Posted by “Judy Garland, apparently tireless, took over the huge auditorium and for more than two hours entranced a sell-out crowd of 13,909.” – George McKinnon, 1961
October 28, 1928: “The Famous Meglin Kiddies Recital” took place at The Breakfast Club in Los Angeles, California. The program featured 76 numbers! Judy and her sisters had a few numbers toward the end of the show. Mary Jane Gumm (Judy’s sister) performed “Song” (apparently it was unknown what song she would sing when the above program was printed); “The Gumm Sisters” performed “Harmony” (again, exactly what is unknown), and “Baby Frances Gumm” (Judy) performed “Laugh Clown, Laugh” as song #74, just two songs before the end “Finale” (of which the sisters most likely took part). Judy’s placement towards the end of the program is an indication that her talents were already sufficient enough to give her one of the best spots in the show.
October 28, 1936: This two-page spread appeared in various trade publications around the country promoting Judy’s very first full-length feature film, Pigskin Parade.
Released on October 23rd, the film was a big hit earning Stuart Erwin (who played Judy’s brother) and Oscar nomination in the new category of “Best Supporting Actor.”
Judy was singled out in reviews. “The New York Sun” called her “one of the film’s biggest assets” and “The Hollywood Reporter,” said: “One of the loftiest highlights is little Judy, who captured the preview audience with a brace of nifty songs.”
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on Pigskin Parade here.
October 28, 1937: According to this article published on October 31, Judy attended a huge party given by Eddie Cantor at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Although she’s listed as a “notable speaker” it can be safely assumed that Judy sang for the crowd.
October 28, 1938: “Now She Sings In A Trailer”
October 28, 1940: Judy and co-star Mickey Rooney starred in the “Lux Radio Theater” adaptation of Strike Up The Band for CBS Radio.
The duo recreated their roles in the film, currently playing in theaters nationwide. It was the second of four “Let’s Put On A Show” musicals starring the duo, all of which were big hits.
Listen to Judy’s sizzling performance of “Drummer Boy” here:
Listen to the complete broadcast here:
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on Strike Up The Band here.
October 28, 1944: Filming on The Clock continued with scenes shot on the “Interior Hotel Suite” and “Interior Taxi Cab” sets. Time called: 10 a.m.; dismissed: 6:00 p.m.
Photo: October 28, 1945, “Filmagen” magazine page featuring a photo shot during the film of the “Interior Hotel Suite” scenes. Scan provided by Kim Lundgreen. Thanks, Kim!
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on The Clock here.
October 28, 1944: MGM ad published in the trade magazine “Motion Picture Herald.”
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Meet Me In St. Louis here.
October 28, 1945: This photo of Judy and husband Vincente Minnelli at the Mocambo appeared in Jay Scott’s photo column, “Candidly, This is Hollywood.”
October 28, 1947: Judy and Fred Astaire had music rehearsals of “A Couple of Swells” for Easter Parade. Time called: 1:30 p.m.; Judy arrived at 1:45 p.m.; dismissed at 3:50 p.m.
UK lobby card provided by Kim Lundgreen. Thanks, Kim!
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Easter Parade here.
October 28, 1953: The second of three days of reshooting “The Man That Got Away” number for A Star Is Born.
The original version shot on October 20 featured Judy in a pink blouse. For these three days, she was filmed in a brown dress designed by Mary Ann Nyberg. Judy arrived on set each of these three days at 10 a.m. she finished at 5:50 p.m. on October 27th; 4:45 on October 28th and 6:15 p.m. on October 29th. The final film version, with the dark blue dress, was filmed in late February 1954.
A total of 27 takes were filmed over the three days. Each time the number was filmed in one long continuous take. According to assistant director Earl Bellamy, Judy would give her all, then rest for 15 minutes, then do it all over again. Every take was brilliant. No takes from this day are known to exist.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on A Star Is Born here.
October 28, 1954: An ad for Judy’s recent soundtrack album, A Star Is Born.
Check out The Judy Garland Online Discography’s A Star Is Born pages for details about the various releases of the soundtrack.
October 28, 1959: The Australian Women’s Weekly liked Judy’s Capitol album, “Judy in Love.”
Check out The Judy Garland Online Discography’s “Judy in Love” pages for details about the various releases of the album.
October 28, 1960: Judy brought her new one-woman show to the Olympia Theater in Paris, France for two nights.
This night’s concert was recorded and broadcast by the radio station “Europe 1” on November 3, 1960.
Download the concert here (zip file):
http://www.thejudyroom.com/songs/Live-in-Paris-Oct-28-1960.zip
The concert was released on CD in 1994 and 2005, the former titled “Judy Garland a Paris” and the latter titled “Judy Garland Live in Paris.”
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” Section here.
October 28, 1961: January Jones (not to be confused with the actress of “Mad Men” fame) is a retired popular nightclub singer who made a few of what we now call music videos. She sang impersonations, or at least “the sounds of” Judy, Peggy Lee, Patti Page, and Ella Fitzgerald. Below is one of her videos. She was quite the looker!
October 28, 1961: This notice appeared, noting Judy’s return to the recording studio to produce her first single in years.
It’s interesting that the article makes it sound as though Judy hadn’t made the single yet, but she did on October 13, 1961.
The success of the Carnegie Hall album prompted Capitol Records to have Judy go into their New York studios (she was currently touring the east coast), and record two singles for release as a “45.” The two songs Judy recorded were “Comes Once In A Lifetime” and “Sweet Danger.” The brilliant Mort Lindsey was the arranger and conducted the session.
Both singles can be found on the wonderful 2007 3-CD set “The Very Best of Judy Garland – The Capitol Recordings – 1955-1965.”
Listen to “Sweet Danger” here:
Listen to “Comes Once In A Lifetime” here:
October 28, 1961: The Boston Globe published this review of Judy’s concert the previous night at The Boston Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” Section here.
October 28, 1964: Sid Luft’s attempt to gain full custody of his children with Judy, Lorna & Joe Luft, failed but he did get unlimited visitation rights. The case was heard in Santa Monica, California, with Sid, Lorna, and Joe appearing in the court on October 27th. Judy was in London and on this night (October 28) she attended the second performance of “Giselle” at the Covent Garden.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” Section here.
October 28, 1968: Judy sang a few numbers at Jilly’s nightclub in New York City, with John Meyer, in the early morning hours. Then, on their way to go dancing, around 4 a.m., Meyer proposed marriage to Judy, and she accepted.
There are no known photos or recordings of this event. The photo above was taken in Philadelphia in July of 1968.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” Section here.
What is the date for the January Jones announcement? Which newspaper? Thanks
It’s the entry for October 28, 1961, as listed, so that would be October 28, 1961. It’s from the Arizona Daily Star out of Tucson, Arizona.