Posted by “The virtue of their performance lies in the talent of the youngest, Little Francis [sic]. I loathe child actors particularly in vaudeville, but this youngster sings a song called, I think, ‘Night and Day’ in a fashion that would do justice to Helen Morgan. Little Francis [sic] will undoubtedly go places – but not with mama and sisters Virginia and Mary Jane.” – Wood Soanes, 1934
December 27, 1934: Wood Soanes of the “Oakland Tribune” (Oakland, California) reviewed the vaudeville acts currently playing across the bay at San Francisco’s Curran Theatre.
Of the group [of acts,] the Garlands [Garland Trio] have the best novelty. They consist of three girls with mother at the piano and they sing. But the virtue of their performance lies in the talent of the youngest, Little Francis [sic]. I loathe child actors particularly in vaudeville, but this youngster sings a song called, I think, “Night and Day” in a fashion that would do justice to Helen Morgan. Little Francis [sic] will undoubtedly go places – but not with mama and sisters Virginia and Mary Jane.
Included is a notice (second pic here) about the upcoming SF show as published on December 23, 1934, in the “Los Angeles Times” that makes note that Francis Garland (Judy) was returning to sing solos. Judy was a mere 12 years old.
Eighteen years later, on May 25, 1952, Soanes (still a critic for the “Oakland Tribune”) was reminded of his 1934 review when writing in anticipation of Judy’s upcoming concert at the Curran. By this point, Judy had already achieved legendary status thanks to her recently launched “concert years.” Soanes definitely called it back in 1934! Check out the May 25 entry for the full text of that 1952 article, or read it here.
December 27, 1940: Judy made the top ten! Here are clippings of notices for Judy’s rankings in the top ten box office stars for that year, plus 1941 and 1945.
Scans: The first three are from 1940, the second three from 1941, and the last two are from 1945.
December 27, 1941: MGM placed this ad in the trade magazine “Motion Picture Herald.”
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on Babes on Broadway here.
December 27, 1941: More from the same issue of the “Motion Picture Herald.” First up is another MGM ad, this time a single page. The second is an article listing the top moneymakers in the movie biz in 1941. Judy came in 10th place across the board.
December 27, 1941: The “Motion Picture Herald” had a regular feature titled “What The Picture Did For Me” which gave movie theater managers/owners a chance to give feedback on how films played in their markets (big city, small town, etc.). In this issue, both Life Begins For Andy Hardy and Ziegfeld Girl are mentioned.
Life Begins For Andy Hardy, from Saul Korman of the Apollo Theatre in Detroit, Michigan:
It wasn’t a bad picture, but it didn’t to any business.
Life Begins For Andy Hardy, from Peter Kavel of the Campau Theatre in Hamtramck, Michigan:
These Hardy pictures have come a long way since the first one. They have all been good ones with the exception of one or two. This one is a little long and interest lags in spots, but, all in all, it’s a nice picture. As another exhibitor said in his report on this picture: “Where does MGM get all those honeyed girls?” Patricia Dane steals the show from Mickey and I do mean steal. She’s a honey.
Ziegfeld Girl, from A.L. Dove of the Bengough Theatre, Bengough, Saskatchewan, Canada:
Exceptionally good production, very much enjoyed by my patrons, although somewhat high-brow for a rural audience. Singing very good and lavish sets. Play it.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on Life Begins For Andy Hardy here.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Ziegfeld Girl here.
December 27, 1942: For Me and My Gal was still a hit around the country in both small towns and big cities. Although Judy’s weight had gone down a bit too much, her triple-threat genius was on full display in her first real adult role.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on For Me And My Gal here.
December 27, 1944: Coming soon to Los Angeles, California, for its LA premiere, Meet Me In St. Louis.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Meet Me In St. Louis here.
December 27, 1944: On December 26, the “Los Angeles Evening Citizen News” paper out of Hollywood noted the list of stars and military officers and dignitaries who were invited to the following night’s invitation-only premiere of Winged Victory (20th Century-Fox). Judy was one of the stars listed. On the day of the premiere (December 27), Judy’s name was not listed in the ad placed in the same paper. It’s unknown if Judy and her new fiance, Vincente Minnelli, attended the premiere. There were so many “names” invited that it’s possible, although not probable considering her star status, that Judy’s name was simply left off.
December 27, 1945: This ad, published by MGM in the “Film Daily” trade magazine, touts the studio’s upcoming releases by showing their busy lot and where the films were being made.
December 27, 1946: Judy’s first recording session for The Pirate. From 2 p.m. to 3:25 p.m., she recorded “Love Of My Life.” This version was not used in the final film. A new version was recorded in March 1947 and placed in a completely different part of the film, toward the end, as we see now in the complete movie.
Listen to this unused version here:
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on The Pirate here.
December 27, 1950: Here is the first in what became a long-running legal battle between Sid Luft (Judy’s third husband) and his first wife, actress Lynn Bari. Judy was always mentioned in these articles, whether or not she was part of the proceedings. At this point, Judy was still married to her second husband, Vincente Minnelli, so both she and Luft claimed they were “just friends.” Bari was granted a divorce from Luft, which became final on December 27, 1951.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
December 27, 1952 (actually the early morning hours of December 28): Judy sang the coming out party for Jack Warner’s daughter’s (Barbara Warner) lavish coming out party in New York. Garland had promised to sing at the party, persuaded, according to Sid, by Ann Warner’s promise of a natural mink coat rather than a performance fee.
The Warner coming-out party on Saturday night, December 27 at 11:30 p.m. was one of two major debutante coming-out parties that night. The other was for Miss Hope Haskell. The Warner party was highly anticipated, made even more special when word spread that Garland would sing and that the guests of honor were the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. The era’s premier hostess, Elsa Maxwell, hosted the party at The St. Regis Roof (St. Regis Hotel), with approximately 500 guests in attendance. As was the custom, it was a strictly white-tie event. The theme was 18th-century, decorated by Valerian Rybar. Three orchestras were on hand to help the guests dance the night away. The famous designer Pierre Balmain flew in from Paris to attend to Miss Warner’s gown (and flew back the next day). Other notables in attendance included heiress Doris Duke and socialite Jimmy Donahue, Rosalind Russell, Kitty Carlisle and Moss Hart (he was currently working on the script to A Star Is Born), Gordon MacRae, and Clifton Webb.
Garland’s attendance, and the details of the party, are notable because they clearly reflected her status as a singular first-rate performer and her popularity in social circles. Ann Warner’s offer of a mink coat rather than payment makes Garland’s appearance a personal favor, placing her in the friend/guest category rather than the hired-entertainment category. Jack Warner spent over $25,000 (in 1952 dollars) on the party to ensure its success. He succeeded.
The columns were filled with accolades for Garland’s performance. As was the custom, the entertainment wouldn’t start until after dinner and dancing, in the early hours of the next morning. Garland closed out the entertainment portion, singing several songs, bringing the entire room of 500 guests to their feet in applause and cheers after she sang “Over the Rainbow.” Cholly Knickerbocker (aka Igor Cassini) noted in his column, “And finally Judy Garland came and when she had finished her last song, ‘Over the Rainbow,’ the entire audience stood up and roared its applause. It was a great tribute to one of the world’s greatest little ladies in show business.” Earl Wilson amusingly commented about the party: “Nobody got falling-down drunk” and “after [Judy] sang ‘Over the Rainbow, ’ everybody stood up. That was the nice thing about the party. Everybody still could stand up.”
Over the decades, several dates have been given for Warner’s coming-out party, ranging from December 31, 1952 (New Year’s Eve), to the afternoon of January 1 (New Year’s Day) or January 3, 1953. However, it’s easy to research the details of such a major society event. December 27, 1953, was in the debutante season, with Miss Warner’s party being one of several that week. New Year’s Eve was not a night high society would have debutante coming-out parties, for obvious reasons. Where the idea originated that the party was on the afternoon of New Year’s Day is anyone’s guess. It’s also preposterous. High society of the time would never have a “white-tie and tiaras” formal event in the afternoon; that would be a social faux pas and social suicide – especially the afternoon after everyone had spent the previous night and early morning ringing in the new year. The confusion may be because, as was common in those days when news traveled slower, some columns chronicling the event were published days, or even a week, later.
Columnist Dorothy Kilgallen wrote an amusing anecdote about the Duke of Windsor wearing black tie rather than white tie to the party. Meaning he was in all black. She reported:
If you don’t think men can be catty, eavesdrop on the dialogue which the boys were carrying on about the Duke of Windsor’s attire at the ball in honor of Barbara Warner’s debut. Although the ladies were dressed to the teeth and the other gentlemen present wore white ties and tails, HRH showed up in black tie. The sensitive chaps can’t understand how the Duchess ever let him out of the house in such informal garb, and hint they’ll never feel quite the same again about his standing as a fashion arbiter.
What Kilgallen neglected to mention was that the Duke was still in official mourning over the death of his brother, King George VI, who died on February 6, 1952. The December part was well within the traditional one-year mourning period for a monarch. Despite his complicated relationship with the Crown, the Duke of Windsor was still the Duke and would have observed the appropriate mourning protocols for his brother; black tie, rather than white tie, at a formal evening event would have been his correct mourning attire.
December 27, 1957: Judy developed several vocal problems and canceled four nights of shows at the Flamingo in Las Vegas, where she was currently appearing. She returned on December 31st.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
December 27, 1967: The last of Judy’s concerts at The Felt Forum, Madison Square Garden, New York. Judy was scheduled through the end of the year, but had to cancel the last concerts due to laryngitis.
Here is a recording of this show (zip file).
Also, here is a recording of the previous night’s show (zip file).
Photos: Newspaper notices featuring the now-famous photo of Judy on opening night (December 25th).
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
December 27, 1968: Judy, Mickey Deans, and his best friend, Charlie Cochran, flew to London after having John Meyer, Cochran, and Bobby Cole over to say goodbye. Cole went over the complicated arrangement of “What Now My Love?” that he’d conducted for Judy at the Palace in the summer of 1967. Judy never sang “What Now, My Love?” again, most likely because the arrangement could not be easily or quickly duplicated. Judy and Dean’s Pan-Am flight left Kennedy Airport at 8:30 p.m. They arrived in London at 7:30 a.m., local time, on December 28.
Photo: Judy and Deans after their arrival in London.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
