Posted by “Judy Garland sings swing songs with the air of a veteran. There is no doubt that this young lady will go far.” – “Picturegoer” review of “Everybody Sing,” 1938
January 6, 1938: Here is the Daily Music Report for the recording of the music to the trailer for Everybody Sing. Naturally, Judy wasn’t a part of this recording session, but I’m including it here as it’s of interest to soundtrack fans. Below is the completed trailer.
Also on this day, Judy appeared on the “Good News of 1938” radio show broadcast by NBC Radio. She sang, “Smiles,” “While Strolling Through The Park One Day,” and “Suddenly.” No recordings from this broadcast are known to exist.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on Everybody Sing here.
January 6, 1939: Filming continued on the “Haunted Forest” set on The Wizard of Oz (including the “I’d Turn Back If I Were You” scene). “The Jitterbug” number began filming a few days later.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on The Wizard of Oz here.
Photos provided by Kim Lundgreen. Thanks, Kim!
January 6, 1940: “Picturegoer & Film Weekly” magazine featured this ad placed by MGM touting the success of The Wizard of Oz.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on The Wizard of Oz here.
January 6, 1940: Here is a fun blurb predicting who of the recent young starlets will become stars. We all know who ended up becoming the true star of the bunch. 🙂
January 6, 1940: In the trade magazine “Motion Picture Herald” regular “What The Picture Did For Me” feature, theater owners had this to say about the following.
Babes In Arms, from C.W. Hawk of the Ada Theater, Ada, Ohio
This one will go over with a roar at any theatre in any locality. Held up in great shape all three play dates. Mickey at his best with Garland at his side. Nothing but praise for all other members of the cast. Don’t pass this one up.
Babes In Arms, from John C. Hartley of the Arcade Theatre, Arcade, New York
Metro harped about this for a good long time and I was expecting something great. It was good but nothing colossal. It did a fair business but didn’t break any records. People liked it.
The Wizard of Oz, from B.W. Merrill of the Lyric Theatre, Edgar, Nebraska
I consider this a mighty swell show. The color is excellent. In fact, everything is well done in this production. But it gives the youngsters a good scare or two. The midgets put on a real show as did everyone else. Did not draw as well as expected.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on The Wizard of Oz here.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on Babes In Arms here.
January 6, 1943: Judy was in the middle of filming the “I Got Rhythm” number for Girl Crazy when she signed this basic agreement from MGM allowing her to participate in the recording of the “Mail Call #19” radio show on January 9, 1943. On that show, Judy sang “The Joint Is Really Jumpin'” and “I Never Knew.”
Considering the way she was overworked during the filming of “I Got Rhythm” it’s amazing that she managed to perform on a radio program!
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on Girl Crazy here.
January 6, 1943: More from the “Showmen’s Trade Review” which features Thousands Cheer and a listing of the leading stars, with Judy in the list of the top five female stars for 1940 through 1943.
January 6, 1944: A notice and an ad for Girl Crazy.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on Girl Crazy here.
January 6, 1944: Meet Me In St. Louis filming continued on the “Interior Hall” and “Interior Living Room” sets, specifically the “Skip To My Lou” number. Time called: 10 a.m.; Judy arrived at 10:25 a.m.; dismissed: 5:55 p.m.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Meet Me In St. Louis here.
January 6, 1945: Judy was featured several times in the trade magazine “Showmen’s Trade Review.”
The first was a two-page spread from MGM promoting their recent hits. The second is an ad from her agency. The third was on a list of leading actresses. The fourth was the “marquee of the month” featuring the fantastic marquee for Meet Me In St. Louis. The fifth is MGM’s single-page ad promoting the success of Meet Me In St. Louis. The magazine noted that the Ferris wheel was animated and the giant letters were 3D with mirror facings. That must have been something to see in person!
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Meet Me In St. Louis here.
January 6, 1945: MGM placed this two-page ad in the trade magazine “Motion Picture Herald.” Scan provided by Rick Smith. Thanks, Rick!
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Meet Me In St. Louis here.
January 6, 1945: Judy rehearsed “On The Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe” for The Harvey Girls. She pre-recorded the number two days later. Time called: 2 p.m.; dismissed: 4 p.m.
The assistant director’s notes state that “after finishing rehearsal with Bob Alton at 3:00, [Judy] went over to rehearse with Kay Thompson.”
Kay was fairly new to MGM and she and Judy became best friends. Kay was Liza’s godmother. She was also a huge influence in Judy’s life and career, especially in broadening her horizons vocally. Her influence would help shape Judy’s future stage persona.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on The Harvey Girls here.
Photos: Kay hugs and laughs with Judy after her opening at the London Palladium in 1951.
January 6, 1945: Here’s another ad for Decca Records’ “Cast Album” of songs from Meet Me In St. Louis.
Check out The Judy Garland Online Discography’s Meet Me In St. Louis Decca album pages here.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Meet Me In St. Louis here.
January 6, 1951: The UK “Picturegoer” magazine featured this two-page spread about Summer Stock (titled If You Feel Like Singing in the UK).
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on Summer Stock here.
Scan provided by Kim Lundgreen. Thanks, Kim!
January 6, 1957: Leonard Lyons included this anecdote in his column published on this date. Whether it’s true or not is anyone’s guess.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
January 6, 1963: Judy attended the Broadway opening of “Oliver!” and was photographed backstage with, in the photo on the left, Georgia Brown (“Nancy” in the show) and the show’s composer and author, Lionel Bart; in the photo on the right Lisa Kirk and Judy congratulate Georgia Brown.
Here is silent footage of Judy (seen briefly) at the party following the Broadway opening of the musical “Oliver!”
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
January 6, 1965: Judy made a personal appearance at the “Cue” magazine awards in New York. The following evening, Les Crane showed a film clip on his TV show of Judy talking with Sammy Davis, Jr. at the event. The footage does not survive.
Photo: Judy on the cover of the March 6, 1954 “Cue” magazine; on the Sammy Davis, Jr. show March 6, 1966.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
January 6, 1967: Judy had spent the 1966 holidays with Tom Green and his family in Lowell, Massachusetts. On this day the two left Lowell and spent four days (the 6th through the 10th) at Green’s alma mater, Dartmouth College, in Hanover, New Hampshire. Photos above: Judy with Tom Green’s father, an unidentified woman, and Tom Green; Judy and Green’s father.
Judy spent that Monday night (January 6) shooting pool with some of the students of the Alpha Theta fraternity. These fun photos were taken of Judy playing pool with the boys. The day after they left, on January 11th, the Dartmouth student paper quoted Judy as saying “Dartmouth is the most beautiful campus I have ever seen. I’d love to live in Hanover.” According to the UPI notice, Judy sang a stirring rendition of “Over the Rainbow” for the fraternity. She also wrote the note as featured in the photo below.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
January 6, 1969: Aired on this day was Judy’s last TV appearance in the U.S. She was the guest hostess for “The Merv Griffin Show” taped in New York on December 23, 1968. The other guests were: Margaret Hamilton, Arthur Treacher, Moms Mabley, Van Johnson, Rex Reed, and The Ohio Express.
Judy sang “If You Were The Only Girls In The World” with Treacher and soloed on “Just In Time.”
The original footage of the show has been lost. Only some silent color footage, taken by someone aiming their home movie camera at a television, and an audio recording, are known to exist. Griffin later stated that the footage was not in his vaults since the material was erased after his series went to CBS in 1969.
Listen to the show here:
Photo: Judy with Margaret Hamilton on the show.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
I loved (for the first time) listening to the whole Merry Griffen Show…with Judy. Thank you for that..! Judy certainly held her own in the changing times of Hollywood with a touch of living in the now..she loved to be current..! Kudos..!!
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed it. That’s what is here for. 🙂