Judy Garland The talented and tragic Judy Garland was born Frances Ethel Gumm on June 10, 1922, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. At the insistence of their mother, Garland and her sisters were pushed into performing as part of a vaudeville act known as the Gumm Sisters. Garland stood out as the star of the show, and was signed on to work for MGM studios at just thirteen years old. After appearing in various projects for MGM and 20th Century Fox, Garland landed her breakthrough role as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz in 1939, which almost went to another wunderkind, Shirley Temple. The film made Garland a star, and audiences responded favorably to her adult singing voice and sheer stage presence.
In 1941, at nineteen years old, Garland married composer, David Rose, which established her as an adult in the eyes of the studio and led to Garland receiving more adult roles. By this time, however, Garland’s once strong work ethic had now deteriorated, resulting in the actress becoming increasingly unreliable and irritable on set. The cause was Garland’s dependence on prescription pills, which had actually been administered to the young star by the studio, so that she could keep up with the grueling film schedule and maintain her weight. After splitting from her first husband, in 1945 Garland married director Vincente Minnelli, and one year later the couple had a daughter, Liza Minnelli. Although Garland continued to work throughout the 50s, her alcohol and drug problems were causing increasing career setbacks, and forced her to quit work on the 1950 musical Annie Get Your Gun. That same year, Garland attempted suicide and was fired by MGM. Her life continued in chaos one year later, when she divorced Minnelli and married producer Sid Luft, who became the manager and choreographer of Garland’s comeback performances. In 1954, Garland scored her first film role in four years, A Star Is Born. The film was critically-acclaimed, and earned Garland an Oscar nomination for Best Actress, which she lost to Grace Kelly. The loss worsened Garland’s depression, and her third marriage was now also suffering under the strain of drugs and alcohol dependency.
By 1965, Garland and Luft, with whom she had a daughter, Lorna, and son, Joey, parted ways. She then entered into her fourth marriage, with American actor Mark Herron, which lasted two years. By 1969, Garland had entered her fifth and final marriage, with discotheque manager, Mickey Deems. Only months later, Garland was found dead of a drug overdose in her London apartment. Not just an icon of Old Hollywood, Garland is a lasting member of Americana who leaves behind the legacy of immense natural talent and the trappings of fame. YUDDY |
