Posted by “It is an astonishing tour de force and Miss Garland makes a great theatre of a certain kind out of it … She had the vast audience in the palm of her hand as they put it.” – Thomas Archer, 1961
October 30, 1925: “The Gumm Sisters” performed at the First Annual Merchants Fall Festival at the Legion Hall in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.
October 30, 1932: “The Gumm Sisters” performed this day and October 31st at their father’s theater, The Valley theater, in Lancaster, California.
October 30, 1935: This is the earliest known mention of Judy being attached to Broadway Melody of 1938. At this point, the film was still titled Broadway Melody of 1937. Judy was being called a “Baby Nora Hayes” in several columns that mentioned her. That title was probably provided by the MGM publicity department.
This notice proves that Judy was considered for the film long before Roger Edens wrote “Dear Mr. Gable” for her. Some have claimed that it wasn’t until after she sang the song at Gable’s birthday party that she was rushed into the film. That’s not true. The new song was such a hit that it was decided to add it to the film, but Judy was already on the cast list.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on Broadway Melody of 1938 here.
October 30, 1938: This article is pure fiction. Judy never went on location for any Wizard of Oz filming, it was all filmed on MGM’s soundstages.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on The Wizard of Oz here.
October 20, 1939: “Scholastic” magazine provided this review of Babes in Arms.
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.
October 30, 1941: This ad promoting Babes on Broadway appeared in the Film Daily trade paper.
October 30, 1944: Filming on The Clock continued with scenes shot on the “Exterior Riverside Drive” and “Exterior Street Corner” sets. Time called: 10 a.m.; dismissed: 12 p.m.
Check out the expanded section “Judy Garland on the MGM Backlot” section at The Judy Room for details about this and all of the locations on MGM’s legendary backlots where Judy’s films were shot.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on The Clock here.
October 30, 1945: Filming continued on the “Who” number for Till The Clouds Roll By on the “Interior Stairs” set. Time called: 10 a.m.; Judy arrived at 10:55 a.m.; dismissed: 6:25 p.m.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Till The Clouds Roll By here.
October 30, 1947: More music rehearsals for Easter Parade, specifically the “Drum” (“Drum Crazy”), “Strut,” and “Mr. Monotony” numbers. Time called: 2 p.m.; Judy arrived at 2:15 p.m.; dismissed: 4 p.m.
Image: A glass slide used by theaters to project on screen between showings of films.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Easter Parade here.
October 30, 1952: Judy filled in as host of “The Bing Crosby Show/The General Electric Program” on CBS Radio broadcast out of Hollywood. Judy stepped in so Crosby could take care of his ailing wife.
Judy sang: “Alexander’s Ragtime Band”; “Wish You Were Here”; “A Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow”; “Carolina In The Morning”; and “You Belong To Me.”
Listen to “Wish You Were Here” here:
Listen to “You Belong To Me” here:
Listen to the entire show here:
October 30, 1953: A Star Is Born filming continued with the first of two days of filming the scenes of “Esther” on the “Oliver Niles Studios” lot (the real Warner Bros. lot stood in for the fictional lot), specifically the “Interior Publicity Offices” and “Interior Libby’s Office.” “Glad to have you with us!”
Check out The Judy Room’s Extensive Spotlight on A Star Is Born here.
Photos provided by Kim Lundgreen. Thanks, Kim!
October 30, 1954: The UK “Picturegoer” magazine featured this full-page report about the recent A Star Is Born premiere.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on A Star Is Born here.
Photo provided by Kim Lundgreen. Thanks, Kim!
October 30, 1955: The re-release of The Wizard of Oz in theaters was still playing to new positive reviews and business.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on The Wizard of Oz here.
October 30, 1956: Judy was still enjoying great success with her return engagement at The Palace Theatre in New York, as reflected in this article published in The Age out of Melbourne, Australia.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” Section here.
October 30, 1960: Newspapers reported Judy’s visit with Maurice Chevalier at his home just outside of Paris.
Judy was in Paris for several concerts at both the Palais de Chaillot and Olympia theaters. This event with Chevalier occurred on September 28, 1960.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” Section here.
October 30, 1961: Judy’s concert the night before at The Forum in Montreal, Canada, was reviewed by Montreal’s Gazette newspaper. Of course, she was a big hit!
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” Section here.
October 30, 1968: Very late on this night Judy, John Meyer, and Judy’s secretary Jenny Wheeler drove back to New York City from New Jersey to Meyer’s parent’s apartment on Park Avenue.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” Section here.
October 30, 1998: Two articles about the latest restoration of The Wizard of Oz. The film was released in theaters in November 1998, part of the 60th anniversary (a year early) celebrations of the film, which was newly acquired from Turner Entertainment by Warner Bros. This was the first major theatrical release of the film in decades. This time the appeal wasn’t just the restored print but also the premiere of the soundtrack in stereo. “Digitally Restored and Remastered in Digital Stereo Sound!”
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on The Wizard of Oz here.
October 30, 2019: The Criterion Channel featured a day of Judy’s films.