Home> Facts and Trivia > Stars > Judy Garland
Judy Garland Facts
| Sign | Gemini |
| Born |
Jun 10, 1922 Grand Rapids, MN |
| Died |
Jun 22, 1969 London, England |
| Age | Died at 47 |
| Total Facts | 86 |
Johnnie Ray was best man at her wedding to fifth husband Mickey Deans.
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.
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.
Liza Minnelli said that Judy planned on calling her autobiography "Ho-Hum".
1952: Received a Special Tony Award "for an important contribution to the revival of vaudeville through her recent stint at the Palace Theatre.".
1961: Her record "Judy Garland at Carnegie Hall" garnered five Grammy Awards and remained at the top of Billboard's charts for two months.
1997: Posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
1998: Garland's album, "Judy at Carnegie Hall" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
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.
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).
6/10/06: Pictured on a 39¢ USA commemorative postage stamp in the Legends of Hollywood series.
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.
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.
A close friend was Katharine Hepburn, with whom she would regularly stay during her most serious bouts of depression in order to recover.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
As a teenager on the MGM lots, she was good friends with Lana Turner and Ann Rutherford.
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).
Betty Asher, who worked on the MGM lots, served as her maid of honor during her wedding to Vincente Minnelli in 1945.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
Favorite actor was Robert Donat (best known for his portrayal of the title character in the film Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)).
First cousin three times removed of US President Ulysses S. Grant.
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.
Godfather of her daughter Lorna Luft was Frank Sinatra
Grandmother of Vanessa and Jesse Richards, children of singer Lorna Luft.
Had intense fears of flying, horses, and guns.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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...).
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.
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.
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.
Interred at Ferncliff Cemetery, Hartsdale, New York, USA.
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).
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".
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?"
Married Sid Luft at Paicines Ranch near Hollister, CA on June 8, 1952.
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.
Mother of Liza Minnelli, Lorna Luft, and Joey Luft.