Posted by “It’s a certainty that if Judy gets any more talented, she’ll probably explode.” – “Liberty” magazine, 1945
March 19, 1928: Frances (Judy) and her sisters performed at a dinner for the Devine Family, held at the Gumm home in Lancaster, California.
March 19, 1932: The first of a three-night engagement for Frances (Judy) at the Cocoanut Grove “Tea Dance” at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California, with Jimmie Grier and his Orchestra. This is the second known appearance by Judy at the Cocoanut Grove.
March 19, 1938: “When the School Bell Rings on a Movie Lot.” This article reported on how kids on movie lots went to school. Judy was, of course, one of the featured kid stars.
March 19, 1939: Terry, the Cairn Terrier who played “Toto” in The Wizard of Oz, had a career of her own outside of the film. This blurb claims that “Uncle Henry,” Charley Grapewin, wrote a part for Terry in his new stage play. It’s unknown how much of this is true but what is true is that Terry did have her own career and was in several films including Fury (1936) with Spencer Tracy and The Women (1939).
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on The Wizard of Oz here.
March 19, 1941: Judy had a pre-recording session for Ziegfeld Girl, specifically the new finale song, “The Ziegfeld Girl.”
Listen to the final film version of the finale (including “The Ziegfeld Girl”) here:
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight Section on Ziegfeld Girl here.
March 19, 1942: Here’s Judy, drinking milk, which, according to Lydia Lane, was part of a one-day liquid diet she used to lose weight. Ah, those ever-busy studio publicity folks struck again!
March 19, 1945: Filming on The Harvey Girls continued with scenes shot on the “Interior Harvey House Party” set. Time called: 1:00 p.m.; dismissed: 4:30 p.m.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on The Harvey Girls here.
March 19, 1948: Here’s another fun Decca Records ad, this time promoting Judy’s recording of “If I Had You,” which she recorded with The Merry Macs on July 7, 1945, while she was on her honeymoon in New York City with Vincente Minnelli.
Listen to “If I Had You” here:
Listen to the alternate take of “If I Had You” here:
Check out The Judy Garland Online Discography’s Decca Records Section for more information about all of Judy’s Decca recordings.
March 19, 1948: Columnist Sheilah Graham reported on the latest status of Judy’s involvement in the MGM project, Take Me Out To The Ball Game. When the project was in its early stages of development, producer Arthur Freed replaced Kathryn Grayson in the lead role with Judy. At this point, Judy was finishing up her work on Easter Parade and The Pirate with her guest spot in Words and Music coming up. She was in no shape for another big musical. The role went to Esther Williams.
March 19, 1956: Judy returned to the Capitol Records Studios in Hollywood, California, for the first of four sessions to record her second album for the label titled “Judy.” Nelson Riddle arranged and conducted the orchestra. The album featured songs that she would sing in her upcoming 30-minute TV special for CBS-TV’s “General Electric Theater.”
On this date, Judy recorded: “Dirty Hands, Dirty Face,” “April Showers,” “I Feel A Song Comin’ On,” and “Maybe I’ll Come Back.”
Listen to “Dirty Hands, Dirty Face” here:
Listen to “April Showers” here:
Listen to “I Feel A Song Comin’ On” here:
Listen to “Maybe I’ll Come Back” here:
Check out The Judy Garland Online Discography’s “Judy” pages here.
March 19, 1961: These photos were taken on the set of Judgment at Nuremberg. Judy is seen with Spencer Tracy, Stanley Kramer (the film’s director), and Maximillian Schell.
Photos provided by Kim Lundgreen. Thanks, Kim!
March 19, 1961: TV viewers in San Francisco were treated to a showing of Easter Parade, as well as this nice uncredited review of the film. The review notes that one critic noted that the film “is completely unoriginal and completely delightful.”
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight Pages on Easter Parade here.
March 19, 1963: “Judy Garland and Her Guests Phil Silvers and Robert Goulet” premiered on CBS-TV, airing from 8:30 – 9:30 p.m. The show had been taped from January 30 through February 3, 1963.
The special was nominated for an Emmy award for Outstanding Music Program but lost to “Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall.”
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
March 19, 1963: Here are some press clippings regarding the “Judy Garland and Her Guests Phil Silvers and Robert Goulet” CBS-TV special, which premiered on this night from 8:30 – 9:30 p.m. The show had been taped from January 30 through February 3, 1963.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
March 19, 1964: Judy was rushed to Cedars of Lebanon Hospital, apparently suffering from an attack of appendicitis, according to her physician, Dr. Lee Siegel. She was released the next day. It turned out she did not have appendicitis but abdominal pains caused by a flu bug. She was ordered to rest a week before resuming any acting or singing.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
March 19, 1969: Judy’s first night in concert in Stockholm, Sweden. Johnnie Ray opened the show for her. The show was a huge success. Judy received a standing ovation that lasted 10 minutes!
Mickey Deans allegedly caught unauthorized professional recording equipment in the audio booth so he opened up the audio levels, ruining the recording.
Photos from the collection of Kim Lundgreen. Thanks, Kim!
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
Once again a beautiful and informative post on your endlessly enjoyable blog, Scott! Must say I think Judy was drop-dead gorgeous in that white dress in “The Harvey Girls”! Just now checked out the Spotlight page on “Ziegfeld Girl,” which was as spectacular as the movie itself. Would offer one correction: That was Judy’s one and only movie produced by Pandro Berman (who produced many wonderful films for MGM and, earlier, RKO) . . . the page currently lists Arthur Freed as the producer.
Thanks! And fooey – I should have caught that mistake on the producer’s credit. 🙂