“You’ll never make the big time, because you’re small time in your heart.” – Judy Garland as “Jo Hayden” in “For Me And My Gal” – 1942
April 10, 1932: Frances (Judy) performed in a talent show at the Lancaster High School, Lancaster, California.
April 10, 1939: Judy made appearances at multiple Loew’s theaters (see the ad above). Due to the times given and taking into account the time to travel, Judy’s appearances at the smaller Loew’s theaters must not have featured a stage show but rather Judy’s greeting of her fans. She opened at Loew’s State on April 13 for a week-long engagement. It was her second time at the theatre, her first being a year prior in 1938.
April 10, 1940: Here’s a cute cartoon that mentions Judy and Freddie Bartholomew, as well as Judy’s flower shop (which was a reality, at least for a while).
April 10, 1940: Decca Records recording session at the Decca studios in Hollywood, California. Judy recorded four songs in the following order: “(Can This Be) The End Of The Rainbow”; “Wearing Of The Green”; “I’m Nobody’s Baby”; and “Buds Won’t Bud.” The latter two were also recorded by Judy for MGM’s Andy Hardy Meets Debutante with “Buds Won’t Bud” being deleted.
“I’m Nobody’s Baby” was the highlight of the film and this Decca recording (paired with “Buds Won’t Bud” on Decca single #3174) was released by Decca to coincide with the release of the film. What’s interesting is that “I’m Nobody’s Baby” was the “B” side of the single, but is the song that became the hit, peaking at #3 on the charts.
“Wearing of the Green” was not released until August and was paired with “Friendship” which Judy recorded with Johnny Mercer on April 15th. “(Can This Be) The End Of The Rainbow” was released in September 1940 and then again in November 1941.
Listen to “(Can This Be) The End Of The Rainbow” here:
Listen to “Wearing Of The Green” here:
Listen to “I’m Nobody’s Baby” here:
Listen to “Buds Won’t Bud” here:
Label images from the Rick Smith Collection. Thanks, Rick!
For information about all of Judy’s Decca recordings and their many, many re-releases, check out The Judy Garland Online Discography’s Decca Records Pages here.
April 10, 1942: Filming continued on For Me And My Gal on the “Interior Nick’s Cafe” set. Time called: 10:00 a.m.; dismissed: 6:15 p.m. This was the last day of filming the iconic title number.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on For Me And My Gal here.
April 10, 1943: Judy had another music rehearsal of the “Embraceable You” number for Girl Crazy. Tome called: 10:30 a.m.; Judy arrived at 11:15 a.m.; dismissed: 4:30 p.m.
Photo: VHS cover artwork.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on Girl Crazy here.
April 10, 1943: Here is another mention of Judy being cast in The Belle of New York. The title had been on producer Arthur Freed’s wish list for over a decade before he was finally able to bring it to the screen in 1952. By that time, the film starred Fred Astaire and Vera-Ellen.
For more about film projects that Judy was either cast in or wanted for, check out The Judy Room’s “Films That Got Away” page here.
April 10, 1943: In the “What The Picture Did For Me” feature in the trade magazine “Motion Picture Daily,” Arthur K. Dame of the Palace Theatre in Penacook, New Hampshire, had this to say about For Me And My Gal: “Very good. I don’t think it was a big production nor a very costly one, but it please okay and did good business. Played Saturday, Sunday, March 6, 7.”
April 10, 1944: Judy had dubbing work for Meet Me In St. Louis. Time called: 10:00 a.m.; dismissed: 12:30 p.m. This was Judy’s second to last day of work on the film. The final day was another day of dubbing on May 26, 1944.
Photo: 1983 VideoDisc cover artwork.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Meet Me In St. Louis here.
April 10, 1945: Judy and co-star John Hodiak were on location in Chatsworth, California in the San Fernando Valley, filming desert scenes for The Harvey Girls including the ultimately deleted song “My Intuition.” Time called: 10 a.m.; arrived: 10:15 a.m.; dismissed: 5:35 p.m.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on The Harvey Girls here.
April 10, 1946: Ziegfeld Follies of 1946.
April 10, 1947: Another famous Garland outtake was pre-recorded on this day, “Voodoo” for The Pirate. The song went through various a couple of different versions but was ultimately deleted after filming. The footage no longer survives. Time called: 12 p.m.; dismissed: 5 p.m.
Listen to “Voodoo” Take 1 here:
Listen to “Voodoo” Take 3 here (includes some Garland chatter):
Listen to “Voodoo” the complete version here:
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on The Pirate here.
April 10, 1947: Borrow Judy Garland’s Beauty Secret! This Lux Soap ad promoted their product as a tie-in to the recent MGM musical hit Till The Clouds Roll By in which Judy’s guest star appearance as Marilyn Miller was the highlight.
Check out The Judy Garland Online Discography’s Till The Clouds Roll By pages here.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Till The Clouds Roll By here.
Meanwhile, the newly formed MGM Records had just released (on March 1st) their first album, “MGM-1,” which was the soundtrack to Till The Clouds Roll By.
April 10, 1948: Judy’s Easter Parade co-star, Fred Astaire, was featured in the regular “Seein’ Stars” newspaper feature.
April 10, 1951: The reviews were in and Judy was the talk of the entertainment world with her smashing success on her opening night at the London Palladium the previous night. What would become known as her legendary “Concert Years” had begun.
Note how the articles mention Judy’s weight with words like “heavyweight” “plump” and “ungainly matron.” That didn’t stop the critics from giving her stellar reviews, of course, but one wonders what these words did for Judy’s self-confidence if she read them.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
April 10, 1952: Judy’s divorce from her second husband, Vincente Minnelli, was reported as being finalized on April 9th. This left her free to marry Sid Luft.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
April 10, 1953: Imagine being at Lauren Bacall’s party and hearing Judy “casually” sing. Many in Hollywood at the time spoke in awe about the fact that Judy could be coaxed to sing at parties, and sometimes sang through the night. How lucky they were!
April 10, 1954: Judy returned to work on A Star Is Born, to begin rehearsals on retakes of the “Lose That Long Face” number. Judy had taken a two-week vacation from the film, after a screening of a rough cut (on March 25th) was deemed a success. During this break, Judy quit taking her prescribed medications “cold turkey.”
Photo: 1984 laserdisc cover artwork.
Check out The Judy Room’s Extensive Spotlight on A Star Is Born here.
April 10, 1961: The Atlanta Constitution ran this great artwork promoting Judy’s upcoming concert at the Municipal Auditorium on April 13 including the article on the inside. The concert was part of Judy’s big 1961 tour, the apex of which was her legendary appearance at New York’s Carnegie Hall on April 23rd.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
Also on April 10, 1961: Judy and her husband Sid Luft were sued by the Western Costume Company for $11,000. The suit was actually filed the day before, on April 9th, and hit the news the following day.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
April 10, 1963: The Hollywood premiere of Judy’s recent film, I Could Go On Singing, took place at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood. The event was a benefit for handicapped children. Judy was in New York at the time so she did not attend.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on I Could Go On Singing here.
April 10, 1964: Judy wrote checks to Lionel Doman (her butler) for $115.64, and to the Palisade Travel Bureau, 15235 Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades, California, for $213.90.
Photo: Judy circa 1964.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
April 10, 2008: Here is a “wallpaper” design for the Turner Classic Movies website, promoting this night’s airing of Ziegfeld Girl.
April 10, 2020: More from Turner Classic Movies, this it’s an ad promoting the airing of The Wizard of Oz.