Photoplay, November 1944
Today’s guest blogger is Cottey College student
Mackenzie Green. She wrote this very sad article for my Women Celebrities class last
semester. Good job and thanks for allowing me to share it, Mac!
Frances
Ethel Gumm, also known as Judy Garland, became a celebrity at an early age. She
starred in The Wizard of Oz at the
age of sixteen, but becoming famous came with a price for her. Garland was fed
amphetamines while she was filming to keep her slim and peppy. After finishing the movie, she was
not only an icon but had developed a drug dependency that would eventually kill
her. She also struggled with mental health issues all her life. While
Dorothy longed for blue skies, Garland feared contentment would be the end.
Garland seemed to be surprised that she had become
such a big star. In an interview for Modern
Movies in 1937 she explained how unlikely it was that she signed with MGM: “I
didn’t think I had much of a chance… I was just at the awkward age.” Garland
said she was thrilled when she got her first role in Broadway Melody of 1938, and she was given the chance to show off
her talent. How she characterized her childhood has been often quoted,
including in her obituary: “No wonder I was strange. Imagine whipping out of
bed, dashing over to the doctor's office, lying down on a torn leather couch,
telling my troubles to an old man who couldn't hear, who answered with an
accent I couldn't understand, and then dashing to Metro to make movie love to
Mickey Rooney.”
Radio and Television Mirror, December 1939
All the strangeness led to a difficult personal life
and Garland was married five times, though never to Rooney. Her first marriage
was at the age of nineteen to composer David Rose. She was married to Vincent
Minnelli, the director of her big hit Meet
Me in St. Louis, from 1945 to 1950. Garland then had an eleven-year
relationship with her manager Sidney Luft, who helped her comeback in A Star is Born. Garland was forced to
leave their two children with Luft while she tried to earn money performing in
London. In 1965 Garland was briefly married to American actor Mark Gerron. Then
lastly she married Mickey Deans while in London.
Judy Garland with Wayne Martin. Garlands for Judy, December 2013.
As depicted in the 2019 film Judy, Garland also developed personal relationships with some of
her fans. Wayne Martin is the most famous example. He became a Garland fan in
1933, obtained his first autograph in 1937, and by 1950 was being invited to events
where he could chat with his idol. Martin created Garlandia, which was a
collection of Judy Garland still photographs, recordings, and costumes that he was
invited to display in downtown Los Angeles in 1957. During the 1960s, Garland
and Martin even talked occasionally on the phone. He recorded some of their
conversations without Garland realizing it, violating her privacy. In 1966,
when Martin lost phone service temporarily, Garland even sent police officers to
his door to see if he was alright.
Well,
darling, I think about you too.
Judy
Garland to Wayne Martin
Through all of this, Garland was the one in trouble
as her health deteriorated. The press commented on her loss of weight. Her
addictions, which started at a young age, had a lasting effect on her health. In
1959 she was diagnosed with acute hepatitis and liver problems. She suffered
from kidney ailments, a nervous breakdown, and injuries from falls. On the
morning of June 22, 1969, Garland was found collapsed in the bathroom. She was
forty-seven years old. Her death was ruled an accidental overdose of sleeping
pills. Her daughter Liza Minnelli told Time
in 1972 “I think she just got tired.” She continued “She lived like a taut
wire. I don’t think she ever looked for real happiness, because she always
thought happiness would mean the end.”
Thanks for reading! Have a question, comment, or suggestion? Let me know. Find links to previous posts above to the right. To subscribe, email angela.firkus@gmail.com
Sources and Further Exploration
Haynes, Suyin. “The True
Story Behind the Movie Judy.” Time Magazine, September 26, 2019. https://time.com/5684673/judy-garland-movie-true-story/
Henderson,
Randy. “Wayne Martin: Judy’s #1 Fan.” Garlands
for Judy, December 2013. https://www.thejudyroom.com/garlandsforjudy/GarlandsforJudy4.pdf
“Judy
Garland, 47, Found Dead.” The New York
Times. June 23, 1969. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/00/04/09/specials/garland-obit.html
“Judy
Garland Interview (1965)” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdYvikHSKvw
“Private
Judy Garland Phone Call Part 1. 1967/68” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo1wva0vqBI
Schmidt,
Randy. Judy Garland on Judy Garland:
Interviews and Encounters. Chicago Review Press, 2014.
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