Judy Garland Bio, Age, Death, Daughter, Spouse & Movies

Judy Garland one of the brightest, most tragic movie stars of Hollywood’s Golden Era, Judy Garland was a much-loved character whose warmth and spirit, along with her rich and exuberant voice, kept theatre-goers entertained with an array of delightful musicals. She was one of the most iconic actresses of Hollywood’s Golden Age, shining up movie screens with her talent and charm. Mention the name ‘Dorothy’ anywhere in America and the image of a 16-year-old Judy in a blue and white gingham dress comes to mind – 75 years after the original theatrical discharge into American movie houses. Her talent was not inhibited to the silver screen, however, as she navigated into Broadway, music, and television. But, most importantly, Judy Garland was more than her screen persona. Read in detail about Judy Garland Bio, Age, Death, Children, Daughter, Spouse & Movies.

She was a daughter, sister, wife, lover, and mother. Sadly, for as much joy as she gave theatergoers, her life did not reflect the same. Troubled and haunted, the American icon battled personal demons throughout her career. Judy Garland was and is an American treasure. Her talent was a gift that she shared with the world, and her impact can still be felt today. But, her life also illustrates the struggles of working in a fantasy world while still living in the real world. Ultimately, she succumbed to those demons, and the world lost an amazing gift.

Judy Garland Biography – Wiki

Judy Garland was born on June 10, 1922, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Garland signed a movie contract with MGM at the age of 13. In 1939, she scored one of her greatest on-screen successes with The Wizard of Oz. In 1950, MGM dropped her from her contract. In the 1960s, Judy Garland spent more time as a singer than an actress. She died in 1969 of an accidental overdose.

Bio/ Wiki

Actress and singer Judy Garland were born as Frances Ethel Gumm on June 10, 1922, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Garland, the star of many classic musical films, was known for her tremendous talent and troubled life. The daughter of vaudeville professionals, she started her stage career as a child. Garland was called “Baby Gumm” and sang “Jingle Bells” at her first public performance at the age of two and a half. With her two older sisters, Susie and Jimmie, Garland soon began performing as part of the Gumm Sisters.

In 1926, the Gumm family moved to California where Garland and her sisters studied acting and dancing. They played numerous gigs that their mother, Ethel, had arranged for them as their manager and agent. In the late 1920s, the Gumm sisters also appeared in several short films.

Judy Garland Net Worth

Јudу Gаrlаnd hаd аn еѕtіmаtеd nеt wоrth оf $20 mіllіоn at the time of death. Ѕhе hаd mаdе mоѕt оf hеr fоrtunе wіth hеr саrееr аѕ аn асtrеѕѕ, ѕіngеr аѕ wеll аѕ а vаudеvіllіаn.

Ѕhе аnd hеr ѕіѕtеr hаd сrеаtеd оnе grоuр nаmеd “Тhе Gumm Ѕіѕtеrѕ” durіng thе уеаr 1928. Тhіѕ grоuр роѕt mоdіfіеd іtѕ nаmе tо “Тhе Gаrlаnd Ѕіѕtеrѕ”; lаtеr, ѕhе fіnаllу сhаngеd hеr nаmе frоm Frаnсеѕ tо Јudу.
Іn thе уеаr 1935, whеn ѕhе wаѕ оf аgе 13 уеаrѕ, ѕhе gоt соntrасtеd bу Меtrо-Gоldwуn-Мауеr, аnd fоr іt, ѕhе hаd dоnе mаnу fіlmѕ. А fіlm whісh gаvе hеr glоbаl fаmе wаѕ “Тhе Wіzаrd оf Оz,” whеrеіn ѕhе hаѕ ѕung hеr fаmоuѕ hіt еntіtlеd “Аbоvе thе Rаіnbоw.”

Ѕhе lаtеr lеft МGМ, dіd mаnу rесоrdѕ, wоrkеd bасk tо thе thеаtrе, аnd саmе bасk tо Ноllуwооd. Јudу Gаrlаnd wаѕ dеnоtеd аѕ аn “uglу duсklіng,” whісh hаѕ dіrесtеd hеr tо grоw ѕеlf-соnfіdеnсе іѕѕuеѕ аѕ wеll аѕ nееdеd tо bе рrоmрtеd аll thе tіmе оf hоw ѕkіllеd аnd аttrасtіvе ѕhе wаѕ.

Family, Education & More

She was born as Frances Ethel Gumm on 10 June 1922 in Minnesota, the youngest daughter of vaudevillians Ethel Marion (Milne) and Francis Avent Gumm. She was of English, along with some Scottish and Irish, descent. Her mother, an ambitious woman gifted in playing various musical instruments, saw the potential in her daughter at the tender age of just 2 years old when Baby Frances repeatedly sang “Jingle Bells” until she was dragged from the stage kicking and screaming during one of their Christmas shows and immediately drafted her into a dance act, entitled “The Gumm Sisters”, along with her older sisters Mary Jane Gumm and Virginia Gumm. However, knowing that her youngest daughter would eventually become the biggest star, Ethel soon took Frances out of the act, and together they traveled across America where she would perform in nightclubs, cabarets, hotels, and theaters solo.

Her family life was not a happy one, largely because of her mother’s drive for her to succeed as a performer and also her father’s closeted homosexuality. The Gumm family would regularly be forced to leave town owing to her father’s illicit affairs with other men, and from time to time they would be reduced to living out of their automobile. However, in September 1935 the Gumms’, in particular Ethel’s, prayers were answered when Frances was signed by Louis B. Mayer, mogul of leading film studio MGM, after hearing her sing. It was then that her name was changed from Frances Gumm to Judy Garland, after a popular ’30s song “Judy” and film critic Robert Garland.

Fifty years after her death, Judy Garland remains one of the most beloved and iconic stars of American cinema. Yet, while she brought joy to many in films like The Wizard of Oz and A Star is Born, the singer and actress’s real-life was filled with tribulations. Along with her well-known struggles with depression and substance abuse, Garland spent most of her life searching for love. While some of the men in her life played prominent roles in her career, all five of Garland’s marriages had an important impact on the star. Here’s everything you need to know about the men she loved.

Judy Garland Spouse/ Husband – 1: Dаvіd Rоѕе (1941–1944)

David Rose was an American songwriter, composer, arranger, pianist, and orchestra leader. His best-known works were ‘The Stripper’, ‘Holiday for Strings’, and ‘Calypso Melody’. He also wrote music for various TV shows, including Little House on the Prairie, Bonanza, and Highway Patrol under the pseudonym Ray Llewellyn. Garland began a relationship with Rose in the early 1940s, and on her 18th birthday, he gave her an engagement ring. Her film studio intervened as he was still married to actress and singer Martha Raye at the time.

They agreed to wait a year after his divorce became final. At the same time, Garland had a brief affair with songwriter Johnny Mercer. Garland and Rose married on July 27, 1941. They had no children, though Garland, according to biographer Gerald Clarke, had at least one abortion during the marriage, at the insistence of her mother, husband, and the studio MGM. They divorced in 1944. Rose died in 1990, aged 80.

Judy Garland Spouse/ Husband – 2: Vіnсеntе Міnnеllі (m. 1945-1951)

The same year that she divorced Rose, Garland starred in the film Meet Me in St. Louis under the helm of then-largely unknown director Vincente Minnelli. Though Garland had initially turned down a role in the film and, once convinced to take the part, held a contentious relationship with Minnelli during the early days of filming, the two slowly became close throughout the film’s shoot. By the time Meet Me in St. Louis debuted, quickly became MGM’s highest-selling to date, the couple had already started living together.

Nearly 20 years Garland’s senior, Garland felt that Minnelli (born Lester Anthony Minnelli) helped bring out a sense of maturity and onscreen elegance in her that the star, tired of playing teenage sweethearts, had craved. In turn, Garland petitioned for more films for Minnelli on MGM’s roster, a position that not only suited him and Garland but also kept the studio happy as they believed that Minnelli and Garland’s continued relationship would prevent her from moving on from MGM at the end of her contract. Indeed, when the couple married in June of 1945, MGM co-founder Louis B. Mayer himself gave the bride away.

By August of that year, Garland was pregnant, though this time her mother, the studio, and Minnelli were all pleased by the announcement, and in March of 1946, Garland and Minnelli’s daughter Liza was born. In the weeks that followed the birth, Garland remained bedridden, and though it was not diagnosed at the time, many now believe she was suffering from postpartum depression. It was almost a full year before Garland returned to work, and even that revival was cut short by a nervous breakdown that culminated in her stay at two different psychiatric clinics.

Together Garland and Minnelli had one daughter, Liza, but the marriage was already under strain.
The happy collaborations that had brought Minnelli and Garland together as artists had begun to deteriorate Minelli were, at Garland’s insistence, removed as director of Easter Parade and along with it, their marriage. Worsening matters, Garland’s spiral into increasing drug use (she had been on amphetamines and barbiturates to maintain her weight and help her cope with her workload since she was a child), suicide attempts, and Minnelli’s affairs with men his sexuality had been the subject of rumors for some time, including his relationship years earlier with sculptor and Fifth Avenue window dresser Lester Gaba.

In 1949, the couple officially separated. The autumn of the following year, after a long series of flagging performances, lateness, and failure to appear, Garland was released from her MGM contract; her marriage to Minnelli, which had come with the blessing of the studio, was also soon to end.

After their 1950 divorce, Vincente remained under contract with MGM into the 1960s, directing films like Father of the Bride and An American in Paris, and earning an Oscar for his work on Gigi. He married three more times before his death in, 1986, and had another daughter, Nina Minnelli.

Judy Garland Spouse/ Husband – 3: Ѕіdnеу Luft (m. 1952-1965)

Sidney Luft was an American showbusiness figure, who became Garland’s tour manager and producer. Soon after divorcing Minnelli, Garland married Luft in 1952. Garland gave birth to Lorna Luft, who herself became an actress and singer, in November 1952, and to Joey Luft in March 1955.

In 1963, Garland sued Luft for divorce on the grounds of mental cruelty. She claimed he had repeatedly hit her while he was drinking. She had filed for divorce from Luft several times before, but they had made up each time. They were finally divorced in 1965.

He passed away in 2005, aged 89. Actor Rufus Sewell plays Luft in the Judy movie.

Judy Garland Spouse/ Husband – 4: Маrk Неrrоn (m. 1965–1969)

An actor and tour manager, Herron met Garland while producing her two 1964 shows at the London Palladium with her daughter Liza. The duo began a whirlwind romance that had rumors of marriage swirling, even though Garland was not yet divorced from Luft. After her divorce was finalized though, Herron and Garland quickly married in a Las Vegas ceremony in November of 1965.

The wedded bliss was short-lived. Within five months, the couple had officially separated, and in 1967 their divorce was finalized after Garland testified that Herron had been abusive. In return, Herron said that he had “only hit her in self-defense.” After his divorce, Herron maintained a relationship with character actor Henry Brandon for nearly three decades, until Brandon’s death.

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Judy Garland Spouse/ Husband – 5: Місkеу Dеаnѕ (m. 1969–1969)

Mickey Deans was an American musician and entrepreneur. He is said to have met Garland at her hotel in New York City. A mutual friend of theirs asked Deans to deliver a package of stimulant tablets to the actress. As Garland’s two youngest children were present at the time, he introduced himself as a doctor. After three years of dating, Deans proposed and they were married in 1969, in London.

He helped to promote Garland’s career towards the end of her life, but he struggled to battle her use of prescription drugs. Deans tragically discovered Garland dead on June 22, 1969. He said that he found her seated on the toilet, having died from an accidental overdose of barbiturates. Deans died in 2003, aged 68. Actor Finn Wittrock plays Deans in the Judy movie.

Judy Garland Movie (s) – Career

Judy Garland Death

• On June 22, 1969, Deans found Garland dead in the bathroom of their rented mews house in Cadogan Lane, Belgravia, London; she was 47 years old. At the inquest, Coroner Gavin Thurston stated that the cause of death was “an incautious self-overdosage” of barbiturates; her blood contained the equivalent of ten 1.5-grain (97 mg) Seconal capsules.
• Thurston stressed that the overdose had been unintentional and no evidence suggested that she had died by suicide. Garland’s autopsy showed no inflammation of her stomach lining and no drug residue in her stomach, which indicated that the drug had been ingested over a long time, rather than in a single dose. Her death certificate stated that her death was “accidental”. Supporting the accidental cause, Garland’s physician noted that a prescription of 25 barbiturate pills was found by her bedside half-empty and another bottle of 100 barbiturate pills was still unopened.

• A British specialist who had attended Garland’s autopsy stated that she had nevertheless been living on borrowed time owing to cirrhosis, although a second autopsy conducted later reported no evidence of alcoholism or cirrhosis. Garland died 12 days after her 47th birthday. Her Wizard of Oz co-star Ray Bolger commented at her funeral, “She just plain wore out.” Forensic pathologist Jason Payne-James believed that Garland had an eating disorder, which contributed to her death.
• After Garland’s body had been embalmed by Desmond Henley, Deans traveled with her remains to New York City on June 26, where an estimated 20,000 people lined up to pay their respects at the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel in Manhattan, which remained open all night long to accommodate the overflowing crowd. On June 27, James Mason gave a eulogy at the funeral, an Episcopal service led by the Rev. Peter A. Delaney of St Marylebone Parish Church, London, who had officiated at her marriage to Deans, three months earlier. “Judy’s great gift”, Mason said in his eulogy, “was that she could wring tears out of hearts of rock. She gave so richly and so generously, that there was no currency in which to repay her.” The public and press were barred. She was interred in a crypt in the community mausoleum at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York, a small town 24 miles (39 km) north of midtown Manhattan.
• Upon Garland’s death, despite having earned millions during her career, her estate came to US$40,000 (equivalent to $278,875 in 2019). Years of mismanagement of her financial affairs by her representatives and staff along with her generosity toward her family and various causes resulted in her poor financial situation at the end of her life. In her last will, signed and sealed in early 1961, Garland made many generous bequests which could not be fulfilled because her estate had been in debt for many years. Her daughter, Liza Minnelli, worked to pay off her mother’s debts with the help of family friend Frank Sinatra.
• In 1978, a selection of Garland’s items was auctioned off by her ex-husband Sidney Luft with the support of their daughter Lorna and their son Joe. Almost 500 items, ranging from copper cookware to musical arrangements, were offered for sale. The auction raised US$250,000 (equivalent to $979,974 in 2019) for her heirs.

Some Known Facts About Judy Garland

• The actress we now know as Hollywood star Judy Garland was born with a different moniker. Frances Ethel Gumm entered the world on June 10th, 1922, born to Francis and Ethel Gumm of Grand Rapids, Minnesota.
• Garland epitomizes the tragic child star. The actress’ parents settled in Grand Rapids to run a movie theater that often featured sensational vaudeville acts.
• No one knows Hollywood’s seedy underbelly better than Judy Garland.
• Garland’s marriage to her first husband, the songwriter David Rose, was deemed “a true rarity” by the media at the time of their wedding. Tragically, it turned out that their union would not have a fairy tale ending.
• When she was a child, Judy, along with her elder sisters, Mary Jane and Dorothy Virginia, formed a vaudeville trio known as “The Gumm Sisters.” But the press quickly made cruel jabs: The trio’s name was met with some mockery, and a playbill reportedly called them “The Glum Sisters.”
• Even as a teenage movie star, Garland’s weight was a constant concern to the movie studio. She was forced on diets of nothing but chicken soup and cottage cheese. But that’s not the worst part: once, the insecure Garland ordered a regular meal, only to be served soup and plain lettuce. Even then, her weight was well within a healthy range for her age and height.
• When she was on stage, Judy Garland was the picture of happiness, but behind closed doors, the little girl endured a world of pain.
• While it technically wasn’t an “office” romance, Garland met her second husband while on the job. She was cast in Meet Me in St. Louis, the second of her iconic musical roles. Director Vincente Minnelli allowed Garland to appear attractive and sexy, rather than her previous roles where she was meant to look plain or childlike. Garland married Minnelli in 1945, despite dark rumors that he was homosexual. The couple, who had a 20 year age difference between them, had a daughter, Liza. She was born in 1946.
• By 1948, Garland’s marriage to Vincente Minnelli was already strained, due to their age difference and her erratic behavior (likely due to her drug addiction). She reportedly returned home early to find an utterly devastating sight: Minnelli in the “loving embrace” of a male employee. This shock drove Garland to attempt suicide by cutting her wrists. Minnelli stopped her in time to save her life.
• Garland’s mother hungered after fame, forcing her daughters to work when they were still children. Years later, Judy Garland revealed how she really felt about her mother’s ambition. The actress said that she resented the way her mother treated her and her sisters and even described her own mother as “the real Wicked Witch of the West.”
• As though making a toddler work wasn’t bad enough, Garland also alleged that her mother did far, far worse damage. She claimed that Mama Gumm began providing young Judy with pills (some to pep her up, others to help her sleep) when she was just 10 years old.
• In 1993, Judy’s third husband, Sid Luft, dealt Garland was a cold-hearted betrayal. He was caught trying to sell Garland’s honorary Oscar (won for Babes in Arms and The Wizard of Oz), as well as the replacement statuette she had requested when the first one reportedly vanished. Luft was made to pay $60,000 in damages.

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FAQ’s

Why Did Judy Garland Die?

Judy Garland Cause Of Death: Garland Died From An Accidental Barbiturate Overdose In London On June 22, 1969, Less Than Two Weeks After Her 47Th Birthday. Her Exceptional Talents And Vulnerabilities Had Made Her One Of The Most Enduringly Popular Hollywood Icons Of The 20Th Century, And Her Funeral In New York City Drew Some 22,000 Mourners.

How Old Was Judy Garland When She Was In The Wizard Of Oz?

In 1939, When Garland Was 16, She Got Her Big Break As Dorothy Gale In The Wizard Of Oz.

What Happened To Judy Garland’s Sisters?

Suzanne Succumbed To Alcoholism And Eventually Committed Suicide In May 1964 At The Age Of 48. From All Accounts, Judy Was Estranged From Sister Mary Jane At The Time Of Mary’s Death, The Other Gumm Sister Was Virginia Gumm. She Died On May 27, 1977, In Dallas, Texas, USA.

When Did Judy Garland Die?

Garland Died From An Accidental Barbiturate Overdose In London On June 22, 1969, Less Than Two Weeks After Her 47Th Birthday.