“No matter what you may think of the histrionic attributes of Mickey and Judy they represent the teeming ‘teens and all the longings thereof. They are the symbols of the generation of swing.” – Damon Runyon, 1939
August 23, 1934: Here is another example of Judy and her sisters (“The Gumm Sisters”) enduring another misspelling of their name, this time as “Glumm” during their engagement at the Marbro Theater in Chicago, Illinois.
August 23, 1936: Judy was mentioned in Louella Parsons’s column. This might be the first time Parsons mentioned Judy.
August 23, 1937: Judy made a quick trip up to the Bay Area (San Francisco) to make personal appearances at the Paramount Theater in San Francisco and (on the 24th) the Fox Theater in Oakland. Both theaters were showing Broadway Melody of 1938. Judy’s appearances on this day were confined to appearing before all showings of the film at the Paramount Theater in San Francisco.
Judy Garland Due in Person at Fox-Oakland
Judy Garland, featured player in “Broadway Melody of 1938” will be at the Fox Oakland in person tomorrow.
Dormant since “Pigskin Parade,” she comes into her own, vocalizing “Everybody Sing,” “Dear Mr. Gable,” and comedy dancing with Buddy Ebsen.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on Broadway Melody of 1938 here.
August 23, 1939: More Judy Garland dresses, just in time for “back to school” shopping.
August 23, 1939: Famed author Damon Runyon gave this glowing review of The Wizard of Oz. He was surprised to enjoy Judy and Mickey on stage, noting that most personal appearances by movie celebrities “are generally most inadequate … but we wound up enjoying [Judy and Mickey]” and noting that Judy had “a great pair of pipes” and “Mickey is all rhythm.” He was most taken with Bert Lahr’s performance in the film, but also had accolades for the “several great performances,” including Judy’s, of course.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on The Wizard of Oz here.
August 23, 1939: Here are some blurbs, articles, and reviews regarding The Wizard of Oz and Judy & Mickey’s East Coast tour, and their success at New York’s Capitol Theatre – all published on this date in the latest issue of the trade magazine, “The Exhibitor.”
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on The Wizard of Oz here.
August 23, 1939: Here is an interesting tidbit about a trial of a new “double track sound development” in conjunction with a showing(s) of The Wizard of Oz in New Orleans.
August 23, 1939: Judy and Mickey Rooney took time out from their shows at the Capitol in New York to pose for a photo session for the “Daily News” color magazine cover. Below is another article about Judy and Mickey’s recent arrival in the city and the mobs of fans that greeted them at Grand Central Station.
August 23, 1939: More ads for The Wizard of Oz.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on The Wizard of Oz here.
August 23, 1940: Filming continued on Little Nellie Kelly with more scenes shot on MGM’s Back Lot #2, the New York Street, specifically the St. Patrick’s Day Parade scenes (including “It’s A Great Day For The Irish”).
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on Little Nellie Kelly here.
August 23, 1941: Judy appeared on the cover of “Home Notes” magazine. On this day, she was out sick from filming on Babes on Broadway and would be out sick for the next two days, returning on August 26th.
Photo provided by Kim Lundgreen. Thanks, Kim!
August 23, 1943: This MGM ad appeared in the trade magazine, “The Film Bulletin.” Three of Judy’s recent and upcoming films are featured: For Me And My Gal (1942), Presenting Lily Mars (1943), and Girl Crazy (1943). Also noted is Thousands Cheer (1943) in which Judy has a quick guest appearance.
August 23, 1944: Filming on The Clock continued with scenes shot on the “Exterior Street – Bus” and “Interior Egyptian Room and Crusaders Tomb” sets. Time called: 10 a.m.; Judy arrived at the studio at 8:30 a.m., from 10:15-10:26 she finished getting into wardrobe and fixing her hair (etc.). Time dismissed: 5:40 p.m.
This was the last day of shooting on the film by director Fred Zinnemann. He was replaced by Vincente Minnelli. During the change in directors, the production was on “layoff” until August 26th, at which time Judy had “no call” and was not needed for work on the film. Judy returned to work on the film on August 28th.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on The Clock here.
August 23, 1950: Summer Stock was proving to be another hit for Judy despite the recent negative press she had been getting. Garland fans were, and still are, a loyal bunch.
The Wizard of Oz had been successfully re-released for the first time in 1949 and was still playing in some theaters, at least in Canada, as this ad from the Ottawa Citizen shows.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on The Wizard of Oz here.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on Summer Stock here.
August 23, 1953: Judy’s second recording session for A Star Is Born. She pre-recorded “Gotta Have Me Go With You,” which, thankfully, was not cut from the film.
Here is the remastered soundtrack LP version in complete stereo for the first time, as premiered on the wonderful 2017 2-CD set “Soundtracks.”
Here is the orchestra-only track for the film version. There are a few audio effects in the middle (where the audience is chattering in a confused manne,r responding to what’s happening on the stage):
The playback disc is from The Rick Smith Collection. Thanks, Rick!
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on A Star is Born here.
August 23, 1960: Columnist Sheilah Graham reported that Judy wanted to take up permanent residence in England. Judy was in London preparing for her very first two-act solo concert at the London Palladium on August 28th.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
August 23, 1963: Judy and Mickey are together again. Just a month before, on June 24, 1963, the duo had been reunited professionally when Mickey was the first guest on her new endeavor, “The Judy Garland Show,” set to premiere that fall on CBS-TV.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
August 23, 1964: The 40th anniversary of MGM was being celebrated, and of course, Judy was mentioned along with the other legends from the studio.
August 23, 1967: Judy’s concert at New York’s Palace Theater was recorded from the audience by Garland fan Steve Gruber.
Although the audio is poor due to Gruber’s position in the theater far from the stage, it’s still of interest to fans. The tracks in this zip file were taken from a CD given to me by Gruber and are not the poorly “remastered/restored” versions floating around out there.
Download the zip file here (zip file).
Photo: Judy at the Palace, also shared by Mr. Gruber. Thanks, Steve!
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
August 23, 1967: Judy was scheduled to take her Palace act to The Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland. Judy fulfilled the engagement, which was for two nights, September 8th & 9th, 1967.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
August 23, 1967: The Pickwick label was a new label created by Capitol Records to sell compilations at budget prices. Oddly enough, although MGM Records and Decca Records had been releasing compilations, this was the first to feature the title “Over the Rainbow.” It certainly wasn’t the last! No credits were given on the sleeve, so we don’t know who the artist was for this very colorful Garland artwork.
Check out The Judy Garland Online Discography’s Pages on “Judy Garland – Over The Rainbow” here.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
August 23, 1968: Was Judy poised for another comeback?
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
August 23, 2011: Warner Home Video released a brand new direct-to-video cartoon, Tom & Jerry and The Wizard of Oz, which turned out to be a thoroughly delightful retelling of the film’s plot through the eyes of Tom & Jerry.