Posted by “Judy is once again on top of the show world.” – Bob Thomas, 1962
February 3, 1933: The first of a three-night engagement for Frances (Judy) at the Strand Theater in Long Beach, California. Judy’s mom, Ethel, couldn’t be with her for the engagement so her aunt Norma accompanies her and allowed her to experiment with a stage name, coming up with “Gracie Gumm” – “Radio’s Youthful Star.”
February 3, 1938: Judy appeared with her Everybody Sing costars Billie Burke, Allan Jones, and Fanny Brice on the “Good News of 1938” radio show broadcast by NBC Radio. Judy and Fanny performed “Why? Because!” from the film as part of a preview provided by the cast. Also on the show was Frank Morgan as well as MGM star Robert Taylor who was this show’s emcee.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on Everybody Sing here.
February 3, 1938: Two Judy Garland films were currently in circulation, Thoroughbreds Don’t Cry (released in 1937) and the recently released Everybody Sing. Judy’s star was on the ascendant.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on Thoroughbreds Don’t Cry here.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on Everybody Sing here.
February 3, 1938: Judy’s weekly appearance on the “Good News of 1938” show broadcast by NBC Radio. Judy and Fanny Brice sang “Why? Because!” which is the song they duetted on in Everybody Sing, which was being previewed on the show, as presented by another one of the film’s stars, Billie Burke. The film had its general release on February 4. Fellow co-star Allan Jones was also on the program along with Frank Morgan. No recordings of this show are known to exist.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on Everybody Sing here.
February 3, 1938, & 1939: Two examples, a year apart, of MGM marketing Judy as the height of teen fashion. The photo from 1938 was taken in Miami, Florida, during Judy’s recent personal appearance there for the world premiere of Everybody Sing.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on Everybody Sing here.
February 3, 1939: Filming on The Wizard of Oz continued with scenes shot on the “Wizard’s Throne Room” set. Also shot on this day were some scenes without the principals, probably filmed by the second unit, in the “Witch’s Tower Room.”
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on The Wizard of Oz here.
February 3, 1940: In the latest installment of “What The Picture Did For Me” as published regularly by the “Motion Picture Herald,” Roy Heffner, Jr., of the Key Theatre in Middleboro, Massachusetts, had this to say about Babes in Arms: “No wonder is is No. 1 at B.O. [Box Office]. A picture that was good every foot of the way. Business very good.”
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on Babes in Arms here.
February 3, 1941: Apparently Judy’s uncle was a theater owner like her father. It’s nice that she was able to attend the funeral.
February 3, 1942: The news was filled with these short blurbs about Judy’s return to Hollywood early from her tour of Army camps. The story was that she collapsed while in Mineral Springs, Texas and that she had a throat infection. It’s been suggested that this is one of the times during her marriage to David Rose that she became pregnant and the studio convinced her to have an abortion.
February 3, 1944: Judy had a short day at MGM. From 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. she was recording “synch loops” (dubbing) for Meet Me In St. Louis.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Meet Me In St. Louis here.
February 3, 1945: One wonders, if this story is true, just what happened to the paintings of Judy.
On this day at MGM, the assistant director’s notes for The Harvey Girls state: “Judy Garland’s house was called this morning by Assistant Director to give her a 2:00 call for rehearsal. Her mother, who answered the phone, said that would be impossible as Judy had teeth pulled yesterday afternoon and last night at midnight and would not be able to come in.”
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on The Harvey Girls here.
February 3, 1945: This four-page ad appeared in the “Motion Picture” trade magazine, touting MGM’s latest crop of hit films, including Ziegfeld Follies and The Clock.
Photos from the Rick Smith Collection. Thanks, Rick!
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on The Clock here.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on Ziegfeld Follies of 1946 here.
February 3, 1946: It was a great time for moviegoers in Chicago.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on The Harvey Girls here.
February 3, 1947: Makeup and costume tests for The Pirate including the “Voodoo” costume. Time called: 1 p.m.; dismissed: 5:20 p.m.
Also on this day, Judy signed an agreement on MGM/Loew’s stationery to appear on a Bing Crosby radio show, saying that she would be paid by Bing Crosby Enterprises. The radio show was recorded the following day.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on The Pirate here.
February 3, 1948: Judy had more “synch to loops” (dubbing) work for Easter Parade. She arrived at 2:00 p.m. and was dismissed at 3:40 p.m.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Easter Parade here.
February 3, 1949: Words and Music.
February 3, 1950: MGM Recording session for Summer Stock. Judy and Gene Kelly pre-recorded “You Wonderful You.” Also recorded were some short chorus bits (without Judy) for “Happy Harvest” and “All For You.”
Listen to “You Wonderful You” here:
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on Summer Stock here.
February 3, 1954: A Star Is Born filming consisted of scenes on the “Exterior Beach House” set, which was location shooting at Laguna Beach, California. The scenes featured Judy (Vicki Lester) and James Mason (Norman Maine) looking at the beachfront property where their new home was going to be built. They have a picnic on the beach and Judy sang a reprise of “It’s A New World.” The scenes were cut from the film after the previews but before the premiere. Filming started at 10 a.m. and finished at 3:30 p.m.
Below, columnist Hedda Hopper reported that Bing Crosby wanted to make a film with Judy. She also hinted at a rivalry between Judy and the reigning Warner Bros. musical star, Doris Day. The reality is that the two were friends.
Some photos were provided by Kim Lundgreen. Thanks, Kim!
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on A Star Is Born here.
February 3, 1956: Judy filed suit for divorce from Sid Luft for the first time. The couple’s marital problems played out in the newspapers the following day.
On February 5th the papers reported that Judy was hiding out and not giving any explanation for the divorce filing. Two days later, on the 6th, the couple had reconciled, telling the press that the incident was a “silly misunderstanding.”
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
February 3, 1962: Columnist Bob Thomas wrote about the Garland renaissance. Judy’s career was on an upswing thanks to “Judy at Carnegie Hall” and her latest film, A Child Is Waiting in which she gives a nuanced dramatic performance. Thomas predicted that Judy would receive an Oscar nomination but that didn’t happen. In the article, Judy told the story about how the handicapped children at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, helped her in her time of need in 1949.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Page on A Child Is Waiting here.
February 3, 1966: Judy’s ex-husband, Sid Luft, sued Jack Warner. I don’t know what the outcome was. Probably nothing.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on A Star Is Born here.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
February 3, 1966: Here is a review of Judy’s opening night (February 2) at the Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood, Florida.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.