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, 1939: Judy’s uncle, Robert (Bob) Gumm, is mentioned in the trade magazine, “Box Office.” Bob was the older brother of Judy’s father, Frank Gumm. He unknowingly played an important role in the Garland story.
In early 1926, Judy and her family were still living in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. They had been given good reports about California by Bob, who was living in Brea, California, and was also a movie theatre manager (of the Red Lantern Theatre), and by their friend Marcus Rabwin, now a doctor living in Los Angeles. Those good reports prompted the Gumms to take a working trip to California in the summer of 1926, singing and dancing their way across parts of the western half of the U.S. They loved it so much that by the end of the year, they had relocated to the Los Angeles area, forever changing the trajectory of Judy’s career and in hindsight, movie history itself.
Bob passed away just a couple of years later, in 1941.
Historians have pondered what might have happened to Garland and her career had the family stayed in Grand Rapids. It’s most likely Garland would have lived her life in anonymity. We sure are glad things turned out the way they did!
January 7, 1939: The trade magazine “Motion Picture Herald” noted the recent release dates of Garland’s films, as well as the upcoming The Wizard of Oz, referencing its December article (included 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 is 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.