Posted by “It’s taken me nineteen years to discover that glamor is where you find it and most of the time it’s where you least expect it to be.” – Quote attributed to Judy Garland, 1943
January 24, 1931: “The Gumm Sisters” (Judy and her sisters) performed as part of the “Meglin Kiddies’ group at the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles, California. The main attraction was Ruth Chatterton’s film The Right To Love.
January 24, 1938: The world premiere of Everybody Sing took place in Miami, Florida. Judy arrived in Miami via train from Hollywood, California at 4:30 p.m. Immediately upon arrival, she was interviewed for WIOD Radio by Eddie Cohen of “The Miami Daily News” which was broadcast live from the station at 4:45 p.m. According to the article, Judy was scheduled to end the interview and leave the train station when the train of MGM executives arrived from New York, and then go to her room at the Roney Plaza Hotel to rest and prepare for her personal appearances at the theater which premiered the film at 8:00 p.m. and had another screening at 10:00 p.m.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on Everybody Sing here.
January 24, 1940: Two newspaper filler items, one about Judy’s weakness for biting her fingernails, and the other about how Judy liked to wear a printed pinafore over her navy blue frock for school days.
January 24, 1942: Judy and husband David Rose’s second day of a two-day engagement at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Judy did two USO shows and then dashed to make the 11:35 p.m. train to St. Louis. Judy had been fighting tooth issues since the beginning of the tour at Fort Custer in Michigan on January 21st. The article above notes that Judy and David were accompanied by Judy’s mom, Ethel, her manager (and former boyfriend) Barron Poland, and “several studio representatives.”
The next stop on the tour was the Jefferson Barracks Fort outside of St. Louis, Missouri.
Photo: Judy visits the servicemen in Fort Knox. The photo was taken on either January 23rd or 24th.
January 24, 1943: “Glamor’s Where You Find It” – written by Judy Garland (allegedly).
January 24, 1943: According to this article, Judy discovered a new talent for MGM, a young 14-year-old dancer named Dariel-Jean Johnson. If true, her career didn’t take off at all, as I haven’t been able to find out anything more about the girl.
January 24, 1943: For Me And My Gal was still a big hit in various theaters around the country. The first clipping is an article about Judy’s anecdotal issues rehearsing with Gene Kelly, losing weight, looking good, and then not being able to show off her new figure. Obviously cooked up by the always resourceful MGM Publicity Department.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on For Me And My Gal here.
January 24, 1944: Judy and Tom Drake began two days of filming scenes on the “Exterior Site of Fairgrounds” set for Meet Me In St. Louis. Time called: 10 a.m.; arrived on set at 10:36 a.m.; dismissed: 5:35 p.m.
These were the scenes that took place after the trolley ride and included the number “Boys And Girls Like You And Me.” It was cut because it was decided that the sequence slowed down the film. No footage has survived, only these photos. It would have been great if that huge backdrop had survived.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Meet Me In St. Louis here.
January 24, 1946: This ad appeared in the “Film Daily” trade paper.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on The Harvey Girls here.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on Ziegfeld Follies of 1946 here.
January 24, 1946: The Harvey Girls was a smash hit. Here are some ads, including two for the “cast album” released by Decca Records, which was a hit on its own.
Check out The Judy Garland Online Discography’s The Harvey Girls Cast Album pages here.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on The Harvey Girls here.
January 24, 1948: Judy arrived in makeup at MGM for the Easter Parade at 7 a.m.; she was on the set at 9 a.m. and dismissed at 10:40 a.m. Filming for the day was canceled, per the assistant director’s reports: “Did not shoot on account of bad weather.” The plan was to continue shooting the “first Easter Parade” scene on MGM’s Lot #2, the “New York Streets” section.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy on the MGM Backlot” pages for details about all of the backlot locations of Judy’s MGM films!
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Easter Parade here.
January 24, 1952: I.G. Nagel of Clinton, Missouri, gave a very detailed account of the trip he and his wife and another couple took to New York to see Judy at the Palace.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
January 24, 1953: The recent death of Judy’s mom, Ethel (on January 5, 1953), garnered some bad press for Judy. Many people felt that she had turned her back on her mother. Columnist Harold Heffernan used that to devote his column to a kind of cautionary tale about how “movie mothers [were] often cast aside by [the] children they made into stars.”
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
January 24, 1954: The captions for the two photos of the outtake version of “The Man That Got Away” are amusing in that they claim to be exactly what you would see in the film in Cinemascope!
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on A Star Is Born here.
January 24, 1955: Even in its shortened form, A Star Is Born was proving to be popular, which was probably helped by all of the Oscar buzz that Judy was receiving for her flawless performance. The above is a unique ad for the film.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on A Star Is Born here.
January 24, 1963: This notice is from December 9, 1962. Judy was scheduled to be in concert at the Deauville Hotel in Miami, Florida, on January 24, 1963, but had to cancel due to rehearsals for her second special for CBS with guest Phil Silvers and Robert Goulet.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
January 24, 1964: Rehearsals and taping of “The Judy Garland Show,” “Episode Twenty” titled “Judy Garland in Concert” at CBS Television City, Studio 43, Hollywood. At 2 p.m., there was a rehearsal, followed by a dress rehearsal (which was taped) from 6 – 7 p.m., then the final taping from 9:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. The show aired on February 9, 1964.
Judy’s concert consisted of an “Overture” followed by her songs: “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”/”He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands”; “World Ware One Medley”; “That’s Entertainment”; “Make Someone Happy”; “Liza”; “Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe”; “Lorna’s Song”; “Rock-A-bye Your Baby”; “A Couple Of Swells”; and “America The Beautiful.”
Just a few days prior to the taping, CBS allowed Judy to announce the cancellation of the series, stating that she needed to “give my children the time and attention they needed.” The real story, which was common knowledge, was that CBS was never really behind the show, tinkering with the format and putting it against “Bonanza.” Critics, fans, and other stars came to Judy’s defense, with Lucille Ball stating, “I was furious when Judy Garland was given lines like ‘I’m a little old lady,’ and someone talking about ‘the next Judy Garland.’ I bet she’s glad her series is over. She’s the best.”
This concert format, while too late, was embraced by the critics and public alike. “The New York Times” stated: “After five months of trial and error in which the show has been subjected to various and ill-fated formulas, CBS is going to let Miss Garland do what she does best – sing…”
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
January 24, 1965: Judy was all set for her upcoming appearance on the TV variety show “On Broadway Tonight.”
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
January 24, 1965: This article about the history of movie musicals was printed in the “Oakland Tribune” out of Oakland, California.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
The TV cancellation marked the final tragedy for Judy. She never recovered. As for the show itself, it would not have lasted as just a one-hour concert. That was nice once in a while, but the tea for two segment worked, as did many of the guests. It should’ve been moved to Monday nights just after “The Lucy Show.” Sure, people might’ve went to bed after Lucy, but Judy would’ve stood a greater chance. As for comedy, they needed REAL writers to produce REAL comedy. And Jerry Van Dyke was plain awful, and should’ve NEVER survived past the first show, much less several months. “The Lone Ranger” bit is one of the painful moments ever on the show! Simply awful.
Thank God for all the wonderful singing by Judy, Barbra, Lena, Dianne Carroll, Vic Damone, and Jack Jones.
Thank goodness for Judy’s tv show what a trooper her warriors heart always had her coming back