Posted by “I love my career. I want to say this because I’m always being painted a more tragic figure than I am, and I get awfully bored with myself as a tragic figure.” – Judy Garland, 1962
August 26, 1928: Judy and her sisters, “The Gumm Sisters,” had a two-night engagement at their father’s theater, the Valley Theater in Lancaster, California, which is where the family lived.
August 26, 1933: “The Gumm Sisters” continued their engagement as one of the acts in the advertised “6 Great Acts [of[ Specially Selected Vodvil [Vaudeville]” at the Warner Bros. Hollywood Theatre.
August 26, 1934: The last known billing of “The Gumm Sisters” as “The Glumm Sisters” at the Marbro Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. By the time of their next engagement at the Uptown Theatre, also in Chicago, they were being billed with their new name, “The Garland Sisters.”
August 26, 1937: Judy pre-recorded “Swing Mr. Mendelssohn” for Everybody Sing. At the time, as this Daily Music Report shows, the title of the film was still The Ugly Duckling, which was the original title of the project. The film was renamed Swing Fever, which was the title on all of the subsequent Daily Music Reports until November 1937, when it was finally changed to Everybody Sing. Takes 1 through 9 were printed, as were several takes of various bars through the end of the song.
Listen to Take 6 here (complete song):
Listen to Take 8 (“from 3 bars before #4 to #13”) here:
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on Everybody Sing here.
August 26, 1938: Love Finds Andy Hardy was proving to be a hit as the film made its way across the nation (it premiered on July 22, 1938). These ads and notices are a sampling from just three papers in Iowa and Arkansas that are examples of how the film was marketed and advertised.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on all of Judy’s “Andy Hardy” films here.
August 26, 1939: The Wizard of Oz continued to open in theaters nationwide in mid-to-late August 1939. Here are more ads, articles, and reviews.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on The Wizard of Oz here.
August 26, 1939: Here are more industry trade magazine articles and details about The Wizard of Oz and Judy and Mickey’s tour and shows at the Capitol Theatre in New York.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on The Wizard of Oz here.
August 26, 1940: Filming continued on Little Nellie Kelly with scenes shot on the “Interior Kelly Flat” set. Time called: 9 a.m.; dismissed: 5:57 p.m.
Photo: Judy and co-star George Murphy on the set (possibly on this day, the exact date the photo was taken is unknown).
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on Little Nellie Kelly here.
August 26, 1941: Judy was back rehearsing the “Hoe Down” number for Babes on Broadway. He had been out sick from the 23rd through the 25th. Time called: 10:45 a.m.; lunch: 12:25-1:25 p.m.; dismissed: 3:00 p.m.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on Babes on Broadway here.
August 26, 1941: Judy wasn’t in The Stars Look Down, but she was one of the stars used in ads to promote the film, which was made in England in 1940 and released by MGM in the U.S. in 1941. Judy’s been given the same star status as Gable and Tracy, which is another indication of her rising status at the studio.
August 26, 1943: Preparations were underway for the big “Third War Bond” drive, featuring a truly glittering array of stars, including Judy.
August 26, 1944: Production resumed on The Clock, although Judy was not needed on this day. The production had been on “layoff” for a few days, during which time Vincente Minnelli replaced director Fred Zinnemann.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on The Clock here.
August 26, 1945: The Chicago Tribune reported on the famous “20th Century” train arriving at Chicago’s La Salle Street Station the day before. Judy and Vincente Minnelli were photographed stepping off the train for a bit. The couple was returning to Los Angeles from their honeymoon in New York.
On this same day, Ziegfeld Follies had its big Pennsylvania premiere in Pittsburgh. The film was in a limited, roadshow release in select cities. It was then taken out of release and re-edited before its actual general release on April 8, 1946, re-titled Ziegfeld Follies of 1946.
August 26, 1947: This is the day, according to Louella Parsons, that Judy returned to Los Angeles after “resting in the east.” Judy had been at the Austen Riggs Center in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, after a stay at the Las Campanas sanitarium in LA. At that time, she had just completed (more retakes were done later) The Pirate and had made a quiet, unpublicized suicide attempt. Needless to say, Judy was mentally and physically exhausted.
Meanwhile, Till The Clouds Roll By was still in theaters, with Judy still receiving great reviews as one of the highlights of the film.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Till The Clouds Roll By here.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on The Pirate here.
August 26, 1955: The Wizard of Oz enjoyed great success during this second re-release. The following year, the film premiered on TV, and the rest is history. At this time, Judy was in rehearsals for her first TV special set to premiere on September 24, 1955, and she was recording songs for her first LP with Capitol Records.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on The Wizard of Oz here.
Check out The Judy Garland Online Discography’s Capitol Records Pages here.
August 26, 1959: During Judy’s appearance at the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House that previous July, a lawsuit was filed by songwriters Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II, Chapelle & Co. Inc., and the New World Music Corp. against Judy and husband Sid Luft for using four songs in the show without their permission and without royalty payments. A U.S. District Court judge ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, resulting in Judy and Sid being ordered to pay $1,000 in damages. The four songs in question were: “A Wonderful Guy,” “A Couple of Swells,” “Lady Be Good,” and “This Can’t Be Love.”
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
August 26, 1962: Judy penned this article for syndication by the Associated Press in which she addressed her reputation as a “tragic figure,” her career, and her children.
Judy was enjoying great success on her concert tour, buoyed by the massive success of the “Judy at Carnegie Hall” LP and the fact that she was at the top of her game. As this clipping shows, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin had signed on to star with Judy in her third TV special, which was taped in January 1962 and premiered in February 1962.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
August 26, 1963: Judy entered Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles for her annual check-up. She was patient number 63-11859 and was hospitalized for several days. The check-up was routine, with no significant issues or complications.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
August 26, 1967: Judy’s final show at The Palace Theater in New York.
Judy had been in concert at the venue since July 31st and was a huge success. The album of songs from the first three nights of the run had already been released and was also a hit.
Listen to he entire show, and selections here:
“What Now My Love?
“Over The Rainbow”
Complete show (in two zip files):
http://www.thejudyroom.com/songs/PalaceClosing1.zip
http://www.thejudyroom.com/songs/PalaceClosing2.zip
Photos: Judy stands under her portrait at the Palace Theater. The portrait was created by Robert Gali.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
August 26, 2010: This excellent review of the recently released “Judy Garland – Lost Tracks” CD set, written by Will Friedwald, was published in the Wall Street Journal. Friedwald gives a great explanation about why the premiere of the two previously lost Decca test recordings was so monumental.
August 26, 2013: This ad ran in the trade magazines promoting the upcoming 75th-anniversary edition of The Wizard of Oz on Blu-ray and DVD.
What’s interesting to note is that WHV jumped the gun by one year (the 75th anniversary was in 2014) in putting out this new boxed set just three years after the big 70th anniversary boxed set. The only difference between the two was adding the film in 3D and some new tchotchkes. All of the other extras remained the same, including the digital file of the non-3D version of the film.
Check out The Judy Room’s Page about this release here.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on The Wizard of Oz here.
