Judy Garland's
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Name: Judy Garland
| Nee: |
Frances Ethel Gumm |
| Born: |
10 Jun 1922 |
| Died: |
22 Jun 1969 |
| Origin: |
Grand Rapids, Minnesota, United States |
| Instruments: |
Vocal |
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'Judy Garland' (June 10, 1922 - June 22, 1969) was a American film actress who is considered one of the greatest singing stars of Hollywood's Golden Era of musical film.
Born 'Frances Ethel Gumm' in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, she was born into a family of vaudeville players. One year, her parents and her two older sisters were performing in a Christmas show. Young Frances got on the stage and stole the show with a rendition of 'Jingle Bells'; she was two and a half years old. The family soon moved to Lancaster, California and the Gumm Sisters began work on stage and in movies. Frances was soon known as 'Baby' Gumm.
In 1934, the Gumm Sisters were performing in Chicago with George Jessel. Jessel encouraged the group to choose a less humorous name. They settled on the Three Garlands, and young Frances chose the name Judy.
Garland was signed at the age of 13 by Louis B. Mayer to a contract with MGM without a screen test. At the age of 16, she got the role of Dorothy in the film of 'The Wizard of Oz' (1939), and was forever afterwards associated with the song, 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'. After 'Oz', Garland became one of MGM's most important stars, proving particularly popular when teamed with Mickey Rooney in a string of 'let's put on a show!' musicals.
Throughout the 1940s her films increased in popularity, the most critically and financially successful being 'Meet Me in St. Louis', in which she introduced three classics standards: 'The Trolley Song,' 'The Boy Next Door,' and 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.' Her other famous films include 'The Harvey Girls' (1946) (in which she introduced 'On the Atchison Topeka and the Santa Fe'), 'Easter Parade' (1948), 'A Star Is Born' (1954), and 'Judgment at Nuremberg' (1961). She received an honorary Academy Award for her performance in 'The Wizard of Oz', and was nominated for Best Actress in 'A Star is Born', and Best Supporting Actress for 'Judgment at Nuremberg'.
| Renewed stardom in television |
When her MGM contract was terminated in 1950, Garland turned to television and live concert appearances. Throughout the 1950s and most notably in the early 1960s she made enormously successful appearances in both mediums. Her appearance at Carnegie Hall on April 23, 1961, was a considerable highlight, called by many the 'greatest single night in show business,' and the live recording made of the event was a best seller and won Grammy Awards as the Album of the Year and Best Female Vocal of the Year. She had a critically praised if short-lived television series in 1963-64.
The shortcomings of her childhood years became more apparent as Garland struggled to overcome various personal problems, including weight gain, heavy drinking, and drug addiction. Her children were Liza Minnelli, Lorna Luft, and Joey Luft. Of Garland's five marriages, the first four marriages all ended in divorce. She died in 1969 at the age of 47 in London from an accidental overdose of barbiturates. Garland was interred in the Ferncliff Cemetery, Hartsdale, New York.
A gay icon, Garland always had a large fan base in the gay community. Her funeral in Manhattan resulted in an outpouring of New York City fans, with more than 20,000 coming to view her body - including hundreds of gay men. Five days after her death, mourning gay fans fought back against police during a routine police raid at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village, which set off several days of 'gay liberation' riots. Garland's death is often noted as a cause of one of the key events of the modern gay rights movement.
According to a book of David Shipman, 'Judy Garland: The Secret Life of an American Legend' (ASIN 0786880260) she was bisexual herself, and was in intimate relationship with her (female) secretary.
:David Rose (1910-1990; married 1941-1945)
:Vincente Minnelli (1903-1986, married 1945-1951)
:Sidney Luft (1951-1964)
:Mark Herron (1928-1996, married 1964-1967) (might not have been a legal marriage, as it is unsure whether the divorce from Luft was yet effective and the marriage was under dubious circumstances)
:Mickey Deans (née Michael DeVinko, 1934-2003) (married 1967-1969)
:'The Graduate' 1967
:'Our Mother's House' MGM, 1967
:'Valley of the Dolls' Red Lion/Fox, 1967
:'Harlow' Electronovision, 1965
:'The Unsinkable Molly Brown' MGM, 1964
:'I Could Go On Singing' UA/Barbican, 1963
:'A Child Is Waiting' UA, 1963
:'Irma la Douce' 1963
:'It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World' 1963
:'Gay Purr-ee' Warner Bros/UPA, 1963
:'Judgment at Nuremberg' UA, 1961
:'Pepe' Columbia, 1960 (voice only)
:'South Pacific' Fox, 1958
:'The Three Faces of Eve 1957
:'The Helen Morgan Story' Warner Bros, 1957
:'Carousel' 20th Century Fox, 1956
:'A Star Is Born' Warner Bros, 1954
:'Royal Wedding' MGM, 1951
:'Show Boat' MGM, 1951
:'Summer Stock' MGM, 1950
:'Annie Get Your Gun' MGM, 1950 (replaced by Betty Hutton)
:'In the Good Old Summertime' MGM, 1949
:'The Barkleys of Broadway' MGM, 1949 (replaced by Ginger Rogers)
:'Words and Music' MGM, 1948
:'Easter Parade' MGM, 1948
:'The Pirate' MGM, 1948
:'Till the Clouds Roll By' MGM, 1946
:'Ziegfeld Follies of 1946' MGM, 1946
:'The Harvey Girls' MGM, 1946
:'The Clock' MGM, 1945
:'Meet Me in St. Louis' MGM, 1944
:'Thousands Cheer' MGM, 1943
:'Girl Crazy' MGM, 1943
:'Presenting Lily Mars' MGM, 1943
:'For Me and My Gal' MGM, 1942
:'Hold Back the Dawn' Paramount, 1941
:'We Must Have Music' MGM short subject, 1941
:'Babes on Broadway' MGM, 1941
:'Life Begins for Andy Hardy' MGM, 1941
:'Ziegfeld Girl' MGM, 1941
:'Little Nellie Kelly' MGM, 1940
:'Strike Up the Band' MGM, 1940
:'Andy Hardy Meets Debutante' MGM, 1940
:'If I Forget You' MGM short subject, 1940
:'Babes in Arms' MGM, 1939
:'The Wizard of Oz' MGM, 1939
:'Listen, Darling' MGM, 1938
:'Love Finds Andy Hardy' MGM, 1938
:'Everybody Sing' MGM, 1938
:'Silent Night' MGM Christmas Trailer, 1937
:'Thoroughbreds Don't Cry' MGM, 1937
:'Broadway Melody of 1938' MGM, 1937
:'Pigskin Parade' Fox, 1936
:'Every Sunday' MGM short subject, 1936
:'La Fiesta de Santa Barbara' MGM short subject, 1935
:'By the Beautiful Sea' Paramount short subject, 1931
:'Bubbles' Vitaphone short subject, 1929
:'The Wedding of Jack and Jill' Vitaphone short subject, 1929
:'A Holiday in Storyland' Vitaphone short subject, 1929
:'The Big Revue' Meglin short subject, 1929
Biographies of:
Gertrude Lawrence,
Fannie Brice,
Edith Piaf,
Aimee Semple McPherson
A Richard Rogers musical with a story by Abby Mann
Born in Wedlock
* {http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000023/ IMDb filmography}
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