Garland, Judy

(1922-1969)

   Film star and singer Judy Garland was born Frances Ethel Gumm in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, to a theater family. In 1926, the family moved to California, where Frances appeared with her sisters in a theater managed by their father. In 1934, they performed in Chicago as the Garlands, and in 1935 Frances was given a contract and a further name change by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Judy Garland’s first film was Every Sunday (1936). She made several more films and sang the hit song, “You Made Me Love You” in Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937), before achieving her major breakthrough in The Wizard of Oz (1939), particularly with the hit song “Somewhere over the Rainbow.” Further hits followed when she paired with Mickey Rooney in Babes in Arms (1939), Strike Up the Band (1940), Babes on Broadway (1941), and Ziegfeld Girl (1941), and with Gene Kelly in For Me and My Gal (1942). However, none of these matched Meet Me in St. Louis (1944). Her film performances varied, often due to her addiction to barbiturates and troubled personal life. However, Garland had another major success with Fred Astaire in Easter Parade and the song “We’re a Couple of Swells” (1948). Although she made a considerable number of other films of varying quality, MGM fired her in 1950. In 1951, she was greeted with great acclaim following a series of performances at the London Palladium in England, and she had further film success in A Star is Born (1954).

   Although she made several more films, Garland concentrated on her stage shows. After a physical collapse in 1959, she made another comeback in 1960 achieving an enormous hit with her performance at the Carnegie Hall in April 1961. Her final film was I Could Go on Singing in 1963. An unsuccessful television series in 1963, The Judy Garland Show, was followed by an overseas tour in 1969. She died in London after an overdose of barbiturates.

   See also Cinema.