Posted by “My role in ‘A Star Is Born’ is the most difficult I have ever played in a picture. The moods range from tragic to the lightly humorous. Why do I mention moods? Because sometimes they cling to me after I have left hold on to them, they aid me in giving a more faithful characterization. Seclusion is helpful, and yet it is one of the hardest things to find in busy Hollywood.” – Judy Garland, 1954.
January 7, 1939: Frank Morgan posed for this makeup and costume test for The Wizard of Oz. Judy, along with Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, and Bert Lahr, was busy filming scenes on the “Haunted Forest” set.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on The Wizard of Oz here.
January 7, 1943: For Me And My Gal was still in theaters.
Clipping from the Rick Smith Collection. Thanks, Rick!
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on For Me And My Gal here.
January 7, 1943: Girl Crazy continued filming on the “Exterior Corral” set, specifically the “I Got Rhythm” number. Time called: 1:00 p.m.; dismissed: 6:00 p.m.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on Girl Crazy here.
January 7, 1944: Meet Me In St. Louis continued filming on the “Interior Living Room and “Interior Hall” sets, including the “Skip To My Lou” number.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Meet Me In St. Louis here.
January 7, 1945: This fun Decca Records advertisement was published in various papers around the country. Their album of songs from Meet Me In St. Louis is mentioned, as the film was currently enjoying stellar business becoming one of the top-grossing films of the year.
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 7, 1946: Hedda Hopper dubbed Judy “Miss Transportation of 1945” thanks to her one-two punch of transportation song hits, “The Trolley Song” and “On The Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe.”
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Meet Me In St. Louis here.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on The Harvey Girls here.
January 7, 1948: Recording session for Easter Parade. Judy pre-recorded the following songs: “A Fella With An Umbrella” (with Peter Lawford); her reprise of “I Only Happens When I Dance With You”; and “Better Luck Next Time.” She arrived at the MGM Recording Stage at 1:30 p.m., dismissed at 4:40 p.m.
The version of “Better Luck Next Time” as performed in the film is an abridged version of the complete recording. When MGM Records released the soundtrack album they included a slightly longer version. The 1995 Rhino soundtrack CD features the complete recording along with Clinton Sundberg’s spoken intro as it is in the film. The “Judy Garland – Soundtracks” 2-CD set features a newly remastered version of the MGM Records version of the song.
Listen to the MGM Records version of “Better Luck Next Time” here:
Listen to the complete version of “Better Luck Next Time” here:
Listen to “A Fella With An Umbrella” here:
Listen to “It Only Happens When I Dance With You” here:
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Easter Parade here.
Here is the MGM playback disc, pressed just a day after this session on January 8, 1947. Note the extra holes in the record. They are there due to the type of playback machine it would be played on.
From the collection of Histato M. Thanks, Hisato!
January 7, 1949: Judy on the cover of “Hebdo Ciné-Radio” magazine. Also, this photo of Judy with director Robert Z. Leonard on the set of In The Good Old Summertime was taken on this day. Judy’s in costume for the party sequence in which she performed “I Don’t Care” and “Play That Barbershop Chord.”
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography pages on In The Good Old Summertime here.
January 7, 1954: Columnist Jimmie Fidler reported on Judy’s approach to acting. On this day, Judy was enjoying the second of a two-day break in the filming of A Star Is Born. She had just completed scenes shot in the interior of the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on A Star Is Born here.
January 7, 1963: Judy posed for legendary photographer Richard Avedon. This is one of my favorites.