Posted by “I’ve been through a lot. People ask ‘Is she going to appear? Is she dead?’ Well, I’m here and you couldn’t keep me away.” – Judy Garland, 1969
February 2, 1934: Frances (Judy) appeared on the KHJ Radio show “Friday Nite Frolics” which was broadcast live from the stage of the Paramount Theater in Los Angeles, California.
February 2, 1937: Judy appeared on the radio show “Ben Bernie and All The Lads” on NBC Radio broadcast by WJZ, Blue Network. Judy sang a Roger Edens routine titled “Oh Say Can You Swing.” No recording of this show is known to exist.
February 2, 1938: Everybody Sing
February 2, 1942: Judy and her husband, David Rose, returned to Los Angeles, California, from their USO tour. Judy had developed strep throat and so was taken immediately to the hospital. Her physician said that she would be on bed rest for two weeks.
This is also one of the times that’s thought to be when Judy had her first abortion. She allegedly had more than one abortion during her time at MGM (some claim a total of three) and definitely had one during her marriage to Rose. The studio, her mother, and Rose (to a smaller extent) all agreed that a child would halt Garland’s career, which was shooting straight to the top. They convinced Judy to go through with the procedure. It’s been said that this was one of the main reasons for the breakup of Judy’s marriage to Rose.
February 2, 1943: Judy and her first husband, David Rose, officially announced their separation.
February 2, 1944: This ad for Thousands Cheer (released in 1943) is a rarity in that it’s one of the few that doesn’t feature the Hirschfield caricature of Judy.
February 2, 1945: A rare day off for Judy. She was currently filming The Harvey Girls but was not needed on this day for filming or any other work at the studio, nor did she have any radio obligations. Hopefully, she took the time to rest!
Meet Me In St. Louis was still a hit in theaters. Above are some more newspaper clippings.
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.
February 2, 1946: Here’s a fun ad for The Harvey Girls, with a Hitler Lives featurette also on the bill. That’s quite the odd combination!
Also shown here is another trade ad for the film placed by MGM, this time in the “Motion Picture Herald.”
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on The Harvey Girls here.
February 2, 1947: The first clipping above was part of a two-page spread of photos showing various celebrities at the premiere of MGM’s The Yearling. What’s interesting is that the premiere took place on December 18, 1946! Shown in the pic is Red Skelton at the far left, laughing with Kay Thompson, Judy, and Vincente Minnelli (at the far right).
The second clipping is Hedda Hopper’s latest column, in which she reports on Judy and her husband Vincente Minnelli’s first spat.
February 2, 1948: Judy had a relatively easy day at MGM. She arrived at 10:00 a.m. to do dubbing work for Easter Parade, including taps. She was dismissed at 11:55 a.m.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Easter Parade here.
February 2, 1950: MGM pre-recording session for Summer Stock. Judy and co-star Gene Kelly recorded “All For You” and “(Howdy, Neighbor) Happy Harvest” (the finale version).
Listen to “All For You” here:
Listen to “(Howdy, Neighbor) Happy Harvest Finale” here:
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on Summer Stock here.
February 2, 1951: Erksine Johnson’s column reported that Judy was set to play the starring role in a film about the USO titled Stars and Stripes Forever, originally written for Al Jolson. This project is not to be confused with the 1952 film of the same time, which is a biography of John Phillip Sousa.
During the early 50s, and especially after Judy’s triumph at the Palace Theater, Judy’s name was attached to various projects regardless of whether she was actually attached to the projects or not. Many times, her name was mentioned just to get press. For more about the projects that Judy was allegedly in the running for, check out The Judy Room’s “Films That Got Away” page.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
February 2, 1951: The final installment of Judy’s life story as told to Michael Drury.
February 2, 1953: On February 16, 1953, Judy Garland & John Lund starred in “Lady in the Dark” for the “Lux Radio Theater” broadcast over CBS Radio. This silent home movie footage features Judy arriving at the studio to rehearse on February 2 (possibly February 9, 1953) and again on the broadcast date, along with Lund. Also seen in the footage are Lucille Ball, Louella Parsons, Rory Calhoun, David Wayne, and Susan Hayward. The stars were arriving for their own shows. Parsons was probably there to get some fodder for her gossip column! The audio here features Judy singing “My Ship” from the broadcast.
February 2, 1956: Judy Garland – Scofflaw!
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
February 2, 1957: Columnist Sheilah Graham reported that due to an unlocked door, the police were able to enter Judy’s Hollywood home on a tip that she had committed suicide. It’s unknown if this really happened or if it’s more fictional gossip fodder cooked up by a columnist.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
February 2, 1959: The mono version of “Garland at the Grove” was released by Capitol Records. The LP was the first “Judy in Concert” record ever released, recorded during the last night’s performance of Judy’s run at the venue on August 5, 1958.
The stereo version was released on February 16, 1959. In those days, it was common for albums to be released in both mono and stereo, as many mono record players couldn’t handle stereo LPs.
Check out The Judy Garland Online Discography’s “Garland at the Grove” pages here.
An expanded and remastered version of the album was released on March 4, 2008.
February 2, 1963: Judy was set to play Harrah’s in Lake Tahoe on February 7th.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
February 2, 1964: “Episode Nineteen” of “The Judy Garland Show” aired on CBS-TV.
Judy’s guests were Louis Jourdan, The Kirby Stone Four, and Ken Murray. Judy sang: “San Francisco,” “Whispering” (with The Kirby Stone Four)”; “Paris Is A Lonely Town,” “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” (comedy version), “Children’s Songs” medley (with Jourdan), “What’ll I Do?” and a repeat of “Battle Hymn Of The Republic.” The show was taped on January 17, 1964.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
February 2, 1965: Judy taped an appearance on the CBS-TV show “On Broadway Tonight” in New York at CBS Studio 50. She arrived at 4 p.m. in her limo with manager Karl Brent, Mark Herron, and her maid Snowy, along with her chauffeur. Liza was also at the studio, along with Peter Allen and his stage partner Chris. Sammy Davis, Jr. and Peter Lawford also stopped in from Studio 52, where they were taping a show. Judy sang “When You’re Smiling”; “Almost Like Being In Love”/”This Can’t Be Love”; “I Wish You Love” (with the Allen Brothers); “The Music That Makes Me Dance”; and “Rock-A-Bye Your Baby.”
This was Judy’s first TV appearance taped in the US – and her first on CBS – since the end of her series in 1964. The show aired on February 5th and was a success. Judy allegedly received $7,500 for her appearance.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
February 2 – 10, 1966: Judy filled in for Robert Goulet at the Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood, Florida, and was held over an additional day (February 10th).
The room Judy played in carried a $7.50 dinner charge or a $10.00 beverage minimum. Showtime was 10 p.m. nightly. Judy’s opening act was comic Pat Henry. Judy’s portion of the show ran 45 minutes, and the 26-piece Van Smith Orchestra backed her. Her songs included: “He’s Got The Whole World IN His Hands,” “Almost Like Being In Love/This Can’t Be Love,” “Just In Time,” “Joey, Joey,” “Dot It Again,” “Over The Rainbow,” “Rock-A-Bye Your Baby,” “Chicago,” and “San Francisco.”
While in Florida on Friday, February 4, there were rumors circulating that Judy had died – she laughed them off as she was playing golf that day before doing her show that night.
“The Hollywood, Florida Sun-Tattler” ran the headline “Judy Lifts The Off The Seats” and continued with Judy Garland electrified her opening night audience at the Diplomat Hotel… Miss Garland is, without question, the queen of phrasing and can get more out of the lyrics of a song than most pros… She can do no wrong; Judy being on stage generates excitement.
“The Miami News” ran the deadline “Judy Garland’s Rainbow Glows In The Diplomat” and continued with Judy is singing in the Diplomat’s big Cafe Crystal and it’s a very good room for her… We’re close to her, and that’s the way we want it… Requests are shouted from all corners of the nightclub, and she meets as many of them as she can.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
February 2, 1969: Here are two letters to the editor of London, England’s “Observer Sun” newspaper objecting to a recent article about Judy by Tony Palmer; the second one is in response to Professor Denis Brogan (no relation to yours truly) who wrote in, incorrectly, about Judy’s birthplace, prompting a reader to correct him quickly!
L-R above: The two letters to the editor; the Tony Palmer article; the Denis Brogan letter (no relation to yours truly); an article about Judy’s recent “flop” and success at The Talk of the Town.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
February 2, 2011: JSP Records announced the upcoming release of the original mono version of “Judy at Carnegie Hall” on CD for the first time. Check out this blog’s post announcing the set here.
Check out The Judy Garland Online Discography’s page about the release here.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
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I love it! I especially love the focus on the actresses. Joan and Bette have always been favorites of mine. 🙂
Thanks for the kind words!