Posted by “The singing is spacious and warm and beautiful whether it is in music to be caressed or belted. Miss Garland, having long experience, covers quite a span of song writing … even songs that weren’t written especially for her become hers by right of interpretation. She is an ‘original’ and thus has the right.” – Seymour Raven, 1958
September 5, 1936: This note (first image) was carried by several papers noting the casting of Judy and Deanna Durbin (here still being called by her real name, Edna May) in the short Every Sunday.
“Casting was completed last week for the M-G-M Miniature Musical, Every Sunday, which features Judy Garland and Edna May Durbin, thirteen-year-old players making their screen debuts.”
What’s interesting about this notice is that it was published three months after Judy and Deanna first began work on the sort that previous June. By the time this notice ran, Judy was in the last few weeks of filming her feature film debut, 20th Century-Fox’s Pigskin Parade.
It’s possible that MGM put the word out due to the fact that both girls were getting a lot of attention. The short played across the nation in December of 1936, usually with the MGM feature Love On The Run starring Clark Gable and Joan Crawford. Notice in these two newspaper clippings how Judy is noted for her work in Pigskin Parade.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography’s pages on Pigskin Parade here.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages “Judy Garland Shorts” section here.
September 5, 1937: Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937).
September 5, 1939: More Ozzy-related newspaper items.
More details and images of all of Judy’s activities during that golden year of 1939 can be found on The Judy Room’s Garland Centennial 1939 Page.
Check out The Judy Room’s Extensive Spotlight on The Wizard of Oz here.
September 5, 1940: More filming of scenes for Little Nellie Kelly on MGM’s Backlot #2, on the “Exterior Brownstone Front” set which was part of the “New York Streets” section as well as on the “Interior Kelly Flat” set which was back on Lot #1 on a soundstage. Time called: 9 a.m.; dismissed: 6:05 p.m.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on Little Nellie Kelly here.
September 5, 1941: More filming on the “Hoe Down” number for Babes on Broadway. Time called: 9 a.m.; lunch 12:25-1:25 p.m.; time dismissed: 6:10 p.m.
September 5, 1943: The New York Sunday News newspaper published one of the photos taken of Judy on July 16, 1943, while she was in New York.
September 5, 1943: The joint is really jumpin’ down at Carnegie Hall. Thousands Cheer (1943) and Presenting Lily Mars (1943).
September 5, 1943: Judy, along with all of the other stars, were en route to Washington, DC when they made a short stop in Salt Lake City. As with most travel of the day, they traveled by train.
September 5, 1944: Filming continued on The Clock with scenes shot on the “Interior Egyptian Room-Interior Crusaders Tomb” set. Time called: 10 a.m.; dismissed: 5:55 p.m.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on The Clock here.
September 5, 1950: Judy attended a late-night showing of Summer Stock at the Capitol Theater in New York (the same theater she and Mickey Rooney had appeared at 11 years earlier when The Wizard of Oz was released). When the audience saw her after the showing, there was a “gloriously supportive mob scene with cries of ‘We love you, Judy!'” The event made the papers the next day.
These two snapshots were taken of Judy in NY at this time. Also shown above are two articles, one is Earl Wilson’s column reporting on the event and the other is a review of Summer Stock that notes the basic storyline, Judy’s unflattering costumes, and her weight. But as usual, Judy herself gets high praise for her singing and dancing.
Below, Jack Lait’s column made the claim that “Get Happy” was originally planned for Ziegfeld Follies although that’s completely untrue.
Check out The Judy Room’s Extensive Spotlight on The Wizard of Oz here.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on Summer Stock here.
September 5, 1958: Judy’s opening at Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, which was a benefit for the Chicago Home for Girls, was a smash hit with rave reviews.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
September 5, 1960: More legal troubles for Judy and her husband/manager Sid Luft.
September 5, 1963: Judy and daughter Liza Minnelli were in the audience at the Cal-Neva Lodge in Lake Tahoe, California for Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin’s show. They didn’t go unnoticed and Judy was coaxed to come up on stage and join them for an impromptu rendition of “The Birth of the Blues.” Judy was on a break from the taping of her new TV series.
Listen to “The Birth of the Blues” here:
Photo: Snapshot of Judy and Liza in 1963.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
September 5, 1967: Judy’s trip to Paragon Park with her son Joey Luft the previous day (September 4th) made The Boston Globe.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
September 5, 1968: Judy was enjoying much of the summer of 1968 in Boston with her friend Wes Fuller and her new attorney Benjamin S. Freeman. She stayed with Freeman and his wife, Pearl, at their home in Brighton, Massachusetts until she got an apartment in Boston.
This photo was taken on September 5, 1968, at Pier 4 in Boston. Judy was at the pier signing a new three-year management contract with CMA (see article). At the same time, Judy signed a statement releasing CMA from any claims she had previously made against them in her October 11, 1966, and March 15, 1967, lawsuits. CMA announced that she would be “enjoying life for the first time” and that there would be “fewer concerts, but more movies and some television.”
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.