Posted by “Garland is one of the theater’s great entertainers, a fact that nobody has ever been fool enough to deny”
– Wood Soanes, 1952
May 27, 1937: The second day in a row in which “The Hollywood Reporter” alerted readers about Judy’s actions (career-wise), see May 26 for earlier notice.
This time it was announced that Judy would be dropping out as a vocalist on the Jack Oakie radio show. This was most likely due to her schedule at MGM becoming busier. The Oakie show ended up being canceled, with Judy actually staying with the show until its final broadcast a month later on June 22nd.
Listen to, and download, some of Judy’s performances on the Oakie shows at The Judy Room’s “Judy Sings! – On The Radio” pages here.
Also on May 27, 1937: Louella Parsons reported that Judy was allegedly up for the role of “Velvet Brown” in National Velvet. The film wasn’t made until 1944, with Elizabeth Taylor in her star-making role as Velvet.
May 27, 1939: Babes in Arms filming continued with scenes on the ‘Interior Patsy’s Bedroom” and “Interior Bus” sets, including Judy’s heartfelt rendition of “I Cried For You.” Time called: 9 a.m.; lunch 12:43-1:43; time dismissed: 6 p.m.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on Babes in Arms here.
May 27, 1940: Strike Up The Band filming continued with scenes shot on the “Interior Holden Home” set. The footage shot this day may or may not have been part of the “Our Love Affair” number.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on Strike Up The Band here.
May 27, 1942: Pre-recording session for For Me And My Gal. Judy recorded “Three Cheers For The Yanks” which was cut from the film although the stereo pre-recordings survive. Time called: 12:50 p.m.; dismissed: 4:15 p.m.
Listen to “Three Cheers For The Yanks” here:
Listen to “Three Cheers For The Yanks” (orchestra-only track) here:
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on For Me And My Gal here.
May 27, 1947: Judy was out sick from the production of The Pirate. She returned the next day.
Photo provided by Kim Lundgreen. Thanks, Kim!
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on The Pirate here.
May 26, 1948: Several items. Mike Molony repeated the studio-created story that Judy wanted to be a lawyer before finding success as a singer. It’s odd to see this story from the 1930s still making the rounds in the late 1940s. Sheilah Graham mentioned Judy’s weight loss in her column and how pretty baby Liza Minnelli was. The PIrate was playing around the country with Easter Parade coming soon. MGM trade ad promoting their latest films including The Pirate and Easter Parade.
May 26, 1949: Judy’s recent departure from Annie Get Your Gun, the details surrounding that event, and her trip to Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston for rest were in the columns and syndicated news releases. Of interest is the statement by Judy’s manager, Carlton Alsop, regarding her trip to Boston, “I hope this will settle forever those stories about Judy seeking psychiatric treatment. She is going to a doctor. Anybody has the right to do that without starting a lot of wild rumors.” Alsop was a champion of Judy’s and truly tried to do what was best for her both personally and professionally.
May 27, 1950: Judy had a day off from her rehearsal work on Royal Wedding, not from illness but because she was not on call so was not needed.
Erksine Johnson’s syndicated column reported (exclusively!) that Judy was in San Francisco enjoying a rest “under the care of specialists.” Judy did get a rest after filming Summer Stock but in Carmel, California, not San Francisco. She also did not end up in “Three M-G-M musicals, including ‘Show Boat'” but was, as noted, working on one of them.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on Royal Wedding here.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on Summer Stock here.
May 27, 1952: The reviews of Judy’s opening night at San Francisco’s Curran Theater were, of course, stellar. Here is the review by Wood Soanes of the Oakland Tribune. He is the same critic who predicted great things for “Little Frances Garland” the vaudevillian who performed at the Curran with her mother and sisters in 1934, also in the Oakland Tribune and part of which he quoted in his article about Judy’s return on May 25, 1952. It’s safe to say that Soanes was a Garland fan!
Note that Soanes gives us some great detail as to the content of Judy’s show at this point, which was still in the vaudeville format.
CURTAIN CALLS
Judy Garland Triumphs as Light Opera Series Opens
By WOOD SOANES
Cafe society and the carriage trade were in evidence in large numbers at the Curran Theater last evening to participate in the launching of the 1952 Civic Light Opera Series in general and the welcoming of Judy Garland in particular.
It must have warmed the cockles of la Garland’s heart to receive the tribute, in applause, flowers, and a standing salute, to her courage in attempting the comeback trail and her artistry as an entertainer. She responded with a magnificent performance.
The Judy Garland Show is divided into two parts. In the first Miss Garland does not appear and the entertainment chores are divided among five vaudeville acts; in the second she takes over with a special pit conductor, a stage accompanist and a male octet.
MAX BYGRAVES CLICKS
The vaudeville portion of the bill is, with a single exception, purely standard stuff made up of acts that would be lucky to get a three-spot billing in the hey-dey of variety.
Opening act is The Shyrettos’ bicycle and unicycle turn which has been in evidence from time to time since it was imported back in 1939 by Clifford C. Fischer for a novelty item in his “Folles Bergere” at the San Francisco World’s Fair.
Jesse, James, and Cornell, a trio of Negro acrobatic dancers, followed. They in turn gave way to Reggie Rymal, erstwhile yo-yo champion and now working with paddle-balls. Giselle and Francois Szony offered a dance turn, and then Bygraves went to work.
A talented young English comic with a better than average voice and an un-billed dead-pan accompanist who is very funny, Bygraves had the audience in the palm of his hand as he did his monologue, comedy bits, and songs. As a matter of fact the applause was deafening for every act on the bill. Last night’s audience was in nothing if not a generous and receptive moove.
GARLAND ARRIVES
After the intermission, in the fashion of the late Sir Harry Lauder used to work with his fabulous “concerts,” Miss Garland arrived decked out in a black jacket and a voluminous white skirt and obviously apprehensive.
She opened with a topical song called “Meet the Press” and moved into another special number, “This Is the Palace” which included a medley of famous songs introduced by famous stars of yesteryear. Oddly enough, the Nora Bayes hit “Shine on Harvest Moon” didn’t evoke any memories, but the Sophie Tucker, Fannie [sic] Brice and Eva Tanguay offerings ran up the applause meter to a feverish height.
Actually, Miss Garland didn’t hit her stride until she did the “Trolley Song.” After that she could have done “Three Little Fishies” or “Mairsie Doats” and had the customers rolling in the aisles.
COSTUME CHANGES
Miss Garland took time out for two costume changes while the male chorus did chatty song and dance numbers. One, “Come on Get Happy” found her in a lively song and dance routine; the other, with Jack McClendon was “We’re a Couple of Swells,” a tramp bit from the film “Summer Stock.”
Apparently it was her intention to bring the evening to a close with “Over the Rainbow” but the audience had different ideas when the flowers began to go over the footlights and the applause was insistent, she borrowed a page from Al Jolson’s book and settled down – still in comedy get-up – to do a series of encores, chiefly requests.
It looked for a time as if old home week were going to be celebrated and the performance would continue indefinitely, but the curtain finally descended, and the audience went chattering gaily into the night. Taken by and large, it was a gratifying evening but if the vaudeville section is indicative of current quality in the field there is no reason to expect that the Judy Garland Show will restore the two-a-day to ist old estate.
What was demonstrated, beyond question, was that little Garland is one of the theater’s great entertainers, a fact that nobody has ever been fool enough to deny.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
May 27, 1953: Judy entered St. Johns Hospital in Santa Monica for a check-up. Thankfully everything was fine. Judy was getting ready to begin rehearsals for her big film comeback in A Star Is Born. Her first official day of work on the film was on August 18th.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
May 27, 1954: This notice lists Judy as one of the performers on this night’s 8:00 p.m. radio show. It’s doubtful that Judy took part in this show. There are no other listings and no other information about this program. It could be that Judy was scheduled but couldn’t make it, or it was a simple mistake. Judy was currently in the throes of extensive rehearsals for the “Born in a Trunk” sequence in A Star Is Born and was scheduled to begin the recording of the songs and narration the next day (May 28).
May 27, 1955: Judy was about to begin rehearsals for her new stage show, “The Judy Garland Show,” which had recently been announced. The Wizard of Oz was beginning its second theatrical re-release (and the last one before becoming a TV tradition). Included above is an ad for the showing of A Star Is Born in London, England, and the drive-in showing in La Crosse, Michigan.
May 27, 1959: Judy’s only real concept album received a nice mention from “Felix (The Cat)” Brown.
Check out The Judy Garland Online Discography’s “The Letter” pages here.
May 27, 1964: Judy left her hotel in Hong Kong to consult a doctor. It was the only time she left the hotel, on her own. The next day Typhoon Viola struck the city and the day after that Judy was rushed to the hospital due to an accidental overdose of pills. She was unaware that the day before (May 26th) her sister, Sue, died from an overdose in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Because it was already May 28th in Hong Kong, and the fact that Judy was rushed to the hospital in the early morning hours local time, some early editions of papers in the U.S. carried the initial report, dated the 28th yet published on the 27th.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
May 27, 1965: Judy was in Cincinnati, Ohio, and was reportedly feeling “worse” on this day than she had been feeling the previous day (when she went to the local Playboy Club), according to her publicist, Guy McElwaine. Meanwhile, Liza was getting raves for her recent Broadway debut in “Flora The Red Menace” which opened on May 11th. “They’re not asking to see Judy Garland’s daughter. They’re asking to see Liza Minnelli.” Liza went on to win her first Tony Award for her performance.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
May 27, 1984: This Danish article is about the 1983 restoration of A Star Is Born. I don’t know Danish so I can’t transcribe it. 🙂
Scan provided by Kim Lundgreen. Thanks, Kim!
Check out The Judy Room’s Extensive Spotlight Section on A Star Is Born here.