In a career that spanned more than forty years, Judy Garland performed on stage, screen and television. Garland appeared in 34 feature films. She was nominated for multiple Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards, receiving an Academy Juvenile Award and one Golden Globe. Her film career was interrupted in 1951 after she was cast in a series of films she was unable to complete, but she returned to the screen in 1954 in A Star Is Born and continued to appear in films until 1963.
Although Garland appeared in concert as early as 1943, it was only when her film career stalled that she began regular concert appearances, beginning with a critically acclaimed 1951 concert series at the London Palladium. Garland set a record when she appeared for 19 weeks at the Palace Theatre in New York City, also in 1951, and her 1961 concert Judy at Carnegie Hall is often considered one of the greatest nights in show business history. She continued to tour until just three months prior to her death in 1969.
Garland starred in a series of television specials beginning in 1955, when she appeared in the first episode of Ford Star Jubilee. The success of these specials led CBS to offer Garland a regular series. The Judy Garland Show premiered in 1963. Although the show was critically well-received, it suffered in the Nielsen ratings from being scheduled across from Bonanza, which was then the most popular show on the air. The Judy Garland Show was canceled after one season but Garland and the series were nominated for Emmy Awards.
Garland was taking prescription sleeping medication along with illicitly obtained pills containing morphine. These in combination with migraine headaches led Garland to miss several shooting days in a row. After being advised by Garland's doctor that she would only be able to work in four- to five-day increments with extended rest periods between, MGM executive Arthur Freed suspended Garland on July 18, 1948. She was replaced with Ginger Rogers.[3]
Garland was nervous at the prospect of playing Annie Oakley—a role strongly identified with Ethel Merman—anxious about appearing in an unglamourous role after breaking from juvenile parts for several years and disturbed by her treatment at the hands of director Busby Berkeley. She began arriving late to the set and would sometimes not show up at all. She was suspended from the picture on May 10, 1949, and replaced with Betty Hutton.[4]
Having been called in to replace a pregnant June Allyson, Garland again failed to report to the set on multiple occasions after costume tests and rehearsals with Fred Astaire and director Charles Walters. The studio suspended her contract on June 17, 1950, and replaced her with Jane Powell.[5]
Garland was cast as Helen Lawson in the film version of Jacqueline Susann's bestseller featuring the character of Neely O'Hara, depicted by Patty Duke. Neely was largely based upon Garland herself. As with previous projects, Garland missed days of work, blew repeated takes and delayed production by refusing to leave her dressing room. She was replaced in April 1967 with Susan Hayward.[6] However, Patty Duke tells another story – that the director kept Garland waiting for hours until late in the day, by which time she was either too tired or too nervous to perform.[7] Another star of the film, Barbara Parkins, also defended Garland, stating on numerous occasions that "Miss Hayward was a pale imitation of what Garland could have made of the role."[8]
Box office ranking
At the height of her career, Garland was regularly ranked among the top movie stars in the US in the annual poll conducted by Quigley publishing:[9]
Performed in Ireland at the Theatre Royal, Dublin for 14 sold-out performances where her show was performed for 50,000 people which was unprecedented for the time. Upon arrival in Dublin, she was met by huge crowds to whom she sang from her dressing room window.[5]
October 16, 1951
New York City
The legendary Palace Theater opening – the show ran for 19 weeks and broke all box office records. She returned from 11/16/51–2/24/52.[15]
Garland performed a four-week stand for a salary of $55,000 per week, making her the highest-paid entertainer to work in Las Vegas to date. Despite a brief bout of laryngitis, her performances there were so successful that her run was extended an extra week.[16]
Perhaps Garland's most unsuccessful tour and caused much controversy. The reviews for the two Sydney concerts were positive. However, the Melbourne portion of the tour was a disaster for her. The audience was angry over her late appearance, so much that she was unable to remember lyrics and slurred those that she did remember. She walked off the stage in tears after only 20 minutes and three numbers. It was the first time in her career that she had received negative notices and where she had been heckled and jeered by an audience. Later in Hong Kong she made an unpublicised suicide bid.[5][17]
Slated to be the first of a series of CBS specials under a three-year, $300,000 contract with Garland, this was the only one produced before the relationship between Garland and husband Sid Luft and CBS broke down in a dispute over the planned format of upcoming specials.[21]
Sanders, Coyne Steven (1990). Rainbow's End: The Judy Garland Show. Zebra Books. ISBN0-8217-3708-2 (paperback edition).
Seaman, Barbara (1996). Lovely Me: The Life of Jacqueline Susann. New York, Seven Stories Press. ISBN978-1-888363-37-1 (1996 edition).
Shipman, David (1975). Judy Garland, The Secret Life of an American Legend. Harper & Row. ISBN0-7868-8026-0 (paperback edition).
St. Johns, Adela Rogers (1974). Some Are Born Great. Doubleday & Company.
Armstrong, Greg; Neill, Andy (2024). When We Was Fab: Inside the Beatles Australasian Tour 1964. Woodslane Press, Warriewood NSW, Australia. ISBN978-1-922800-68-8.
