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79-579: Ford Star Jubilee routinely featured major stars, such as Judy Garland , Betty Grable , Debbie Reynolds , Shirley Jones , Orson Welles , Julie Andrews (at the time that she was preparing for her starring role in My Fair Lady on Broadway ), Louis Armstrong , Bing Crosby , Gordon MacRae , Lillian Gish , Charles Laughton , Jack Lemmon , Raymond Massey , Lauren Bacall , Claudette Colbert , Noël Coward , Nat 'King' Cole , Mary Martin , Eddie Fisher , Ella Fitzgerald , and Red Skelton . Instead of

158-581: A Primetime Emmy Award and was nominated for an Academy Award and two Tony Awards . Natwick was born in Baltimore , Maryland , the daughter of Mildred Marion (née Dawes) and Joseph Natwick of Wisconsin. Her father was a sawmill baron and dairy farmer who owned Dunloggin Dairy Farm . He established the farm on land that was cleared of its white oaks; the community of Dunloggin in Ellicott City, Maryland,

237-538: A Special Tony Award and was one of twelve people in history to receive an Academy Juvenile Award . Garland began performing as a child, with her two elder sisters, in a vaudeville group, The Gumm Sisters , and was signed to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as a teenager in 1935. She appeared in more than two dozen films for MGM, including The Wizard of Oz (1939), Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), The Harvey Girls (1946), Easter Parade (1948), and Summer Stock (1950). Garland

316-564: A trial separation in January 1943 and they divorced in 1944. In her next film, For Me and My Gal (1942), Garland performed with Gene Kelly in his first screen appearance. She was given the "glamor treatment" in Presenting Lily Mars (1943), in which she was dressed in "grown-up" gowns. Her lightened hair was also pulled up in a stylish fashion. However, no matter how glamorous or beautiful she appeared on screen or in photographs, she

395-755: A Cockney slattern, and portrayed the landlady in The Enchanted Cottage (1945). Natwick is remembered for small but memorable roles in several John Ford film classics, including 3 Godfathers (1948), She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), and The Quiet Man (1952). She played Miss Ivy Gravely, in Alfred Hitchcock 's The Trouble with Harry (1955), and a sorceress in The Court Jester (1956). She continued to appear onstage, and made regular guest appearances in television series. On May 30, 1950, she starred in "Listen, Listen" on Suspense . She

474-465: A Merry Little Christmas ". This was one of the first films in her career that gave her the opportunity to be the attractive leading lady. Vincente Minnelli was assigned to direct and he requested that make-up artist Dorothy Ponedel be assigned to Garland. Ponedel refined her appearance in several ways which included extending and reshaping her eyebrows, changing her hairline, modifying her lip line and removing her nose discs and dental caps. She appreciated

553-455: A brief affair with songwriter Johnny Mercer . After her breakup with Mercer, Garland and Rose were wed on July 27, 1941, when Garland was only 19 years old. The media called the relationship "a true rarity". Together, they moved into a house in Bel Air, Los Angeles , where Rose had room to build miniature trains in the backyard. Though life together was initially enjoyable, MGM still disapproved of

632-643: A broken glass. During this period, she spent two weeks in treatment at the Austen Riggs Center , a psychiatric hospital in Stockbridge, Massachusetts . The Pirate was released in May 1948 and it was the first film which did not make a profit since Garland had starred in The Wizard of Oz . The main reasons for its failure were not only its cost but also included the increasing expense of the shooting delays while Garland

711-553: A complex blend of public adoration and private struggles. Her career, while filled with legendary performances, was often overshadowed by her ongoing battles with self-image, addiction, and mental health, which were exacerbated by Hollywood’s grueling expectations. Garland was married five times and had three children: Liza Minnelli with director Vincente Minnelli, Lorna Luft and Joey Luft with producer Sidney Luft. Her relationships were often turbulent, influenced by her intense fame and personal challenges. Despite her struggles, Garland had

790-512: A deep bond with her children, who would each go on to develop a connection to the entertainment industry. Garland’s resilience through hardship, paired with her immense talent, secured her a lasting place in popular culture and a legacy that continues. In 1928, the Gumm Sisters enrolled in a dance school run by Ethel Meglin, proprietor of the Meglin Kiddies dance troupe. They appeared with

869-574: A four-month concert tour of Britain and Ireland, where she played to sold-out audiences throughout England, Scotland and Ireland. The successful concert tour was the first of her many comebacks, with performances centered on songs by Al Jolson and revival of vaudevillian "tradition". Garland performed complete shows as tributes to Jolson in her concerts at the London Palladium in April and at New York's Palace Theater later that year. Garland said after

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948-506: A further attempt to minimize her curves. This may be erroneous, as historians Jay Scarfone and William Stillman clarify that at the time Garland was an anti-smoker and was allowed solid food. However, her diet was accompanied by swimming and hiking outings, plus games of tennis and badminton with her stunt double Bobbie Koshay. The Wizard of Oz was a tremendous critical success, though its high budget and estimated promotion costs of $ 4 million (equivalent to $ 69 million in 2023 ), coupled with

1027-652: A member of the Jimmy Davis orchestra playing at Cal-Neva Lodge , Lake Tahoe. In September 1935, Louis B. Mayer asked songwriter Burton Lane to go to the Orpheum Theater in downtown Los Angeles to watch the Garland Sisters' vaudeville act and to report to him. A few days later, Garland and her father were brought for an impromptu audition at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios in Culver City . Garland performed " Zing! Went

1106-448: A movie theater that featured vaudeville acts. She was of Irish, English, Scottish, and French Huguenot ancestry, named after both of her parents and baptized at a local Episcopal church . "Baby" (as she was called by her parents and sisters) shared her family's flair for song and dance. Her first appearance came at the age of two, when she joined her elder sisters Mary Jane "Suzy/Suzanne" Gumm and Dorothy Virginia "Jimmie" Gumm on

1185-830: A non-professional theatre group in Baltimore. She soon joined the University Players on Cape Cod . Natwick made her Broadway debut in 1932 playing Mrs. Noble in Frank McGrath’s play Carry Nation , about the famous temperance crusader Carrie Nation . Throughout the 1930s she starred in a number of plays, frequently collaborating with friend and actor-director-playwright Joshua Logan . On Broadway, she played "Prossy" in Katharine Cornell 's production of Candida . She made her film debut in John Ford 's The Long Voyage Home as

1264-484: A number of films. "Judy was the big money-maker at the time, a big success, but she was the ugly duckling  ... I think it had a very damaging effect on her emotionally for a long time. I think it lasted forever, really." Her insecurity was exacerbated by the attitude of studio chief Mayer, who referred to her as his "little hunchback". During her early years at the studio, she was photographed and dressed in plain garments or frilly juvenile gowns and costumes to match

1343-407: A relationship and they got married on June 15, 1945. On March 12, 1946, daughter Liza was born. The Clock (1945) was Garland's first straight dramatic film; Robert Walker was cast in the main male role. Though the film was critically praised and earned a profit, most movie fans expected her to sing. She did not act again in a non-singing dramatic role for many years. Garland's other films of

1422-936: A similar team-up the next year, portraying two mystery-writing and solving sisters; this spawned the 1973-74 series The Snoop Sisters , which was part of The NBC Wednesday Mystery Movie . For her performance, Natwick won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie . In 1981, Natwick joined Hayes as the first members of the Board of Advisors to the Riverside Shakespeare Company . Both attended and supported several fund raisers for that off-Broadway theatre company. She guest-starred on such television series as McMillan & Wife , Family , Alice , The Love Boat , Hawaii Five-O , The Bob Newhart Show and Murder, She Wrote . She made her final film appearance at age 83 in

1501-506: A special arrangement of " You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It) " to Clark Gable at a birthday party that the studio arranged for the actor. Her rendition was so well regarded that she performed the song in the all-star extravaganza Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937), when she sang to a photograph of him. MGM hit a winning formula when it paired Garland with Mickey Rooney in a string of what were known as "backyard musicals". The duo first appeared together as supporting characters in

1580-467: A telegram containing the word "garland" and it stuck in his mind. However, Garland asked Jessel just moments later if this story was true and he blithely replied "No". By late 1934, the Gumm Sisters had changed their name to the Garland Sisters. Frances changed her name to "Judy" soon after, inspired by a popular Hoagy Carmichael song. The group broke up by August 1935, when Mary Jane "Suzanne" Garland flew to Reno, Nevada and married musician Lee Kahn,

1659-745: Is difficult to defend on a budgetary basis". He added, "a half-hour of prime time on CBS, correctly programmed, would serve our advertising objectives better than Ford Star Jubilee over the long pull." After Ford Star Jubilee ended, the company became a co-sponsor of Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre . The series's executive producer was Jack Rayel. Arthur Schwartz was a producer. Directors of episodes included Paul Harris, Paul Nickell and Franklin Schaffner . Critic Jack Gould , writing in The New York Times , praised Reynolds's "vitality and youthful charm" in "I Hear America Singing", and he complimented

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1738-465: Is fine now, she needs our love. She needs our support. She's here – let's give it to her, OK? Here's Judy." And she came out and that place went crazy. And she just blossomed. Garland made eight appearances during the 1950–51 season of The Bing Crosby – Chesterfield Show , which immediately reinvigorated her career. Soon after, she toured for four months to sellout crowds in Europe. In 1951, Garland began

1817-780: The B movie Thoroughbreds Don't Cry (1937). Garland was then cast in the fourth of the Hardy Family movies, Love Finds Andy Hardy (1938), as a literal girl-next-door to Rooney's character Andy Hardy, although Hardy's love interest was played by Lana Turner . They teamed as lead characters for the first time in Babes in Arms (1939), ultimately appearing in five additional films, including Hardy films Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (1940) and Life Begins for Andy Hardy (1941). Garland stated that she, Rooney and other young performers were constantly prescribed amphetamines to stay awake and keep up with

1896-564: The Palace Theatre in Manhattan in October 1951 exceeded all previous records for the theater and for Garland and was called "one of the greatest personal triumphs in show business history". Garland was honored with a Special Tony Award for her contribution to the revival of vaudeville. Mildred Natwick Mildred Natwick (June 19, 1905 – October 25, 1994) was an American actress. She won

1975-462: The "girl-next-door" image created for her. They had her wear removable caps on her teeth and rubberized discs to reshape her nose. On November 16, 1935, 13-year-old Garland was in the midst of preparing for a radio performance on the Shell Chateaux Hour when she learned that her father had been hospitalized with meningitis and his medical condition had taken a turn for the worse. He died

2054-707: The 1940s include The Harvey Girls (1946), in which she introduced the Academy Award-winning song " On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe ", and Till the Clouds Roll By (1946). During the filming of The Pirate , Garland suffered a nervous breakdown and she was placed in a private sanatorium . She was able to complete filming, but in July 1947 she made her first suicide attempt, making minor cuts to her wrist with

2133-469: The Good Old Summertime was enormously successful at the box office. Garland was then cast in the film adaptation of Annie Get Your Gun in the title role of Annie Oakley . She was nervous at the prospect of taking on a role strongly identified with Ethel Merman , anxious about appearing in an unglamorous part after breaking from juvenile parts for several years and disturbed by her treatment at

2212-556: The Palladium show: "I suddenly knew that this was the beginning of a new life ... Hollywood thought I was through; then came the wonderful opportunity to appear at the London Palladium, where I can truthfully say Judy Garland was reborn." Her appearances at the Palladium lasted for four weeks, where she received rave reviews and an ovation described by the Palladium manager as the loudest he had ever heard. Garland's engagement at

2291-493: The Strings of My Heart " and "Eli, Eli", a Yiddish song written in 1896 and regularly performed in vaudeville. The studio immediately signed Garland to a contract with MGM, presumably without a screen test , though she had made a test for the studio several months earlier. The studio did not know what to do with her; aged thirteen, she was older than the traditional child star, but too young for adult roles. Her physical appearance

2370-525: The award as well as only one of twelve in history to ever be presented with one. After the film, Garland was one of the most bankable actresses in the United States. Garland starred in three films which were released in 1940: Andy Hardy Meets Debutante , Strike Up the Band and Little Nellie Kelly . In the last, she played her first adult role, a dual role of both mother and daughter. Little Nellie Kelly

2449-579: The conclusion of filming, MGM kept Garland busy with promotional tours and the shooting of Babes in Arms (also 1939), directed by Busby Berkeley . She and Rooney were sent on a cross-country promotional tour, culminating in the August 17 New York City premiere at the Capitol Theater , which included a five-show-a-day appearance schedule for the two stars. Garland was reportedly put on a diet consisting of cigarettes, chicken soup, and coffee during filming in

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2528-564: The decision to suspend her on July 18, 1948. She was replaced in the film by Ginger Rogers . When her suspension was over, she was summoned back to work and she ultimately performed two songs as a guest in the Rodgers and Hart biopic Words and Music (1948), which was her last appearance with Mickey Rooney. Despite the all-star cast, Words and Music barely broke even at the box office. Having regained her strength, as well as some needed weight during her suspension, Garland felt much better and in

2607-401: The fall of 1948, she returned to MGM to replace a pregnant June Allyson for the musical film In the Good Old Summertime (1949) co-starring Van Johnson . Although she was sometimes late arriving at the studio during the making of this picture, she managed to complete it five days ahead of schedule. Her daughter Liza made her film debut at the age of two and a half at the end of the film. In

2686-709: The film industry. Throughout her career, Garland recorded and introduced numerous songs including " Over the Rainbow ", which became her signature song , the Christmas classic " Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas " and the Saint Patrick's Day anthem " It's a Great Day for the Irish ". She won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for her 1961 live recording, Judy at Carnegie Hall ; she

2765-486: The film's actual actors (Lahr) as well as one of the children of the film's star (Judy Garland) hosted it. The broadcast was a ratings smash with a Nielsen rating of 33.9 and an audience share of 53%. In contrast, the presentation of "This Happy Breed" had a rating of 13.6. Another rare instance of Ford Star Jubilee presenting a filmed, rather than live, program was their 1956 musical version of Maxwell Anderson 's High Tor , starring Bing Crosby and Julie Andrews. Music

2844-600: The following morning at age 49, leaving her devastated. Her song for the Shell Chateau Hour was her first professional rendition of "Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart", a song that became a standard in many of her concerts. Garland performed at various studio functions and was eventually cast opposite Deanna Durbin in the musical short Every Sunday (1936). The film contrasted her vocal range and swing style with Durbin's operatic soprano and served as an extended screen test for them, as studio executives were questioning

2923-490: The frantic pace of making one film after another. They were also given barbiturates to take before going to bed so they could sleep. This regular use of drugs, she said, led to addiction and a life-long struggle. She later resented the hectic schedule and believed MGM stole her youth. Rooney, however, denied their studio was responsible for her addiction: "Judy Garland was never given any drugs by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Mr. Mayer didn't sanction anything for Judy. No one on that lot

3002-433: The future as well as the past. I wanted to hurt myself and everyone who had hurt me." In September 1950, after 15 years with the studio, Garland and MGM parted company. Garland was a frequent guest on Kraft Music Hall , hosted by her friend Bing Crosby . Following Garland's second suicide attempt, Crosby, knowing that she was depressed and running out of money, invited her on his radio show – the first of

3081-454: The hands of director Busby Berkeley . Berkeley was severe with Garland's lack of effort, attitude and enthusiasm. She complained to Mayer, trying to have Berkeley fired from the feature. She began arriving late to the set and sometimes failed to appear. At this time, she was also undergoing electroconvulsive therapy for depression. She was fired from the picture on May 10, 1949, and was replaced by Betty Hutton , who stepped in to perform all

3160-426: The highlights of a drama-studded week." Gould said that the decision to present a musical version of "A Bell for Adano" was "an unfortunate error in judgment." Four musical selections that were inserted into the play "merely compromised and diluted it", he said. He also questioned the reduction of Joppolo's part and the expansion of Tina's part that resulted from the addition of musical components, while "Sergeant Borth

3239-452: The historical drama Dangerous Liaisons (1988). Natwick, who never married or had children, lived in a duplex on Park Avenue in Manhattan for the majority of her life. She was a devout Christian Scientist . A Republican , she supported Dwight Eisenhower during the 1952 presidential election . On October 25, 1994, Natwick died of cancer at her home in Manhattan at age 89. She

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3318-479: The initial filming, Garland was taking prescription barbiturate sleeping pills along with illicitly obtained pills containing morphine . Around this time, she also developed a serious problem with alcohol. These, in combination with migraine headaches, led her to miss several shooting days in a row. After being advised by her doctor that she would only be able to work in four- to five-day increments with extended rest periods between, MGM executive Arthur Freed made

3397-409: The lower revenue that was generated by discounted children's tickets, meant that the film did not return a profit until it was re-released in the 1940s and on subsequent occasions. At the 1939 Academy Awards ceremony, Garland received her only Academy Award , an Academy Juvenile Award for her performances in 1939, including The Wizard of Oz and Babes in Arms . She was the fourth person to receive

3476-483: The musical drama A Star Is Born (1954) and legal drama Judgment at Nuremberg (1961). She also made concert appearances that attracted record-breaking audience sizes, released eight studio albums and hosted her own Emmy -nominated television series, The Judy Garland Show (1963–1964). At the age of 39, Garland became the youngest (and first female) recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement in

3555-556: The musical routines as staged by Robert Alton. Garland underwent an extensive hospital stay at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston , Massachusetts, in which she was weaned off her medication and after a while, was able to eat and sleep normally. Garland returned to Los Angeles heavier and in the fall of 1949, she was cast opposite Gene Kelly in Summer Stock (1950). The film took six months to complete. To lose weight, Garland went back on

3634-631: The name when Jessel announced that the trio "looked prettier than a garland of flowers". A TV special was filmed in Hollywood at the Pantages Theatre premiere of A Star Is Born on September 29, 1954, in which Jessel stated: I think that I ought to tell the folks that it was I who named Judy Garland, "Judy Garland." Not that it would have made any difference – you couldn't have hid[den] that great talent if you'd called her "Tel Aviv Windsor Shell", you know, but her name when I first met her

3713-462: The new season – on October 11, 1950. She was standing in the wings of it trembling with fear. She was almost hysterical. She said, "I cannot go out there because they're all gonna be looking to see if there are scars and it's gonna be terrible." Bing said "What's going on?" and I told him what happened and he walked out on stage and he said: "We got a friend here, she's had a little trouble recently. You probably heard about it – everything

3792-466: The pills and the familiar pattern resurfaced. She began showing up late or not at all. When principal photography on Summer Stock was completed in the spring of 1950, it was decided that Garland needed an additional musical number. She agreed to do it provided the song was " Get Happy ". In addition, she insisted that director Charles Walters choreograph and stage the number. By that time, Garland had lost 15 pounds and looked more slender. "Get Happy"

3871-402: The program. Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm ; June 10, 1922 – June 22, 1969) was an American actress, singer, and vaudevillian. She attained international stardom and critical acclaim as an actress in both musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist, and on the concert stage. Renowned for her versatility, she received a Golden Globe Award ,

3950-409: The raciest—and most profane—language that has ever been heard on TV." The review said that Coward "acted with silky efficiency" and noted Mildred Natwick's "comic zest" in a supporting role. However, it said that Colbert and Lauren Bacall looked better than they acted, adding that Bacall "seemed uneasy when reciting the litany of her infidelities". Overall, the review said, "The show itself was one of

4029-468: The relationship and allegedly tried to separate them. They, along with Garland's mother, feared the relationship would ruin Garland's image. In 1941, while she was pregnant with Rose's child, Garland had an abortion at the insistence of her mother, Rose, and the studio executives, who disapproved of the pregnancy. According to Woman's World , Rose was even hostile toward Garland. The couple agreed to undergo

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4108-456: The results so much that Ponedel was written into her contract for all her remaining pictures at MGM. Around the same time, Garland had a brief affair with actor and film director Orson Welles , who was then married to actress Rita Hayworth . Garland and Welles ended the affair in early 1945 but remained on good terms afterwards. During the filming of Meet Me in St. Louis , Garland and Minnelli had some initial conflicts, but they entered into

4187-486: The set on multiple occasions and the studio suspended her contract on June 17, 1950. She was replaced by Jane Powell . Reputable biographies following her death stated that after this latest dismissal, she slightly grazed her neck with a broken glass, requiring only a Band-Aid , but at the time, the public was informed that a despondent Garland had slashed her throat. "All I could see ahead was more confusion", Garland later said of this suicide attempt. "I wanted to black out

4266-459: The singing of Cole and the dance numbers led by Bobby Van . In contrast, he wrote that Fisher "seemed just a shade lonesome and forlorn", Fitzgerald's singing was backed by a too-loud orchestra, and one of Skelton's skits was "not very funny", while andother had an ending that was "in truly abominable taste." After "Blithe Spirit" was broadcast, Time magazine said, "Viewers last week were treated to

4345-622: The stage of her father's movie theater during a Christmas show and sang a chorus of " Jingle Bells ". The Gumm Sisters performed there for the next few years, accompanied by their mother on piano. The family relocated to Lancaster, California , in June 1926, following rumors that her father had homosexual inclinations. Frank bought and operated another theater in Lancaster, and Ethel began managing her daughters and working to get them into motion pictures. As she rose to fame, Garland's personal life became

4424-713: The troupe at its annual Christmas show. Through the Meglin Kiddies, they made their film debut in a short subject called The Big Revue (1929), where they performed a song-and-dance number called "That's the Good Old Sunny South". This was followed by appearances in two Vitaphone shorts the following year: A Holiday in Storyland (featuring Garland's first on-screen solo) and The Wedding of Jack and Jill . They next appeared together in Bubbles . Their final on-screen appearance

4503-405: The type of shows most suitable for 'Jubilee'." The series ended when they were unable to agree on what would be presented on Dec. 1, 1956, making The Wizard of Oz the last episode. Robert McNamara , who was president of Ford Motor Company at the time, was concerned about overall low ratings for the program, writing that they had "lowered the productivity of Ford Star Jubilee to a point where it

4582-461: The usual live performance staged especially for Ford Star Jubilee , the final episode on November 3, 1956 was a special, two-hour presentation of the 1939 MGM theatrical Technicolor film The Wizard of Oz , hosted by Bert Lahr , 10-year-old Liza Minnelli and young Oz expert Justin Schiller. This marked the first time that the film had ever been shown on television , and the only time that one of

4661-467: The wisdom of having two girl singers on the roster. Garland's first feature-length film was a loan-out to Fox titled Pigskin Parade , a football-themed musical comedy, where she was billed tenth after Stuart Erwin , Jack Haley , Patsy Kelly , Betty Grable and others. Garland sang three solos, including "The Texas Tornado" and "The Balboa". Garland came to the attention of studio executives when she sang

4740-405: Was Frances Gumm and it wasn't the kind of a name that so sensitive a great actress like that should have; ... and so we called her Judy Garland and I think she's a combination of Helen Hayes and Al Jolson and maybe Jenny Lind and Sarah Bernhardt . A later explanation surfaced when Jessel was a guest on Garland's television show in 1963. He said that he had sent actress Judith Anderson

4819-421: Was a dilemma for MGM. She was only 4 ft 11 + 1 ⁄ 2  in (151 cm) and her "cute" or " girl-next-door " looks did not exemplify the glamorous persona then required of leading female performers. She was self-conscious and anxious about her appearance. Garland went to school at Metro with Ava Gardner , Lana Turner , Elizabeth Taylor , "real beauties", said Charles Walters , who directed her in

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4898-518: Was a frequent on-screen partner of both Mickey Rooney and Gene Kelly , and regularly collaborated with director Vincente Minnelli , her second husband. In 1950, after 15 years with MGM, she was released from her contract with the studio amid a series of personal struggles that prevented her from fulfilling the terms of her contract. Although her film career became intermittent thereafter, two of Garland's most critically acclaimed roles came later in her career: she received Academy Award nominations for

4977-476: Was by Arthur Schwartz , composer of such scores as those for The Band Wagon and Revenge with Music . Crosby, according to sources, had insisted the production be filmed rather than presented live, because he did not feel comfortable acting in a live television musical play. Although it was filmed in color, the musical version of High Tor has never been released on VHS or DVD. Executives at Ford and their counterparts at CBS sometimes had "major differences on

5056-444: Was deeply devoted to him and was devastated in early 1940 when he eloped with Lana Turner . In the early 1940s, Garland began a relationship with musician David Rose , 12 years her senior. On her 18th birthday, he proposed to her. MGM disapproved of the relationship because, at the time, he was married to actress and singer Martha Raye . They agreed to wait a year to allow for his divorce to become final. During that time, Garland had

5135-582: Was ill, as well as the general public's unwillingness to accept her in a sophisticated film. Following her work on The Pirate , she co-starred for the first and only time with Fred Astaire (who replaced Gene Kelly after Kelly had broken his ankle) in Easter Parade (1948), which was Hollywood's highest-grossing musical. Thrilled by the huge box-office receipts of Easter Parade , MGM immediately teamed Garland and Astaire in The Barkleys of Broadway . During

5214-613: Was in The House Without a Christmas Tree (1972), which starred Jason Robards and Lisa Lucas . The program's success spawned three sequels: The Thanksgiving Treasure , The Easter Promise , and Addie and The King of Hearts . In 1971, Natwick co-starred with Helen Hayes in the ABC Movie of the Week , Do Not Fold, Spindle, or Mutilate , in which their characters worked together as amateur sleuths. The success of that telefilm resulted in

5293-515: Was in an MGM Technicolor short entitled La Fiesta de Santa Barbara (1935). The trio had toured the vaudeville circuit as "The Gumm Sisters" for many years by the time they performed in Chicago at the Oriental Theater with George Jessel in 1934. He encouraged the group to choose a more appealing name after "Gumm" was met with laughter from the audience. According to theater legend, their act

5372-418: Was never confident about her appearance and never escaped the "girl-next-door" image that the studio had created for her. She had a second abortion in 1943 when she became pregnant during an affair with actor Tyrone Power . One of Garland's most successful 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

5451-530: Was once erroneously billed at a Chicago theater as "The Glum Sisters". Several stories persist regarding the origin of their use of the name Garland. One is that it was originated by Jessel after Carole Lombard 's character Lily Garland in the film Twentieth Century (1934), which was then playing at the Oriental in Chicago; another is that the girls chose the surname after drama critic Robert Garland. Garland's daughter Lorna Luft stated that her mother selected

5530-848: Was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award . Several of her recordings have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame , and in 1999 the American Film Institute ranked her as the eighth-greatest female screen legend of classic Hollywood cinema . Garland was born Frances Ethel Gumm on June 10, 1922, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota . She was the youngest child of Ethel Marion Gumm (née Milne; 1896–1953) and Francis "Frank" Avent Gumm (1886–1935). Her parents were vaudevillians who settled in Grand Rapids to run

5609-507: Was purchased from George M. Cohan as a vehicle for her to display both her audience appeal and her physical appearance. The role was a challenge for her, requiring the use of an accent, her first adult kiss and the only death scene of her career. Her co-star George Murphy regarded the kiss as embarrassing. He said it felt like "a hillbilly with a child bride". During that time, Garland was still in her teens when she experienced her first serious adult romance with bandleader Artie Shaw . She

5688-415: Was reduced practically to a walk-on and the townspeople of Adano to mere gesticulating caricatures of Italians." Time described the show's tribute to Cole Porter's work as "breezy, beautiful" and "radiant". It commended the episode's choreography and singled out Dorothy Dandridge's "You Do Something to Me" and Dolores Gray's and George Sanders's performance of "Let's Do It" as the top numbers on

5767-505: Was responsible for Judy Garland's death. Unfortunately, Judy chose that path." Garland's weight was within a healthy range, but the studio demanded she constantly diet. They even went so far as to serve her only a bowl of chicken soup and black coffee when she ordered a regular meal. She was plagued with self-doubt throughout her life; despite successful film and recording careers, awards, critical praise and her ability to fill concert halls worldwide, she required constant reassurance that she

5846-529: Was so named because Natwick was "done logging" the land. Her grandfather, Ole Natwick, was one of the earliest Norwegian immigrants to the United States, arriving in Wisconsin in 1847. Her first cousin was animator and cartoonist Grim Natwick . Natwick attended the Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore and later graduated from Bennett College . Natwick began performing on the stage at age 21 with "The Vagabonds",

5925-576: Was talented and attractive. In 1938, when Garland was sixteen, she was cast as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz (1939), a film based on the 1900 children's book by L. Frank Baum . In the film, she sang the song with which she would be constantly identified afterward, " Over the Rainbow ". Although producers Arthur Freed and Mervyn LeRoy had wanted to cast her in the role from the beginning, studio chief Mayer first tried to borrow Shirley Temple from 20th Century Fox , but they declined. Deanna Durbin

6004-664: Was the first woman to win that award. Garland struggled in her personal life from an early age. The pressures of early stardom affected her physical and mental health from the time she was a teenager; her self-image was influenced by constant criticism from film executives who believed that she was physically unattractive and who manipulated her onscreen physical appearance. She had financial troubles, often owing hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes . Throughout her adulthood, she struggled with substance use disorder involving both drugs and alcohol; she died from an accidental barbiturate overdose in 1969, at age 47. In 1997, Garland

6083-457: Was the last segment of Summer Stock to be filmed. It was her final picture for MGM. When it was released in the fall of 1950, Summer Stock drew big crowds and racked up very respectable box-office receipts, but because of the costly shooting delays caused by Garland, the film posted a loss of $ 80,000 to the studio. Garland was cast in the film Royal Wedding with Fred Astaire after June Allyson became pregnant in 1950. She failed to report to

6162-470: Was then asked but was unavailable; this resulted in Garland being cast. Garland was initially outfitted in a blonde wig for the part, but Freed and LeRoy decided against it shortly into filming. Her blue gingham dress was chosen for its blurring effect on her figure, which made her look younger. Shooting commenced on October 13, 1938, and it was completed on March 16, 1939, with a final cost of more than $ 2 million (equivalent to $ 34 million in 2023). With

6241-708: Was twice nominated for Tony Awards : in 1957 for The Waltz of the Toreadors , the same year she also starred in Tammy and the Bachelor with Debbie Reynolds and Leslie Nielsen and in 1972 for the musical 70 Girls 70 . She returned to film in Barefoot in the Park (1967) as the mother of the character played by Jane Fonda . The role earned Natwick her only Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting actress . One of Natwick's memorable roles

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