Judy Garland

Judy Garland , shown here in a Kodachrome for TILL THE CLOUDS ROLL BY (1946). She was born Frances Ethel Gumm on 10 June 1922 in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. "Baby" Gumm made her debut at two-and-a-half, joining her sisters in a Christmas performance at the New Grand on December 26, 1924, singing "Jingle Bells" to an enthralled audience. "Baby" and her sisters continued to make occasional appearances and in 1934 they began a tour of the Northwest. The Gumm Sisters' were introduced. The following summer "Baby" would go on to choose the name "Judy," after the popular Hoagy Carmichael song, in an attempt to shake away her nickname. In 1935 the head of MGM Studios heard Garland sing and quickly signed her to a contract. Her first appearance in a feature did not come until the following year, when she was loaned to Twentieth Century-Fox for “Pigskin Parade” (1936). Garland was a hit singing a specialty number, "Dear Mr. Gable" in the 1937 feature “Broadway Melody of 1938”. MGM quickly put her into more films, each spotlighting her singing. In “Thoroughbreds Don't Cry” (1937), she was cast with Mickey Rooney, with whom she would appear in eight films, including “Babes in Arms” (1939), “Strike Up The Band” (1940), “Babes on Broadway” (1941), and “Girl Crazy” (1943). Her most memorable film role, and the one that made her a household name, came in 1939 with “The Wizard of Oz”. During the 1940s Garland graced a number of outstanding musicals, including “Meet Me in St. Louis” (1944), “The Harvey Girls” (1946), and “Easter Parade” (1948). Her major comeback was capped with the Warner Bros. musical “A Star Is Born” (1954), a three-hour showcase for all of her talents. Several films followed, including “Judgment at Nuremberg” (1961) and the somewhat autobiographical “I Could Go On Singing” (1963). During the mid- to late 1960s, she concentrated on concert performances and made appearances on the top television variety shows of the day. Garland continued working until her death in 1969 at age 47 by accidental barbiturate overdose. Her funeral in New York City drew 22,000 mourners.

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