance as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (1939) won her a special Oscar and gave her a theme song for the rest of her life: "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." As a teenager Garland appeared in a series of cheerfully fluffy movies with fellow teen star Mickey Rooney, including Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938) and Babes in Arms (1939). In the 1940s she was a song-and-dance star in movies like Meet Me in St. Louis (1944). She married director Vincente Minnelli; their daughter Liza Minnelli became a star in her own right. (Garland eventually married five times.) In the 1950s Garland began touring as a singer and became famous for her emotional, high-energy live performances. Throughout her last two decades she struggled with addiction to prescription drugs and alcohol, and finally died of an apparent sleeping pill overdose at age 47.
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Her record "Judy Garland at Carnegie Hall" from 1961 garnered 5 Grammy Awards and remained at the top of Billboards charts for two months.
Her record "Judy Garland at Carnegie Hall" from 1961 garnered 5 Grammy Awards and remained at the top of Billboards charts for two months.
Judy heard the same phrase in two movies: For Me and My Gal (1942) and Easter Parade (1948). In both, her love interest (played by Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire, respectively) says this: "Why didn't you tell me I was in love with you?"
Her portrayal of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (1939) was the inspiration for the character of Mary Ann on "Gilligan's Island" (1964). (From Kansas, pigtails, lived on a farm with an aunt and uncle...)
Her soulful and iconic performance of "Over The Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz (1939) claimed the #1 spot on June 22, 2004 in The American Film Institute's list of "The 100 Years of The Greatest Songs". The AFI board said "Over The Rainbow" have captured the nation's heart, echoed beyond the walls of a movie theater, and ultimately stand in our collective memory of the film itself. It has resonated across the century, enriching America's film heritage and captivating artists and audiences today.
Groucho Marx called her not winning an Oscar for A Star Is Born (1954), "the biggest robbery since Brink's." Hedda Hopper later reported that her loss to Grace Kelly for The Country Girl (1954) was the result of the closest Oscar vote up till that time that didn't end in a tie, with just six votes separating the two. In any event, it was a heartbreak from which she never really recovered and which has remained a matter of some controversy ever since.
Judy has a special variety of rose named after her. The petals are yellow (Garland adored yellow roses) and the tips are bright red. It took devoted fans almost nine years after her death to find a rose company in Britain interested in naming a rose officially for her, and the Judy Garland rose didn't appear in the US until 1991. Several JG rose bushes are planted outside of her burial crypt, and at the Judy Garland museum in Grand Rapids.
Pictured on one of four 25¢ USA commemorative postage stamps issued 23 March 1990 honoring classic films released in 1939. The stamp shows Judy Garland as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (1939), along with Toto (portrayed by Terry). The other films honored were Beau Geste (1939), Stagecoach (1939), and Gone with the Wind (1939).
"That rainbow song's no good. Take it out."
- MGM memo after first showing of The Wizard Of Oz
The Wizard of Oz was a Broadway musical 37 years before the MGM movie version was made. It had 293 performances and then went on a tour that lasted 9 years.
The name for Oz in the Wizard of Oz was thought up when the creator Frank Baum looked at his filing cabinet and saw A-N and O-Z.
Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. ~Judy Garland
For it was not into my ear you whispered But into my heart; It was not my lips you kissed, But my soul...
--Judy Garland
"As for my feelings toward 'Over the Rainbow,' it's become part of my life. It is so symbolic of all my dreams and wishes that I'm sure that's why people sometimes get tears in their eyes when they hear it."
--Judy Garland
In the silence of night I have often wished for just a few words of love from one man, rather than the applause of thousands of people.
--Judy Garland
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