Posted by Judy Garland, at 20, is neither child nor woman, a circumstance which often obtains with youngsters who grow up in the theater. She is neither entirely mature nor her own age, yet she is completely charming. – Kate Holliday, 1943
April 18, 1930: “The Gumm Sisters” (Judy and her two sisters) performed at the Knight of Pythius District Convention.
April 18, 1932: The last of a two-night engagement for Frances (Judy) at her father’s theater, the Valley Theater, in Lancaster, California.
April 18, 1938: Everybody Sing.
April 18, 1940: More music rehearsals for Judy and Mickey Rooney on the “Gay Nineties” number for Strike Up the Band. Time called: 9:00 a.m.; dismissed: 6:00 p.m. The assistant director’s notes stated that “shoot tests Mickey Rooney and JG” were also done.
Photo: 1990s VHS cover art.
April 18, 1941: Judy and Mickey Rooney made the cover of the Danish magazine “Vecko-Revyn.”
Photo provided by Kim Lundgreen. Thanks, Kim!
April 18, 1941: Ziegfeld Girl.
April 18, 1942: Babes on Broadway.
April 18, 1942: Judy was ill and left MGM at 9:00 a.m. She was scheduled for more filming on For Me and My Gal.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on For Me and My Gal here.
April 18, 1943: This article, written by Kate Holliday for the Associated Press, is dated April 17 but it also appeared in newspapers as early as April 11, 1943. It’s fiction from the creative minds at the MGM publicity department with just enough facts to make it believable.
Judy Garland, At 20, Finds Life Good But Often A Bit Puzzling
Actress Is Upset Because Her Marriage Didn’t Succeed
By KATE HOLLIDAY
Hollywood, April 17 – (Associated Press) – Judy Garland, at 20, is neither child nor woman, a circumstance which often obtains with youngsters who grow up in the theater. She is neither entirely mature nor her own age, yet she is completely charming.
At present, she is also a little pathetic.
She would be the last to admit that. The seeming failure of her marriage has left her confused, but not sorry for herself.
She has been around show business long enough to know that anything can happen. She and Dave Rose may remain man and wife. They may not. She still thinks he is a great guy, particularly for his music. And her statement is, “Whichever way it works out will be the best way for both of us.”
Runs Her Own Affairs
Judy has been closely concerned with the running of her own life since she was a child. So she did not return to her mother’s house when she separated from her husband. Instead, she took an apartment. It is her present pride and joy.
It’s a small, sunny place, merely a living room, bedroom, dining room and kitchen. It is furnished in French provincial, with much brass and many growing plants. Only the bathroom presents a different note. What was formerly a little dismal is now a riot of red and white.
The apartment is too tiny to house a maid, and Judy says she wouldn’t have one if she could.
“You get dependent on people when you have a big house,” she says. “I don’t ever want to be that dependent again.”
Does Own Housework
She does her own work. Sundays, particularly, find her madly vacuuming and sweeping. She is a fiend for washing ash trays. She likes dusting, but hates to make beds. And she’s a good cook.
Show business is an old story to her; so old, in fact, that she needn’t make a production of being a star. She knows she is good. The studio knows it. So she is completely natural.
Occasionally she makes a remark that sounds even younger than her 20 years.
“I’ve heard that the years from 20 to 30 just fly by,” she said. “Is that true?”
“I’d like to get to the graceful age – between 30 and 40. I’d like to be the tall, suave type with two children. You know, the kind that doesn’t show it!” Then she laughs. “Instead, I’ll probably be in the dumpy division!”
No Appetite For Detail
Childishly, too, she hates to fill out forms of any kind. Detail is her pet hate. Getting a ration book is worse than making a picture.
She also hates to talk on the phone and to look up numbers in the telephone book. She likes people who greet her over the wire, state their business and hang up. She gives mad, horrifying excuses not to have to go through the directory. One of these included a plaintive statement to the information operation: “But I have no hands!”
She has a collection of records, ranging from Sibelius to Louis Armstrong, from Delius to Artie Shaw. Music is music to Judy.
She has taken but one singing lesson in her life. That was enough. The teacher asked her to put a pencil across her teeth and sing. Judy did. The woman claimed her diction was bad. Chewing lead, said Judy, didn’t help it any. Then the coach said that if she wasn’t careful she’d end up singing like Kate Smith. Judy’s reaction was, “Is that bad?”
Inherited Her Voice
She says her father had a naturally beautiful voice, completely untrained. That’s where she got hers. She sings constantly in private life, thus keeping her voice flexible. She’s a little worried about the effect of this on her new neighbors.
“The guy upstairs probably thinks, “We liked her voice, but don’t run it into the ground!”
She hates to get up in the morning, though she presents a smiling exterior. (“You don’t know what’s going on inside!”). She has a temper which has been quiescent for years. When it erupts, she is actually ill. She can never feel the same toward the object of her wrath, no matter how pretty the subsequent apology.
She usually is dressed in a suit with a frilly white blouse or a printed dress, over which she throws a fur coat. Her hats are small, feathered and wonderful.
Plans Long Vacation
Through she was included to pudginess as a child, she is now thin. Her skin is translucent, accentuating her vital brown eyes. Her cheek bones are positive and her hair is red-gold. She has been more or less run down for a year and is planning to take a vacation for three months as soon as “Girl Crazy” is finished. Then she will rent a house in New England.
Has Two Good Hands
She is ambidextrous: writes and eats with her left hand, plays all sports with her right. She wears her platinum wedding ring and the large square diamond Dave gave her. She likes long, bright red finger nails. She plays a shrewd game of poker.
She is on the level, this kid. Her best friends are her sisters, a worker in the publicity department, and the thousand “little” people on the lot. And they are the ones who wish her the most happiness.
She’s a little confused now, as I say, because she thought she had found everything with Dave and perhaps didn’t. But she’s handling herself and the situation with calmness, quietness and honesty.
April 18, 1943: Columnist Sheilah Graham noted:
Judy Garland gets one of the best dancers in the country for her new final in Lily Mars” – Chuck Walters, who danced with Betty Grable in the Broadway musical, “DuBarry Was A Lady.” He was brought to Metro as a dance instructor for film spectacles. And then someone had the bright idea – why not let the boy do his own stuff before the camera? In addition to dancing with Judy in the aforementioned film, Chuck arranged the Rodeo dance number for Judy and Mickey Rooney in “Girl Crazy.” This has a chorus of 40 men and 40 girls. Where did they get the men? From the two big colleges – U.S.C. and U.C.L.A. If the boys are up on their grades they are allowed to dance in pictures three days a month at the top rate of $16.50. This gives them good pocket money, and helps out the studios with the shortage-of-men-headache.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on Girl Crazy here.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Presenting Lily Mars here.
April 18, 1945: The Harvey Girls filming consisted of the fight between the “good girls” and “bad girls” on the “Interior Alhambra” set. Time called: 10 a.m.; arrived: 10:15 a.m.; dismissed: 5:35 p.m.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on The Harvey Girls here.
Also on April 18, 1945: These items appeared in the gossip columns. They might be true or they might not. The first is from Harrison Carroll’s column and makes a note about Judy’s living arrangements. The second is an uncredited story about Judy helping an electrician’s daughter to a screen career although if true the career didn’t happen. The third is Sheila Graham’s column noting that Judy is too thin. The columnists loved to talk about Judy’s weight whether she was thin or heavy. Is it any wonder she was insecure about her appearance?
April 18, 1946: Ziegfeld Follies of 1946 and The Harvey Girls.
April 18, 1947: Till The Clouds Roll By (released in 1946).
April 18, 1948: Judy and Arthur Freed attended a party at the Mocambo that Freed gave for Perry Como. All three are seen in this photo taken at the event. At this time Judy was on a two-month vacation after having completed the filming of both The Pirate and Easter Parade and had become quite thin and worn out.
April 18, 1948: Columnist Hedda Hopper’s column was devoted to Judy’s Easter Parade co-star Fred Astaire. He’s quoted as saying, “As dancing partners, I have five girls, including Judy Garland. There’s a girl with great talent. I’m told we’ve got a good film; and I’m happy that my retirement is over.”
Also on April 18, 1948: This photo of Judy with co-star Walter Slezak’s daughter on the set of The Pirate was sent out to promote the film. Judy is in her “Voodoo” costume which also became the “Mack The Black” costume when it was decided to ax the former and replace it with the latter. This photo was taken during the “Voodoo” filming as Slezak had completed his scenes for the film before the “Mack The Black” retakes. The Pirate was released on June 11, 1948.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on The Pirate here.
April 18, 1949: Judy had a rehearsal of “I’m An Indian, Too” for Annie Get Your Gun. The assistant director’s notes state “JG with Alton Unit.” Judy was due on the set at 2:00 p.m., she arrived at 1:50 p.m. (10 minutes early); dismissed: 4:30 p.m.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on Annie Get Your Gun here.
April 18, 1954: Here’s a photo of Lucy Marlowe who played Norman Maine’s girlfriend in A Star Is Born. It’s interesting to note that her real name was Lucy McAleer and this photo with caption was sent out from the studio prior to her name being changed to the more marquee-friendly “Marlowe.”
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on A Star Is Born here.
April 18, 1956: Here’s another note about the MGM TV show, “MGM Parade,” airing The Pirate in three weekly installments.
April 18, 1962: Here’s an article about Judy’s recent film (for which she was nominated for the Oscar for “Best Supporting Actress”), Judgment at Nuremberg.
April 18, 1963: Judy’s last film, I Could Go On Singing, was currently playing in theaters nationwide.
April 18, 1965: Judy’s recent live appearance on the Oscar telecast is noted in this review of the show.
April 18, 1971: The annual broadcast of The Wizard of Oz on network TV. This broadcast was the fourth time it was “colorcast” on NBC-TV.
The first article features a photo taken of Margaret Hamilton, Jack Haley, and Ray Bolger on April 13, 1971. Shown here is the other, more formal photo taken on the trio.
Check out The Judy Room’s Extensive Spotlight on The Wizard of Oz here.
April 18, 1987: Here are three articles published on this date in Denmark about a TV showing of I Could Go On Singing.
Photos provided by Kim Lundgreen. Thanks, Kim!
April 18, 2012: The Warner Archive released Listen Darling (1938) on DVD.