Posted by “My goal, I think, is just to work and be as, hoping to be successful, work as hard as I can and do the best I can and then someday just quit and be with my children. I don’t say putting a flat statement ‘I want to quit’ .. but I just don’t want to be 80 years old and hobbling onto a stage and still singing ‘I Can’t Give You Anything But Love, Baby.’ Even when I’m 80 I’d like to know they’d let me!” – Judy Garland, 1961
December 14, 1926: Judy and her sisters (as “The Gumm Sisters”) continued their engagement at Loew’s State Theatre in Los Angeles, California. The sisters were part of the Meglin Kiddie act which in turn performed as part of the “Twinkletoe Kiddie Revue” (as “100 Clever Children”) in conjunction with the latest Colleen Moore film, Twinkletoes.
December 14, 1933: “The Three Gumm Sisters” (Judy and her two sisters) performed as part of Lawlor’s 1933 Christmas Revue at the Hollywood Conservatory Auditorium in Hollywood, California. Lawlor’s was a school for professional (showbiz) children.
December 14, 1934: “The Garland Sisters” took part in “The Los Angeles Examiner’s All-Star Christmas Benefit” at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. The sisters had previously been a part of the same annual event on December 13, 1928, when they were part of the Meglin Kiddies group.
December 14, 1937: The first in a four-part series that tells the story of Thoroughbreds Don’t Cry, written by Haley Raines for “The Boston Globe.”
December 14, 1938: Here’s another review of Listen Darling.
December 14, 1938: A very busy day for Judy. During the day, she had a pre-recording session for the extensive “Munchkinland Sequence” for The Wizard of Oz. Judy completed her part (“The Wind Began To Switch”) on this day. More pre-recordings, without Judy, continued the following day. Filming on the sequence did not start until December 17.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are…” (Billie Burke) – Takes 10-14
From “The Ultimate Oz” laserdisc notes: Billie Burke did fourteen takes of the opening song for this sequence. For protection, M-G-M engaged singer Lorainne Bridges to also record Glinda’s song. These tracks no longer exist and rest assured that the takes included in the finished film are none other than Billie Burke’s.
“The Wind Began To Switch” (Judy) – Takes 18-22
From “The Ultimate Oz” laserdisc notes: Always the professional, especially when behind a microphone, Judy Garland endured 22 takes of this section.
Disney voice actor Billy Bletcher provided the male vocal.
That Music Daily Report only lists takes 20, 21, & 22 as being printed even though takes 18 & 19 survived as well.
Later that evening, Judy appeared on two radio programs:
1) The “National Redemption Movement Program” for NBC Radio. Judy joined Mickey Rooney, Lewis Stone, and Jean Parker in a “Hardy Family” sketch.
2) Judy sang “My Old Kentucky Home” on the program “America Calling.” The show itself was a celebration of the anniversary of the American Bill of Rights.
“My Old Kentucky Home” was included in the 4-CD set “Judy Garland – Lost Tracks.”
The photo of Judy and Jackie Cooper was taken on this day during rehearsals for “America Calling.”
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on The Wizard of Oz here.
December 14, 1940: Three lucky girls in the Pottstown, Pennsylvania, area were the winners of a Judy Garland Little Nellie Kelly doll. Contestants wrote letters on “Why I Am A Deserving Little Girl.” Each girl had their own hardship story (“the orphan, the cripple and the girl old beyond her years”). Hopefully, the girls grew up to have long and happy lives.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on Little Nellie Kelly here.
December 14, 1940: Here is a blurb from the trade magazine “Motion Picture Daily” that reports about a charitable promotion campaign in Birmingham, Alabama, centered around the recent opening of Strike Up The Band.
December 14, 1943: Although it was originally released in 1936, Pigskin Parade had an engagement in York, Pennsylvania. It wasn’t uncommon for films of previous years to be requested by a theater or for the studios to offer up past hit films as available to rent. By this point, supporting players Judy and Betty Grable had become stars in the years since 1936, hence their billing above the title and in larger print than the actual stars of the film (Jack Haley and Patsy Kelly).
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on Pigskin Parade here.
December 14, 1943: More filming of “The Trolley Song” for Meet Me In St. Louis on the “Interior Trolley” set. Scenes were also shot on the “Interior Smith Kitchen” set. Time called: 10 a.m.; dismissed: 6 p.m.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Meet Me In St. Louis here.
December 14, 1944: Hedda Hopper devoted her column to Judy and her rise to stardom.
September 14, 1950: This photo essay proposes that there is a marriage jinx against former juvenile stars when they become adults and marry.
December 14, 1953: Filming on A Star Is Born continued with retakes and added scenes on the “Interior Recording Stage” set. Time started 10 a.m.; finished: 1:45 p.m.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on A Star Is Born here.
December 14, 1961: Judy was interviewed by Jack Linkletter on the Roof Garden of the Berlin Hilton (in West Berlin), in conjunction with the premiere of Judgment at Nuremberg.
Listen to that interview here:
Photos: Photos from the event, dinner, and showing of the film feature Judy with director Stanely Kramer and stars Montgomery Clift, Spencer Tracy, and Richard Widmark, among others. Photos provided by Kim Lundgreen. Thanks, Kim!
December 14, 1965: Judy arrived in Houston, TX, at 7 am. She had boarded a plane immediately after her final show at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas. Judy is seen here with Mark Herron being greeted upon their arrival in Houston by columnist Maxine Messenger of the Houston Chronicle.
According to Scott Schechter’s “Day by Day Chronicle” book, Judy couldn’t understand why she couldn’t have slept in Vegas and taken a flight to Houston later in the day and joked “just get her there, and make sure she sings!” She said she was ordering a large breakfast and then sleeping all day.
Judy was in Houston to open the new Astrodome, which she did on December 17, 1965.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
December 14, 1965: Columnist Vernon Scott reports that Judy’s future is bright.
December 14, 1968: At 2 a.m., Judy was finally hungry, wanting some more chile from PJ Clark’s, which arrived cold at 3:20 a.m. Judy then decided she wanted to go to the nightclub “Arthur’s.” which by now was managed by Mickey Deans – who had first met Judy on the morning of March 10, 1967, when he delivered the medication she needed to get herself together to fly to work on Valley of the Dolls. Dean sent a car, and 15 minutes later they were in a Cadillac limousine, which dropped them off at the club, at East 54th Street. They stayed at the club awhile; then Judy and John left with Deans, went food shopping at Smiler’s, and then on to Dean’s apartment on East 88th Street. Judy and John left at 8 a.m., returning to the Hilton. Awakening at 6:30 p.m., John found Judy was still asleep, where she would remain, while Meyer went to a party, where he realized he was sick: he had the Hong Kong flu.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.