Posted by “I couldn’t look that happy or that fat!” – Judy Garland commenting on a photo of her in the papers, 1952
April 5, 1936: Here is another publication of the recent photo taken of that new MGM contract player, Judy Garland, and Marlena Dietrich’s daughter.
April 5, 1938: Here are some pages from Noel Langley’s early draft of what would become the screenplay of The Wizard of Oz.
April 5, 1941: Judy is a Ziegfeld Girl
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Ziegfeld Girl here.
April 5, 1941: This eight-page spread touting MGM’s latest releases was placed by the studio in the trade magazine, “Motion Picture Herald.”
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Ziegfeld Girl here.
April 5, 1941: This single-page ad, also published in the same trade magazine (“Motion Picture Herald”), showed some ad ideas for theater managers to use in local papers.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Ziegfeld Girl here.
April 5, 1942: Here’s another photo of Judy at Don DeFore’s wedding, which took place on February 14th. Judy served as Matron of Honor. The wedding took place at the Chapman Park Chapel in Los Angeles, followed by a wedding breakfast at the Brown Derby.
April 5, 1943: Filming continued on Girl Crazy specifically on the “Exterior Indian Rock” set. Time called: 10:20 a.m.; dismissed: 5:55 p.m.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on Girl Crazy here.
April 5, 1944: Night shooting for Meet Me In St. Louis on the “Exterior Smith House and Street” on MGM’s Lot #3. Time called: 7 p.m.; ready at 7:35 p.m.; dismissed: 12:00 midnight.
It’s interesting to note that a year later, on this date, Judy was back on MGM’s Lot #3 for another nighttime shoot, this time for The Harvey Girls (see below).
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland on the MGM Backlot” section for details about all of Judy’s films shot on the studio’s famous backlots.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on Meet Me In St. Louis here.
April 5, 1945: Judy twisted her ankle while filming a scene for The Harvey Girls in which she ran downhill. According to the studio records, this happened on the “Billy The Kid Street,” on MGM’s Lot #3 which was dressed up to be the fictional town of “Sandrock.”
This was a nighttime shoot for the “March of the Doagies” sequence, which was cut from the film. Time called: 7:30 p.m.; arrived: 7:50 p.m.; dismissed: 2:30 a.m.
Some of the photos here were taken on an MGM soundstage in late April on the “Exterior Picnic Grounds” set and not on MGM’s “Billy The Kid Street,” but are included here as they’re part of the extensive “March of the Doagies” number and reprise.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland on the MGM Backlot” section for details about all of Judy’s films shot on the studio’s famous backlots.
Playback disc images from the Rick Smith Collection. Thanks, Rick! Note that the disc’s date is the date it was made. The song was pre-recorded on February 17, 1945.
Check out The Judy Room’s Filmography Pages on The Harvey Girls here.
April 5, 1951: This photo of Judy on the Ile de France is dated on this date, which is the day that she arrived in London after sailing on the ship to England. That means the photo was taken prior to this date by at least a day or two.
Judy was embarking on a new phase in her life and career. She was set to open a new stage show at the London Palladium on April 9th. The show was a huge success and began her legendary Concert Years.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
April 5, 1952: Here’s an article that recounts Judy’s reaction to seeing her photo in the papers.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
April 5, 1953: Judy’s upcoming appearance at the Bluegrass Festival in Lexington, Kentucky, was noted in this article. Judy gave her concert on April 29.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
April 5, 1955: This lovely A Star Is Born promotional photo was featured on the cover of “Estúdio” magazine.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on A Star Is Born here.
April 5, 1956: This article doesn’t have much to say about Judy aside from some gossip that she might go to Broadway to do a musical comedy, but the caricature is great!
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
April 5, 1959: The Baltimore Sun published this article and ad in anticipation of Judy’s show at the Stanley Theatre in Baltimore.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
April 5, 1963: A Star Is Born was shown on local TV in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Check out The Judy Room’s Spotlight on A Star Is Born here.
April 5, 1965: Judy appeared on the Academy Awards broadcast from Los Angeles, California, on ABC-TV. Gene Kelly introduced her and sang a medley of Cole Porter songs in tribute to the songwriter, arranged by Roger Edens.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
April 5, 1968: Judy’s companion at the time, Tom Green, wrote a long, moving letter to Sid Luft, in which he explained about Judy calling the FBI. The letter touched on a multitude of topics. Tom mentioned recently completing the books for the period ending March 31 and found that he had spent a total of $48,756.74 on Judy. He mentioned pawning $3,000 worth of his family’s jewelry in order to get a $350 loan for food for her and the kids that spring. Green concluded by stating: “I always only wanted to help her . . . because goddam it [sic], in spite of her whatever the hell nonsense it is, I do love her very much.”
Judy had called the police (the West 54th Street police station, near the St. Moritz where she was staying) on April 3, 1968, and reported that two rings had vanished on March 19. Judy had forgotten that Green pawned the rings to pay for her hospital and hotel bills.
In November 1968, Green reported his expenditures as $58,815.62, which was $10k more than this April 5 report. That report included a copy of a legal summons instituting a suit by Green against Judy for the monies owed him. The suit was never filed.
Photos: Newspaper clippings from April 4 & 5, 1968; Judy and Tom Green in 1967.
Check out The Judy Room’s “Judy Garland – The Concert Years” here.
Hi Scott,
Congratulations on the completion of this project! What an accomplishment! Thanks to your motivation and commitment, we now have a spectacular follow-up to Scott Schechter’s 2002 book to enjoy. You should feel very proud and we are very grateful – please give yourself a huge pat on the back!
A while ago, you kindly agreed to go back and post the underscoring session daily music reports for Judy’s movies. If you could still do that (including those pertaining to her “guest” movies such as Ziegfeld Follies and Clouds), that would be the icing on the cake!
Many thanks in advance and again, congratulations!
Warm regards,
Simon
You’re a doll! Thank you for knowing that this completes all 365 days! You stole my thunder a little bit (I’m teasing) – I have a post going out tomorrow explaining that we’re at the one year mark and that an entry for every day of the year is now available. No, no more daily posts because they’re all posted!
I am, indeed, now going to be able to go back and add/update posts including the extra Daily Music Reports (there are a ton of them). The first several days of the project (April 6th through around the 10th) were sparse and I will be expanding those entries to be as detailed as the rest of them.
I’m also (I have a “to do” list) going go through and add major home media release dates that aren’t already noted. Lots to do but now I’m not on a daily deadline and can relax and take some time off from the blog.
Thank you again, I can’t believe I did it! 🙂
Congrats on this spectacular series! I’ve learned so much from it . . . and have been wonderfully entertained along the way! Now I’m crossing my fingers that you’ll get around to that eagerly anticipated “Bullies and Haters and Trolls – Oh My!” in the “Wars” series. Lawrence Schulman said the best was yet to come!
🙂 Thank you so much. I’m amazed it’s been a year already. I have a post going out about it tomorrow (maybe tonight). And yes, I now have time to get back to the “Judy Garland Wars” series as well as the “Garlands for Judy” webzine. This project took up all the spare time I had for the site, so now I can get back to regular business. 🙂
As Judy says in A Star Is Born: “Believe it, BELIEVE IT!”
Well done!
Wow, this is an awesome achievement! One whole year! I’m blown away by the magnitude of what you’ve given us, Mr. Brogan! I joind this list somewhere in the middle and look very much forward to the enhanced postings that I missed.
I know a certain person with the initials SS is smiling down on you this day…….
God bless you and thanks again for your dedication, your work and your commitment to quality. I get SO MUCH pleasure from your site!
Thank you! I appreciate your words so much, really. I like to think Scott would be pleased. He was a huge supporter of The Judy Room and was always so helpful and giving. And yes, more on the way. 🙂
Scott, you’re not going to believe this, but I always thought you’d continue to post every day of the year, but tweak things around with different events pictures that may have not made a date last year. Pretty silly. Of course, now that you’re done, you DO deserve a huge pat on the back. Always fun to peruse.
March of the Doagies: I love this number, and always watch THG with it back in the movie. However….that reprise looks mighty corny, and since I have no idea why they are back BEFORE the fire, it just plays badly. This was rightfully cut. But the main number itself should’ve stayed in the film if only for the sake of the narrative.
Again, thank yoiu!!
P.S.: Be sure and let us know the release date for the “Summer Stock” Blu Ray release!!
Thank you! I’m going to continue to add and make updates, just not on a linear daily basis. The more I find out, the more I’ll add and tweak, of course. It’ll keep growing. 🙂