Lady fabuloux: Judy Garland - Frances Ethel Gumm

Hello lovely ladies and gents

Today's article is about : Judy Garland born as Frances Ethel Gumm was born on June 10 , 1922.

She was an American actress and singer.

And I think she was great , she was a great actress and had a gorgeous voice.

Early life

Frances Ethel Gumm was born in Grand Rapids , Minnesota.

Her father was Francis Avent “Frank “ Gumm(March 20 ,1886 – November 17, 1935)

And her mother was Ethel Marion Milne.( November 17 ,1893 – January 5 , 1953 )

Her parents were vaudevillians and the settled in Grand Rapids to run a movie theatre that featured vaudeville acts..

Garland’s first appearece was on the stage of her father’s movie theater where she performed with her sisters during a Christmas show and sang a chorus of “Jingle Bells”. Accompanied by their mother on piano , The Gumm sisters performed there for the next few years.

Early career

The Gumm Sisters

In 1928 , The Gumm Sisters enrolled in a dance school run by Ethel Meglin, properties of the Meglin Kiddies dance troupe. They appeared with the troupe at it’s Christmas show. It was trough the Meglin Kiddies that they made their film debut , in a 1929 short subject called The Big Revue.

In 1934 , the trio , who by then had been touring the vaudeville circuit as “The Gumm Sisters”for many years and they perfomed in Chicago at the Oriental Theater with George Jessel.

He encouraged the group to choose a more appealing name after “Gumm”was met with laughter from the audience. By late 1934 the “Gumm Sisters “had changed their name to the Garland Sisters.

Frances had changed her name to “Judy”, which was inspired by a popular Hoagy Carmichael song.

By 1935 they were broken up when Suzanne Garland flew to Reno , Nevada and married musican Lee Kahn , a member of the Jimmy Davis orchestra.

Signed at Metro Goldwyn Mayer

In 1935 Garland was signed a contract with MGM ..

They did not know what to do with her because she was too old for a child star and to young for adult roles. Her appearance also created a dilemma since she was only 1.51cm. Judy also went to school at Metro together with Ava Gardner , Lana Turner and Elizabeth Taylor, read beauties.

She performed at various studio functions and was eventually cast opposite Deanna Durbin in the musical short Every Sunday. The film contrasted her alto vocal range and swing style with Durbin’s operatic soprano and served as an extended screen test for the pair , as studio executives were questioning the wisdown of having two girl singers on the roster.

Mayer finally decided to keep both of the girls , but by that time Durbin’s option had lapsed and she was signed by Universal Studios.

On November 16 , 1935 , they where busyfor a radio performance on the Shell Chateau Hour , Garland learned that her father , who had been hospitalized with meningitis , had taken a turn for the worse. Frank Gumm died the following morning , leaving her devastated.

Her song for the Shell Chateau Hour was her first professional rendition of “Zing ! Went the string of my heart”, a song which would become a standard in many of her concerts.

Garland next came to the attention of studio executives by singing a special arrangement of “You made me love you “ to Clark Gable at a birthday party held by the studio for the actor.

Her rendition was so well regarded that she performed the song in the all-star extravaganza Broadway Melody of 1938 , in which she sang it to a photograph of him.

MGM hit on a winning formula when it paired Garland with Mickey Rooney in a string of “Backyard musicals”. The duo first appeared together in 1937 B movie Thoroughbreds don’t cry.

They became a sensation , and teamed up again in Love finds Andy Hardy.

She would eventually star with him in nine other films.

The first appearance of this duo.

Judy Garland together with Mickey Rooney

To keep making film after film she had to take amphetamines and barbiturates before bed.

And after a while it became a life long struggle for Garland.

Despite successful film and recording careers , several awards , critical praise and her ability to perform worldwide , she plagued her life with self doubt and required constant reassurance that she was talented and attractive.

The wizard of Oz

In 1938 , at the age of 16 she played Dorothy Gale in the Wizard of Oz, a film based on the children’s book by L.Frank Baum

In this movie she sang the song for which she would forever be indentified “Over the rainbow “.

MGM kept Judy Garland busy with promotional tour and the shooting of the movie Babes in Arms. On November 17.1939 , Garland’s mother , Ethel , marrien William P.Gillmore.

It was the fourth anniversary of her first husband’s death.

Stardom as an adult

In 1940 , she starred in three films , Andy Hardy meets Debutante , Strike up the band and Little Nellie Kelly.

The success of these three films , and a further three films in 1941 , secured her position at MGM as a major property.

During this time Garland experienced her first serious romance with Artie Shaw ( leader of the band). She was deeply devoted but was devastated when he eloped with Lana Turner.

She also had a failed marriage included an abortion that her mother and husband persuaded her to have to continue working. She was a lot thinner is the movie that she played after that happening.

One of Garland’s most succesfull films for MGM was Meet me in St. Louis(1944) in which she introduced three standards “The Trolley Song “, The boy next door “, and Have yourself a merry little Christmas”. Vincente Minnelli directed this movie and he requested that make up artist Dorothy Ponedel be assigned to her for the picture.

Ponedel refined her appearance by reshaping her eyebrows , changing her hairline , line her lips and removing nose discs. Judy Garland appreciated the results so much that Ponedel was written into her contract for all her remaining pictures.

Garland’s other famous films of the 1940’s include “The Harvey Girls (1946) ,and The pirate (1948)

Meet me in St.Louis

The Pirate

The Harvey Girls

Leaving MGM

During the film The Pirate , Garland suffered a nervous breakdown and was placed in a private sanitatarium. And had her first suicide attempt by making cuts to her wrist with broken glass.

After this she made another three movies for MGM “Easter parade , In The Good Old Summertiem and her final movie with MGM , Summer Stock.

Because of her mental condition , Garland was unable to complete a series of films.

The was taking sleep medication on prescription along with morphine. Then she also developed a serious problem with alcohol. After a doctor adviced the company that she would only be able to work in four-to-five day increments with rest periods in between , MGM made the decision to suspend h and then she was replaced by Ginger Rogers.

Later career

In October 1951 , Garland opened in a vaudeville style , two-a-day engagement at Broadway’s newly refurbisched Palace Theatre.

In 1954 , Garland filed a musical remake of the film A star is born for Warner bros.

As shooting progressed , however, she began making the same pleas of illness which she had so often made during her final films at MGM. Production delays led to cost overruns and angry confrontations with Warner Bros.

Upon its September , the film was met with tremendous critical and popular acclaim.

A Star is Born , ended up losing money and the secure financial positin Garland had expected from the profits did not materialize.

Garland won the Academy award for Best Actress , Golden globe for Best Actress in a Musical.

Garland’s films after that included : Jugdement at Nuremberg,

Gay Purr-ee and A Child is waiting.

Her final film was I could go on singing (1963)

Television , concerts and Carnegie Hall.

In 1955 , Garland appeared in a number of television specials.

She did an episode of Ford Star Jubilee , did a five concert edition of General Electric Theater.

And she also performed four weeks in the New Frontier Hotel in LA.

Later that year the returned to the Palace Theatre.

In November 1959 , Garland was hospitalized , diagnosed with acute hepatitis.

However she was successfully recovered over the next seven months , she returned to the stage of Palladium. She felt warmly embraced by the British that she announced her intention to move permanently to England.

In 1961 , she appeared in Carnegie Hall , this night was called “The greatest night in show business history. The album which they recorded won four Grammy Awards including Album of the year and Best female vocal of the year.

Also in 1961, . Garland and CBS settled their contract disputes with the help of h er new agent , Freddie Fields , and negotiated a new round of specials.

The first entitled The Judy Garland Show , aired in 1962,

and featured guests Frank Sinatra ,Dean Martin , Barbra Streisand and many more.

CBS made a $24 million ofer to her for this weekly television.

Following a third special , Judy Garland and her Guests Phil Silvers and Robert Goulet , Garland’s weekly series debuted September 29 , 1963.Sadly the show was cancelled after 26 episodes.

Final Years

With the demise of her television series , Garland returned to the stage.

She performed at the London Palladium with her 18 year old daughter Liza Minnelli in 1964.

The concert was also filmed for British television ITV , was one of her final appearances at the venue. A tour in 1964 in Australia was disastrous , Garland’s first concert in Sidney , went well and received positive reviews. Her second performance , in Melbourne , started an hour late.

The crowd also believed that she was drunk and booed and heckled her and then she feld of stage after 45 min.

In February 1967 , Garland had been cast as Helen Lawson in Vailley of the Dolls for 20^th Century Fox.

During the filming she missed rehearsels ad was fired in April.

Returning to the stage , Garland made her last appereances at New York’s Palace Theathre in July, a 16 show tour, performing with her children Lorna and Joey Luft.

Marriages

David Rose

She began a relationship with the musician David Rose and on her 18th birthday he gave her an engagement ring.
By that time he was still married to the actress and singer Martha Rave.

They agreed to wait a year to allow his divorce from her to become final and then they wed on July 27, 1941. Garland who had aborted her pregnancy by him in 1942 , agreed to a tril separation in January 1943 and they were officially divorced in 1951.

Vincente Minnelli

During the filmed of Meet me in St.Louis, Judy and Vincente started a relationship together.

They got married on June 15 , 1945 and on March 12, 1946 their daughter Liza was born.

They divorced in 1951.

Sid Luft

In the same year she got divorced to Minnelli she engaged with Sid Luft.Garland and Luft were married on June 8,1952 , in Hollister California.Garland gave birth to Lorna Luft , on November 21, 1953.And Garland gave birth to her son on March 29, 1955.After a while Garland sued Luft for divorce in 1963, claiming cruelty as the grounds.She also said that he had repeatedly struck her while he was drinking and that he had attempted to take their children for her by force.She had filled for divorce more than once previously including as early as 1956.

Mark Herron

Judy's fourth marriage was to tour promoter Mark Herron.

They announced that their marriage had taken place aboard a freighter off the coast of Hong Kong. ( By this time she still was not legally divorced to Sid Luft )
But they did not legally married until November 14,1969 and then they seperated six months later.

Mickey Deans

In 1969 , Garland's health had deteriorated.
She married her fifth and final husband , musician and entrepreneur Mickey Deans.

They married at Chelsea Register Office , London on March 15,1969 , her divorce from Herron having been finalized on February 11.

Death

On June 22, 1969 , Garland was found dead by her husband in the bathroom of their rented house in Chelsea London.

She took an overdose of sleeping pills by accident.

The autopsy showed that there was no inflammation of her stomach linging and no drug residue in there which indicated tat the drug hand been ingested a long period of time , rather than in one dose.

Her death certificate started that her death had been "accidental " even tho a lot of people said it was suicide.

She had turned 47 just 12 days prior of her death.

On June 26 , her husband Micky took Garland's remains to New York City , where 20.00 people lined up for hours to pay their respects.