Judy Garland: biography

Judy Garland is one of the most loved entertainers of the twentieth century. She is known for her great singing voice and the wonderful musicals she played in, many of which today are classics. But she is also known for her troubled personal life. The highs of her career, were as dramatic as her lows.

Beginnings

Judy Garland was born Frances Ethel Gumm on June 10, 1922. Her older sisters formed a vaudeville group called the Gumm sisters. Frances was only two years old when her family discovered that the little girl had a very big voice. Frances joined her sisters vaudeville act, traveling to perform.

Career

Frances Gumm was discovered by film studio MGM when she was 13 years old. Rechristened Judy Garland, the studio at first did not know what to do with the teenager. She was too old to become a new Shirley Temple, and too young to play an adolescent. Finally the studio found the perfect format, casting Garland opposite Mickey Rooney. The two played in a string of backyard musicals like 'Babes in Arms' where they were able to showcase their talent in lavish production numbers. To keep up with the work pace and to help the curvy teenager lose weight, studio doctors described a cocktail of pills for Garland. These helped her perform, sleep and lose her appetite. She would stay addicted to these uppers and downers for the rest of her life. In 1939 Garland landed the role of lifetime as Dorothy in 'The Wizard of Oz'. After this great success, Garland crossed over to more mature rolls in 'Meet me in St Louis' (1944), 'The Clock' (1945) and 'The Pirate' (1947). Even though her movies were great successes at the box office, she became more and more unreliable to work with. It is because of this that MGM fired her in 1950. Garland then embarked on a new career, performing concerts all over the world. The few films she made after MGM were few and far between, with
'A Star is Born' (1954) being one of the highlights of her career, and often perceived as her finest acting performance. She died in 1969 from an accidental overdose of pills.

Achievements

Judy Garland won a special Oscar (an Academy Juvenile Award) for her work in The Wizard of Oz (1939). She never won a 'real' Oscar, all though she was nominated for best actress in 'A Star is Born' (1954) and best supporting actress in 'Judgement in Nuremberg'(1961).