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Judy Garland was born Frances Ethel Gumm on 10 June 1922 in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, the youngest daughter of vaudevillians Frank and Ethel Gumm. Her mother, an ambitious woman gifted in playing various musical instruments, saw the potential in her daughter at the tender age of just 2-years-old when Baby Frances repeatedly sang "Jingle Bells" until she was dragged from the stage kicking and screaming during one of their Christmas shows and immediately drafted her into a dance act, entitled "The Gumm Sisters", along with her older sisters Mary Jane Gumm and Virginia Gumm. However, knowing that her youngest dau
Judy Garland was born Frances Ethel Gumm on 10 June 1922 in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, the youngest daughter of vaudevillians Frank and Ethel Gumm. Her mother, an ambitious woman gifted in playing various musical instruments, saw the potential in her daughter at the tender age of just 2-years-old when Baby Frances repeatedly sang "Jingle Bells" until she was dragged from the stage kicking and screaming during one of their Christmas shows and immediately drafted her into a dance act, entitled "The Gumm Sisters", along with her older sisters Mary Jane Gumm and Virginia Gumm. However, knowing that her youngest daughter would eventually become the biggest star, Ethel soon took Frances out of the act and together they traveled across America where she would perform in nightclubs, cabarets, hotels and theaters solo.
One of the brightest, most tragic movie stars of Hollywood's Golden Era, Judy Garland was a moved-loved character whose warmth and spirit, along with her rich and exuberant voice, kept theatregoers entertained with an array of delightful musicals.
Her family life was not a happy one, due largely in part to her mother's drive for her to succeed as a performer and also her father's closeted homosexuality. The Gumm family would regularly be forced to leave town due to her father's illicit affairs with other men and from time to time they would be reduced to living out of their automobile. However in September 1935 the Gumm's, in particular Ethel's, prayers were answered when Frances was signed by Louis B. Mayer, mogul of leading film studio MGM, after hearing her sing. It was then that her name was changed from Frances Gumm to Judy Garland, after a popular 30s song "Judy" and film critic Robert Garland.
Tragedy soon followed however in the form of her father's death of meningitis in November 1935 and, having been given no assignments with the exception of singing on radio, the threat of losing her job following the arrival of Deanna Durbin. Knowing that they couldn't keep both of the teenage singers, MGM devised a short entitled Every Sunday (1936) which would be the girls' screen test. However, despite being the outright winner and being kept on by MGM, Judy's career did not officially kick off until she sang one of her most famous songs "You Made Me Love You" at Clark Gable's birthday party in February 1937, during which Louis B. Mayer finally paid attention to the talented songstress.
Prior to this her film debut Pigskin Parade (1936), in which she played a teenage hillbilly, had left her career hanging in the balance. However following her rendition of "You Made Me Love You", MGM set to work preparing various musicals with which to keep Judy busy. All this had its toll on the young teenager and she was given numerous pills by the studio doctors in order to combat her tiredness on set. Another problem was her weight fluctuation, but she was soon given amphetamines in order to give her the desired streamlined figure. This proved to be the downward spiral that resulted in her life-long drug addiction.
In 1939, Judy shot immediately to stardom with The Wizard of Oz (1939), in which she portrayed Dorothy, an orphaned girl living on a farm in the dry plains of Kansas who gets whisked off into the magical world of Oz on the other end of the rainbow. Her poignant performance and sweet delivery of her signature song 'Over The Rainbow' earned Judy a special juvenile Oscar statuette on 29th February 1940 for Best Performance by a Juvenile Actor. Now growing up, Judy began to yearn for more meatier, adult roles instead of the virginal characters she had been playing since she was 14. She was now taking an interest in men and after starring in her final juvenile performance in Ziegfeld Girl (1941) alongside glamorous beauties Lana Turner and Hedy Lamarr, Judy got engaged to band leader David Rose in May 1941, just two months after his divorce from Martha Raye. Despite planning a big wedding, the couple eloped to Las Vegas and married during the early hours of the morning on 28 July 1941 with just her mother Ethel and her stepfather Will Gilmore present. However, their marriage went downhill as, after discovering that she was pregnant in November 1942, David and MGM persuaded her to abort the baby in order to keep her good-girl image up. She did so and, as a result, was haunted for the rest of her life by her 'inhumane actions'. The couple separated in January 1943.
By this time, Judy had starred in her first adult role as a vaudevillian during WWI in _For Me and My Gal (1942)_. Within weeks of separation, Judy was soon having an affair with actor Tyrone Power, who was married to French actress Annabella. Their affair ended in May 1943, which was when her affair with producer Joseph L. Mankiewicz kicked off. He introduced her to psychoanalysis and she soon began to make decisions about her career on her own, instead of the influence of the domineering MGM and her mother. Their affair ended in November 1943 and soon afterward, Judy reluctantly began filming Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), which proved to make her a big success. The director Vincente Minnelli highlighted Judy's beauty for the first time on screen having made the period musical in color, her first color film since The Wizard Of Oz (1939). He showed off her large brandy-brown eyes and her full thick lips and after filming ended in April 1944, a love affair resulted between director and actress and they were soon living together.
Vincente began to mold Judy and her career, making her more beautiful and more popular with audiences worldwide. He directed her in The Clock (1945) and it was during the filming of this movie that the couple announced their engagement on set on 9 January 1945. Judy's divorce from David Rose had been finalized on 8 June 1944 after almost 3 years of marriage and, despite her brief fling with Orson Welles who, at the time, was married to screen sex goddess Rita Hayworth, on 15 June 1945, Judy made Vincente her second husband after tying the knot with him that afternoon at her mother's home with her boss Louis B. Mayer giving her away and her best friend Betty Asher serving as bridesmaid. They spent three months on honeymoon in New York and afterwards, Judy discovered that she was pregnant.
On 12 March 1946 in Los Angeles, California, Judy gave birth to their daughter Liza Minnelli via Caesarean section. It was a joyous time for the couple, but Judy was out of commission for weeks due to the Caesarean and her postnatal depression, so she spent much of her time re-cooperating in bed. She soon returned to work, but married life was never the same for Vincente and Judy after they filmed The Pirate (1948) together in 1947. Judy's mental health was fast deteriorating and she began hallucinating things and making false accusations of people, especially of her husband, making the filming a nightmare. She also began an affair with aspiring Russian actor Yul Brynner, but after the affair ended, Judy soon regained health and tried to salvage her failing marriage. She then teamed up with dancing legend Fred Astaire for the delightful musical Easter Parade (1948), which proved a successful comeback, despite having Vincente fired from directing the musical. Afterwards, Judy's health deteriorated and she began the first of several suicide attempts. In May 1949, she was checked into a rehabilitation center, which caused her much distress.
She soon regained strength and was visited frequently by her lover Frank Sinatra, but never saw much of Vincente or Liza. On returning, Judy made In the Good Old Summertime (1949), which was also her daughter's film debut, albeit Liza had an uncredited cameo. She had already been suspended by MGM for her lack of cooperation on the set of The Barkleys of Broadway (1949), which also resulted in her getting replaced by Ginger Rogers. After being replaced by Betty Hutton on Annie Get Your Gun (1950), Judy was suspended yet again, before making her final film for MGM entitled Summer Stock (1950). At 28, Judy received her third suspension and was fired by MGM and her second marriage was soon dissolved.
Having taken up with Sidney Luft, Judy traveled to London to star at the legendary Palladium. She was an instant success and after her divorce to Vincente Minnelli was finalized on 29th March 1951 after almost 6 years of marriage, Judy traveled with Sid to New York to make an appearance on Broadway. With her newfound fame on stage, Judy was stopped in her tracks in February 1952 when she fell pregnant by her new lover Sid. She made him her third husband on 8 June 1952 at the age of 30 after tying the knot with him at a friend's ranch in Pasadena. Her relationship with her mother had long since been dissolved by this point and after the birth of her second daughter Lorna Luft on 21 November 1952, she refused her mother Ethel to see her granddaughter. Ethel then died in January 1953 of a heart attack, leaving Judy devastated and guilty about not reconciling with her mother before her untimely demise.
After the funeral, Judy signed a film contract with Warner Bros. to star in the musical remake of A Star Is Born (1937), which had starred Janet Gaynor, who had won the first ever Academy Award for Best Actress in 1929. Filming soon began and as a result, set off an affair between Judy and her leading man, British star James Mason. She also picked up on her affair with Frank Sinatra and after filming was complete, Judy was yet again immortalized for being a great film star. She won a Golden Globe for her brilliant and truly outstanding performance as Esther Blodgett, nightclub singer turned movie star, but when it came to the Academy Awards, a distraught Judy lost out to Grace Kelly for the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of the wife of an alcoholic star in The Country Girl (1954). It is still argued today that Judy should have won the Oscar over Grace Kelly. Continuing her work on stage, Judy gave birth to her beloved son Joey Luft on 29 March 1955. She soon began to lose her millions of dollars due to her husband's strong gambling addiction and with hundreds of debts to pay, Judy and Sid began a volatile, on-off relationship which resulted in numerous attempts to file for divorce.
In 1961, Judy returned to her ailing film career, this time to star in Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) at the age of 39, for which she received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress, but this time lost out to Rita Moreno for the coveted Academy Award, due to her performance in West Side Story (1961). Her battles with alcoholism and drugs led to Judy making thousands of headlines in newspapers, but she soldiered on, forming a close friendship with President John F. Kennedy. In 1963, Judy and Sid finally separated permanently and on 19 May 1965, their divorce was finalized after almost 13 years of marriage. By this time, Judy had made her final performance on film alongside Dirk Bogarde in I Could Go on Singing (1963) at the age of 41. She married her fourth husband Mark Herron on 14 November 1965 in Las Vegas, but they separated in April 1966 after 5 months of marriage due to his homosexuality. It was also that year that she began an affair with young journalist Tom Green. She then settled down in London after their affair ended and she began dating disk jockey Mickey Deans in December 1968, before getting engaged once her divorce from Mark Herron was finalized on 9 January 1969 after three years of marriage. She married Mickey, her fifth and final husband, in a register office in Chelsea, London on 15 March 1969.
She continued working on stage, appearing several times with her daughter Liza. It was during a concert in Chelsea, London that Judy stumbled into her bathroom late one night and died of an overdose of barbiturates, the drug that had dominated her her whole life, on 22nd June 1969 at the age of 47. Her daughter Liza Minnelli paid for her funeral and her former lover James Mason delivered her touching eulogy. She is still an icon to this day with her famous performances in The Wizard of Oz (1939), Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), Easter Parade (1948) and A Star Is Born (1954).
Trivia:
She 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 modern gay rights advocacy movement.
Sister of Mary Jane Gumm and Virginia Gumm.
Mother of Liza Minnelli, Lorna Luft, and Joey Luft.
6/12/64: She married Mark Herron, although her divorce from Sidney Luft was not settled. They were married in Mandarin by a Buddhist monk, and the validity of this marriage is not clear.
1961: Her record "Judy Garland at Carnegie Hall" garnered five Grammy Awards and remained at the top of Billboard's charts for two months.
There is surviving footage of Garland performing the lead role of Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun (1950) before she was replaced by Betty Hutton, and this has been included in many documentaries. Undoubtedly, the best is That's Entertainment! III (1994), which for the first time assembled raw unedited footage for two musical numbers and presented them as they would have looked had the film been completed with Garland. Also surviving today are Garland's prerecordings of all songs for the production.
Originally screen-tested and signed to play the main supporting role of Helen Lawson, in Valley of the Dolls (1967). The studio even provided her with a pool table in her dressing room at her request. Eventually she backed out of the film and was ultimately replaced by Susan Hayward. She kept her costume when she walked off the film, and proceeded to wear the sequined pantsuit while performing in concerts around the world. The character of Neely O'Hara in the film was partially based on her own history (with pills, alcohol, and failed marriages). Sadly, it was Garland's real-life pill addiction that contributed to her leaving this film.
6/27/69: Her funeral was held in Manhattan at the Frank E. Campbell funeral home at Madison Ave. and 81st St., and 22,000 people filed past her open coffin over a 24-hour period. Ex-husband Vincente Minnelli did not attend. James Mason delivered the eulogy. Her body had been stored in a temporary crypt for over one year. The reason for this is that no one had come forward to pay the expense of moving her to a permanent resting spot at Ferncliff Cemetery in Ardsley, NY. Liza Minnelli had the impression that Judy's last husband, Mickey Deans, had made the necessary arrangements but Deans claimed to have no money. Liza then took on the task of raising the funds to have her properly buried. Death was caused by an "incautious self-overdosage of Seconal" which had raised the barbiturate level in her body beyond its tolerance.
Interred at Ferncliff Cemetery, Hartsdale, New York, USA.
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?"
The day she died, there was a tornado in Kansas.
Liza Minnelli said that Judy planned on calling her autobiography "Ho-Hum".
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, ponytails, lived on a farm with an aunt and uncle...).
Liza Minnelli originally wanted Mickey Rooney to deliver Garland's eulogy, but she was afraid that he wouldn't be able to get through it. So James Mason did it instead.
According to singer Mel Tormé, she had a powerful gift of retention. She could view a piece of music once and have the entire thing memorized.
1997: Posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
1998: Garland's album, "Judy at Carnegie Hall" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
First cousin three times removed of US President Ulysses S. Grant.
September 2002: A Los Angeles federal judge barred Sidney Luft from selling the replacement Juvenile Oscar she received for The Wizard of Oz (1939). Luft was also ordered to pay nearly $60,000 to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to end their second lawsuit against him for repeatedly trying to sell the statuette.
Favorite actor was Robert Donat (best known for his portrayal of the title character in the film Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)).
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.
She discouraged her children from entering show business, pointing out her financial and health problems resulting from the nature of the entertainment business. Nevertheless, two of her children, Liza Minnelli and Lorna Luft both became entertainers. Her son Joe lives in relative anonymity as a freelance photographer.
She experienced financial difficulties in the 1960s due to her overspending, periods of unemployment, owing of back taxes and embezzlement of funds by her business manager. The IRS garnished most of her concert revenues in the late 1960s. Her financial difficulties combined with her erratic behavior due to her drug dependencies helped break up her marriages and estrange her children from her a year before her death.
Was a member of The International Order of Job's Daughters.
She was voted the 23rd Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
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.
Always had crooked front teeth, for which an MGM dentist fitted her with removable caps to wear in her films, including The Wizard of Oz (1939).
Her daughter Liza Minnelli was once married to Jack Haley Jr., the son of her The Wizard of Oz (1939) co-star Jack Haley, who played the Tin Man.
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.
She was three-quarters Scottish and one-quarter Irish in ancestry.
1952: Received a Special Tony Award "for an important contribution to the revival of vaudeville through her recent stint at the Palace Theatre.".
When she married Vincente Minnelli, Louis B. Mayer gave her away.
Had weight problems most of her life. Drastic weight fluctuations often affected continuity in her films and can be seen in Words and Music (1948) and Summer Stock (1950).
She was voted the 22nd Greatest Movie Star of all time by Premiere Magazine.
Was named #8 Actress on The AFI 50 Greatest Screen Legends
3/23/90: Pictured on one of four 25¢ USA commemorative postage stamps 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).
Is portrayed by Judy Davis and Tammy Blanchard in Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows (2001) (TV), by Elizabeth Karsell in James Dean (2001) (TV) and by Andrea McArdle in Rainbow (1978) (TV).
The song "Quiet Please, There's A Lady On Stage" from the stage musical "The Boy From Oz" was written by Peter Allen (Liza Minnelli's former husband) as a tribute to her.
Was pregnant with her first child Liza Minnelli while filming her minor role in Till the Clouds Roll By (1946). In order to hide her pregnant stomach she was hidden behind stacks of dishes while singing "Look For The Silver Lining". She had also recorded a song "Do You Love Me", which was cut before release. Her scenes were directed by her then husband Vincente Minnelli.
After serving as the music director on her short-lived CBS series, Mel Tormé wrote a vicious tell-all book about his talented but challenging former boss. So frustrated from the experience, his words in "The Other Side of The Rainbow: With Judy Garland on the Dawn Patrol" portrayed Garland as hopelessly drug-addicted, unprofessional and a horror to work with.
2006: Her performance as Vicki Lester in A Star Is Born (1954) is ranked #72 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time.
Her performance as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz (1939) is ranked #17 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.
During her first marriage to David Rose, Judy was forced to undergo an abortion at the insistence of MGM studio head Louis B. Mayer who feared that pregnancy would hurt her good-girl image. The event left her traumatized for the rest of her life.
6/10/06: Pictured on a 39¢ USA commemorative postage stamp in the Legends of Hollywood series.
The godparents of her daughter Liza Minnelli were Ira Gershwin and Kay Thompson
Grandmother of Vanessa and Jesse Richards, children of singer Lorna Luft.
Godfather of her daughter Lorna Luft was Frank Sinatra
Father was movie theater owner Francis 'Frank' Gumm (born 20 March, 1886 - died 17 November, 1935). Mother was Ethel Milne (born 17 November, 1893 - died 05 January, 1953).
Born in Grand Rapids, Minnesota and later lived up in Lancaster, California. John Wayne, then attending college at USC, was a neighbor of Judy's.
Gave birth to all three of her children via Caesarean section. She also suffered from postpartum depression after the birth of her two daughters Liza Minnelli and Lorna Luft.
The famous theme song David Raksin wrote for the film Laura (1944) was originally entitled "Judy" in honor of her.
Had intense fears of flying, horses, and guns.
Was considered for the role of Careen O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939), but the role was eventually given to Ann Rutherford, so Judy immediately began working on The Wizard of Oz (1939), a film which was considered for as early as 1937.
As a teenager on the MGM lots, she was good friends with Lana Turner and Ann Rutherford.
Johnnie Ray was best man at her wedding to fifth husband Mickey Deans.
Did not attend the 1955 Academy Awards, where she was nominated as Best Actress for her portrayal of Vicki Lester in A Star Is Born (1954), because she was in hospital after giving birth to her third child and only son Joey Luft.
She only performed "Over The Rainbow" twice during her many television appearances, which spanned 14 years. She performed it on her first TV Special, "Ford Star Jubilee" (1955) episode, "The Judy Garland Special" in 1955, and sang it to her children on The Christmas Edition of her weekly "The Judy Garland Show" (1963).
Betty Asher, who worked on the MGM lots, served as her maid of honor during her wedding to Vincente Minnelli in 1945.
Was close friends with Lauren Bacall, who had once been her neighbor during the 1950s. Had Judy won the 1955 Best Actress Oscar for A Star Is Born (1954), Lauren would have accepted the Oscar statuette on her behalf.
Offered the lead role in The Three Faces of Eve (1957), but turned down the role because the storyline bore too many resemblances to her own personal life. The role was then given to Joanne Woodward who went on to win the Best Actress Oscar for her performance.
Was Matron of Honor at the wedding of actor Don DeFore and Marion Holmes DeFore on February 14, 1942.
The only witnesses present at her Las Vegas wedding to David Rose in 1941 were her mother and stepfather.
In a performance of "Come Rain Or Come Shine" on her 1963-64 variety show on CBS TV, though forgetting some of the words and seemingly "out of sync" with the orchestra she still managed to give a quite powerful and memorable performance.
Performed two songs in films that won the Academy Award for Best Original Song: "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz (1939) and "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" from The Harvey Girls (1946). Performed four more songs that were nominated: "Our Love Affair" from Strike Up the Band (1940), "How About You?" from Babes on Broadway (1941), "The Trolley Song" from Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), and "The Man That Got Away" from A Star Is Born (1954). Performed others that became standards, including "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" from Meet Me in St. Louis (1944).
She performed with her sisters at the 1933-34 World's Fair in Chicago on the infamous midway (where Sally Rand was the main attraction), more specifically in the Old Mexico Club, where they sold out every night. During their third week at the club, it unexpectedly closed due to an expired liquor license. Judy served as the grand marshal in a parade for the Fair's "Children's Day" in early 1934. It was during their last day in Chicago that Frances Gumm changed her name to Judy Garland during a performance at the Oriental Theater, partly at the advice of George Jessel, who was emceeing.
Judy headlined CBS TV's first special, "Ford Star Jubilee" (1955). She performed many of her standards including "Get Happy", Carolina in the Morning" and "The Trolley Song". Judy and guest David Wayne as tramps performed "A Couple of Swells" from "Easter Parade", Wayne doing Fred Astaire's part. After that number, Judy still in tramp make-up closed the show with "Over The Rainbow".
Mentioned in the song "Happy Phantom" by Tori Amos, "Dance in the Dark" by Lady Gaga, and "A Room at the Heartbreak Hotel" by U2.
Initially refused to appear in Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) as she had recently begun to portray characters her own age, such as in Presenting Lily Mars (1943), and was tired of playing virginal teenage characters. She later relented after much persuasion and not only did she meet her future husband Vincente Minnelli on set but her performance in the film was also one of her most famous during her MGM years.
The first film she made after marrying Vincente Minnelli was The Harvey Girls (1946).
Became good friends with Doris Day on the Warner Bros. lots when she was filming A Star Is Born (1954) at the same time that Day was filming Young at Heart (1954).
Did not get on with Lucille Bremer, who played her sister in Meet Me in St. Louis (1944). She thought that Bremer couldn't act and repeatedly tried to have her fired from the film, but to no avail.
Was replaced by Ginger Rogers in the film The Barkleys of Broadway (1949) after being suspended from MGM for her tardiness.
Replaced June Allyson in the film Royal Wedding (1951) after she became pregnant, but her failure to report to the set led to her being replaced by Jane Powell.
A close friend was Katharine Hepburn, with whom she would regularly stay during her most serious bouts of depression in order to recover.
Despite numerous concert and television appearances in the 1960s, Garland remained constantly in debt. This was due in part to then-manager David Begelman embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from his clients, with Garland chief among them. Begelman even went so far as to claim a Cadilac, presented to Garland for an appearance on "The Jack Paar Program" (1962) as his own.
Adding to her appeal within the gay community, Garland always acknowledged her gay fan base at a time when homosexuality was seldom even discussed. Late in her career and in dire need of money, she even accepted work singing in a New York City gay bar.
Dated John F. Kennedy, Tyrone Power, Orson Welles, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mercer, Errol Flynn, Robert Stack, Glenn Ford, and Yul Brynner. She remained close friends with each man even after their romantic relationships ended.
Was in consideration for the role of Sophie MacDonald in The Razor's Edge (1946) but Anne Baxter, who went on to win a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance, was cast instead.
One of the few actresses to have danced with both Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly in the movies, other actresses that have also done this includes Rita Hayworth, Cyd Charisse, Vera-Ellen, Debbie Reynolds, and Leslie Caron.
Returned to work eleven months after giving birth to her daughter Lorna Luft in order to film A Star Is Born (1954).
Returned to work nine months after giving birth to her daughter Liza Minnelli in order to film The Pirate (1948).
Despite popular belief that Shirley Temple was the first choice for the role of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz (1939), Garland was cast in the role even before pre-production had begun. As early as February 1938, both Variety and columnist Louella Parsons announced that she was cast in the role of Dorothy.
According to her biography on the A&E channel, as a young adult in her early acting career, movie producers had her going to six different doctors for prescription drugs, without any one doctor knowing about the other five. It was this process that led to her addiction.
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Tags: Actress (32), American (13), Born 1922 (7), Died 1969 (7), Singer (5), Deceased (5), Female (5), Pin-up Girl (3), Child Star (3), Died Aged 47 (3), Beautiful (3), Lead Actress (2), Petite (2), Gone Too Soon (2), Child Actor (2), Gemini (2), Usa (2), 1940s (2), Should Have Won An Oscar (1), Hollywood Walk Of Fame (1)
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