Posted by April 14, 1933: Frances (Judy) performed for a second time (the first was April 7th) as part of the “Little Club” event at the Cocoanut Grove in the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California.
April 14, 1938: Judy’s regular appearance on “Good News of 1938” (CBS Radio) featured her performances of “College Swing” and “Crying For The Carolines.” MGM star Robert Taylor hosted, and the guests included MGM designer Adrian, Frank Morgan, Freddie Bartholomew, and Fanny Brice.
It’s noted that Judy and Fanny (as Baby Snooks) performed “Why? Because!,” which they had performed in the recently released MGM musical Everybody Sing but no recording of this radio version is known to exist.
Listen to “College Swing” here:
Listen to “Crying For The Carolines” here:
For more Judy Garland radio performances, check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Sings! – On The Radio” pages here.
April 14, 1939: Judy, along with many other celebrities, attended the Press Photographers’ tenth annual ball held at the grand ballroom of the Astor Hotel in New York City. Judy was in New York, appearing in person at Loew’s State Theatre in Times Square for the second time in a little over a year. The Astor Hotel later played an important part in 1945’s The Clock, starring Judy and Robert Walker, which was Judy’s first dramatic role.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on The Clock here.
April 14, 1940: This fun artwork, utilizing a Babes in Arms promotional photo of Judy, appeared in Sunday newspapers around the country.
April 14, 1940: Can you match the famous names of the day with their baby pics?
Meanwhile, The Wizard of Oz was still successfully playing in theaters around the nation.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on The Wizard of Oz here.
April 14, 1942: Judy was at home on “standby” for MGM for For Me And My Gal but was not called.
Photo: Late 1980s VHS cover art.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on For Me And My Gal here.
April 14, 1943: Judy rehearsed and recorded “Bidin’ My Time” with the vocal group The King’s Men for Girl Crazy. Time called: 10:30 a.m.; arrived: 10:50 a.m.; dismissed: 3:45 p.m.
Listen to the recording here:
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on Girl Crazy here.
Our friend Mark Milano has provided us with the stereo version married to the film. It’s wonderful!
April 14, 1943: These news items appeared in some papers. The first item reports about a Gumm Sisters reunion at MGM. The second and third items report that the parachute troops of Fort Benning, Georgia, sent a pair of silver wings to Judy, delivered to her on the set of Girl Crazy. They dubbed Judy “The Parabelle.” The letter accompanying the wings read: “We boys thought you should wear some visible proof that you are the sweetheart of the Parachute Troops.” Although it states that Judy was to wear the pin in a scene in the film, that didn’t happen. It makes for a nice story, though.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on Girl Crazy here.
April 14, 1945: This display is an example of the types of displays music stores created to promote Meet Me In St. Louis (released in 1944). This one is from Cleveland, Ohio, as featured in the trade magazine Motion Picture Herald.
April 14, 1947: Filming on The Pirate continued with scenes shot on the “Interior Dressing Room” (Gene Kelly) and “Interior Show Tent” sets. time called: 10:30 a.m.; dismissed: 6:00 p.m.
Photo: Early 1990s laserdisc cover art.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on The Pirate here.
April 14, 1948: Here is a record ad that includes the MGM Records soundtrack albums of Till The Clouds Roll By (album released in 1947) and The Pirate (album released in 1948).
April 14, 1949: Here’s an article about the fashions the stars planned to wear at the upcoming Easter parade in Hollywood. It’s unclear if Judy attended or not. The article notes that Judy was to wear “a black and red print dress of silk shantung. Softly draped in the back, the dress has a row of tiny umbrella buttons down the front. The short basque jacket is red wool and lined in the same print as the dress. She will wear a shiny black straw hat that tilts to the right. The tilted brim reveals the same silk print as the dress. Her bag and pumps are black calf, and she will wear short black gloves.”
On this day at MGM, Judy had more filming on Annie Get Your Gun, specifically on the “U.S. Travel and European Montage Cuts” sets. She also had a rehearsal of a scene on the “Interior Ferry” set.
The assistant director’s notes state: “JG – First Call: makeup, time first called: 8 a.m.; arrived through gates at 8:05 a.m.; due on set: 9 a.m.; arrived on set at 8:25 a.m.; ready at 8:50 a.m., 10 minutes early; lunch: 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.; time dismissed: 2:30 p.m.”
Imagine being micromanaged to the point that your arrival through the studio’s gates and every subsequent move you make are documented. At least they noted that Judy was 10 minutes early to the set, which indicates that perhaps she was, despite everything going on in her life at that point, trying to make a go of it.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on Annie Get Your Gun here.
April 14, 1949: A reissue of The Wizard of Oz was set to open at the Mayfair Theatre in New York. MGM decided to re-release the film nationwide in the summer of 1949 on the strength of this engagement,
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on The Wizard of Oz here.
April 14, 1949: Columnist Hedda Hopper noted Judy’s difficulties during the Annie Get Your Gun production. On this day at MGM, Judy filmed scenes on the “U.S. Travel” and “European Montage cuts” set, plus a rehearsal on the “Interior Ferry” set. Judy had a call to be in makeup at 8 a.m.; she arrived through the gates at 8:05 a.m., due on the set at 9 a.m. At 8:25 a.m., she arrived on the set, ready for filming at 8:50 a.m., which was 10 minutes early. Lunch was from Noon to 1 p.m. She was dismissed for the day at 2:30 p.m.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on Annie Get Your Gun here.
April 14, 1954: A Star Is Born filming continued with retakes on the “Norman’s Car” set as well as added scenes on the “Interior Esther’s Room” sets. Time started: 1:00 p.m.; finished: 5:50 p.m.
Photos: The front and back cover artwork of the 1984 laserdisc edition of the film, which was the first time the restored version of the film was released in the laserdisc format (and VHS as well).
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on A Star Is Born here.
April 14, 1955: Judy signed this letter to “Gallaghers,” who apparently had sent her baby gowns for her son Joey. Judy noted she might take her show to their city, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
April 14, 1956: Glen Graham of the “Petaluma Argus-Courier,” Petaluma, California, didn’t care for Judy’s recent TV special.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
April 14, 1961: On April 9, Judy and Sid Luft attended a dinner party at the White House hosted by Robert Kennedy, President John F. Kennedy’s brother. The reports in the papers made it out to be a relatively quiet affair.
April 14, 1961: Here’s an article about a Soviet scientist who looked like Judy while TV viewers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, were treated to a showing of For Me And My Gal.
April 14, 1963: “The Ed Sullivan Show” featured the U.S. premiere of Judy’s March 10, 1963, appearance on “Sunday Night At The Palladium,” which was originally broadcast live out of London.
Judy originally sang “Almost Like Being In Love”/”This Can’t Be Love,” “Smile,” “Comes Once In A Lifetime,” and “I Could Go On Singing.” Only “Smile” and “I Could Go On Singing” would be broadcast on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
Judy’s performance of “Smile” is one of her best performances and is, I believe, the definitive performance of the song.
April 14, 1965: Judy and Mark Herron, along with Judy’s children Lorna and Joe Luft, were staying in Oahu, Hawaii on Diamond Head Road when their cottage caught fire at about 3 40 p.m. A neighbor, Mrs. Rosalie Barlow, called the fire department at 3:59 p.m. The fire was small and was soon extinguished at 4:08 p.m. by the firemen, with assistance from Judy, who was photographed in a blue, two-piece bathing suit and broad-brimmed straw hat. The damage was estimated at $2,000 to the cottage, $1,000 in clothes, a $300 jade ring, and $400 in cash. Defective wiring was blamed. Judy didn’t talk to the press, but Lorna and Joe did, and photos were taken of Lorna sweeping the debris before Judy called her back into the cottage.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
April 14, 1967: Judy posed for costume tests for Valley of the Dolls. This film of the tests is the only known film footage that exists of Judy’s short time working on the film.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on Valley of the Dolls here.
April 14, 2020: The Warner Archive re-released Broadway Melody of 1938 on DVD. It was the second release of the film on DVD. The first release was on April 4, 2008, as part of the boxed set “Classic Musicals from the Dream Factory, Volume 3.”
I love Judy’s performance of Smile on the Ed Sullivan Show. Definitely one of her best!
I could never imagine Judy as Helen Lawson in Valley of The Dolls. It would have been a very different film if she completed it.