Posted by “Where are my friends now? I have few that I didn’t pay for, and when the money ran out, they ran out too … There’s nothing worse than being home alone at night – and I have been, too often.” – Judy Garland, 1967
November 19, 1929: “Baby Gumm” (Judy), performed in the “Book Week Pageant” at the Lancaster High School Auditorium, Lancaster, California.
November 19, 1935: Two obituaries for Judy’s recently deceased father, Frank Gumm, were published in Tennessee, including one from his hometown of Murfreesboro. He passed away on November 17, 1935.
November 19, 1937: Judy, Allan Jones, and Fanny Brice posed for publicity photos for Everybody Sing which was in its last two months of filming. It was completed in January 1938 and released quite quickly, on January 24, 1938.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on Everybody Sing here.
November 19, 1938: Judy, Ray Bolger, and Jack Haley filmed the “trio” version of “We’re Off To See The Wizard” for The Wizard of Oz. This concluded the “Tin Man’s Forest” scenes for the film. The trio would move to the “Cowardly Lion’s Forest” set two days later.
As noted before, all of the group songs and group segments of songs that include the Tin Man are the original pre-recordings made when Buddy Ebsen had the role. When Haley replaced him only the Tin Man’s solos were re-recorded.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on The Wizard of Oz here.
November 19, 1940: Here is an amusing story relayed by columnist Jimmie Fidler, and no doubt provided by MGM – or perhaps Fidler made it up. It’s doubtful that it’s true. Note that Fidler says that Judy’s role in Ziegfeld Girl was Judy’s first adult role. The reality is that her first true adult role was in 1942’s For Me And My Gal.
November 19, 1943: This four-page ad promoting MGM’s new radio program, plus Girl Crazy and Thousands Cheer, appeared in the Film Daily trade paper.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on Girl Crazy here.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on Thousands Cheer here.
November 19, 1943: Two reviews for the two Garland musicals playing around the country. One for Presenting Lily Mars and the second for Girl Crazy. Mildred Martin of the Philadelphia Inquirer did not care for the “shameless mugging” of Judy’s Girl Crazy co-star, Mickey Rooney.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Presenting Lily Mars here.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on Girl Crazy here.
November 19, 1943: It was another short day for Judy at MGM. She had more rehearsals of “The Trolley Song” and “Skip To My Lou” for Meet Me In St. Louis. Time called: 1:10 p.m.; dismissed: 3:40 p.m.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Meet Me In St. Louis here.
November 19, 1944: This caricature appeared in the St. Louis Post Dispatch newspaper. It was part of the ongoing publicity surrounding the premiere of Meet Me In St. Louis which took place in St. Louis on November 22, 1944.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Meet Me In St. Louis here.
November 19, 1945: This fun advertisement appeared in various magazines around the country. The Harvey Girls became one of Judy’s (and MGM’s) most enduring and biggest hits.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on The Harvey Girls here.
November 19, 1945: Judy made the list of screen favorites as published in the “Box Office” trade magazine, reported here by columnist Hedda Hopper.
November 19, 1947: Pre-filming work continued on Easter Parade. Judy and co-star Peter Lawford rehearsed “A Fella With An Umbrella.” Judy also rehearsed her solo of “Mr. Monotony.” Time called: 2 p.m.; dismissed: 4 p.m.
Photo: An autographed snapshot of Judy and Peter Lawford, circa 1947.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Easter Parade here.
November 19, 1949: This two-page spread appeared in the UK “Picturegoer” fan magazine.
Scan provided by Kim Lundgreen. Thanks, Kim!
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on In The Good Old Summertime here.
November 19, 1953: A Star Is Born filming continued with scenes on the exterior of the Warner Bros. Lot, specifically Building No. 5 the “Dressing Rooms” building that stood in as the “Make-Up” building of the fictional Oliver Niles Studios in the film.
Judy was not present on this day. She was out sick from November 19 through the 21st having caught a cold from the recent outdoor shooting in the cold weather while wearing summer clothes for the “Oleander Arms” scenes.
On this day, producer Jerry Wald sent this letter to Star director George Cukor giving him kudos for what he had seen thus far of the film’s rushes. The letter is as follows:
November 19, 1953
Dear George:-
Just these few lines to reiterate what I told you after seeing those rushes on A STAR IS BORN the other night.
I think that you have the makings of a superb motion picture. Not only from an entertainment point of view, but also artistically and performance-wise. It was quite a thrill to see Judy on the screen again – her old, vibrant self – full of warmth and genuine emotion.
Your ability to bring out from Judy and James Mason the interior emotions is something I admire and respect.
My chief regret is that I had nothing to do with the picture.
Warmest personal regards.
Yours,
JERRY WALD
Check out The Judy Room’s Extensive Spotlight on A Star Is Born here.
November 19, 1953: Two blurbs about the production of A Star Is Born that appeared in a couple of newspapers, including a note about Doris Day’s recent breakdown.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on A Star Is Born here.
November 19, 1954: Judy entered the Cedars of Lebanon Hospital for what was described in the papers as “a rest.” She was released six days later, on the 24th.
November 19, 1954: Here is an ad for the newly released soundtrack album for A Star Is Born.
November 19, 1954: This article from the trade paper “Motion Picture Daily” mentions A Star Is Born. Movie exec Edward Hyman listed it as one of the films “now being offered an uninterrupted playing time period without heavy competition. It shows, Hyman continued, that there are now no real “seasons’ in this business. Big pictures do outstandingly well in any period of the year, he added.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on A Star Is Born here.
November 13, 1956: Judy was currently in concert at The Palace Theatre in New York. The show was “dark” on Mondays (meaning there were no shows so the theatre was “dark”). It was Judy’s only day/night off. Judy gave up her night off on this night (Monday, November 13, 1956) to take part in the 23rd annual “Night of Stars” which was a benefit for the United Jewish Appeal organization. It took place at Madison Square Garden.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
November 19, 1967: The first of a three-part series of condensed newspaper reprints of the “Ladies Home Journal” magazine article written by Judy.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
November 19, 1968: Judy was released from The Leroy Hospital in New York, where she had been staying (off and on) since November 7th, due to an infection in her foot. Judy and John Meyer caught the 3:30 p.m. American Airlines flight to Boston, where Judy had an apartment. By 7 p.m. they were filling Judy’s prescriptions and then went home to the apartment. Later that evening, Judy, John, and his friend Marvin, who worked for the Boston Symphony, had dinner at the Cafe Amalfi restaurant.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.