the dreams that you dare to dream
Frances Ethel Gumm
June 10, 1922-June 22, 1969
This post is very picture-heavy. Dial-up users beware!
I'm going through her life, decade by decade, with photos and quotes. Here we go!
And I remember going onstage and singing [Jingle Bells]. And I'd run in a little circle. And everybody started to applaud [as if to] say it was good. And I just stayed there and stayed there, and I sang one chorus after another. My mother was howling with laughter, but she kept on playing, and my father was in the wings saying, "Come on! Get off!" I guess I fell in love with the lights and the music and the whole thing.
- Judy Garland
Click to viewJudy at 7 years old
Here was this chunky kid in a navy middy blouse and skirt, nervous--her palms were wringing wet--her large eyes filled with love and hunger. [Then she] opened her mouth and out came 'Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart.' And I mean zing. It was a moment to remember. Even at thirteen, she had that rare vocal quality of breaking hearts.
- Roger Edens, of Judy's MGM audition.
Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart [download]
Stompin' at the Savoy
Dear Mr. Gable/You Made Me Love You
His birthday party was held on the set of Parnell, the picture Mr. Gable was making at the time. All the big stars were there with Mr. Mayer....And I said, 'Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Mickey Rooney, and I'd like for you all to hear the finest voice in the world...the world's most wonderful personality...Judy Garland
- Mickey Rooney
You Can't Have Ev'rything
It Never Rains, But What It Pours
In Between
I believe that Mervyn LeRoy lucked out in casting Judy. Shirley Temple as a child could not have sung or acted the role with the same maturity Judy brought to it as a teen. The whole project would have suffered, for the story would have lacked aesthetic weight. The audience took Judy seriously as she strove to get home to Kansas; it's the basis on which all the sentiment in the picture depended.
- Jack Haley
Working with her was absolutely the high point of my career. All of the other people I've worked with did not measure up or compare in any way to Judy.
- Meinhardt Raabe, Munchkin Coroner
Over the Rainbow
She was a very relaxed, marvelous person...the most talented performer we've ever had. And my favorite partner.
- Gene Kelly
I think she married too young to get away from everybody telling her what to do.
- June Allyson
When she was married to David Rose, she was young and fresh and beautiful. And we would sit on the floor at their house; she'd have people over like Danny Kaye, and they'd stand up, and they'd entertain us. She'd serve spaghetti and wine--very, very informal. We loved going to her house; and we loved David. He was quiet, but he was darling. And she was a charming hostess.
- Marcella Rabwin
I had some wonderful times with Judy and always enjoyed working with her. And I think she enjoyed working with me. I hope people...think of Judy as I think of her: as a joyous, talented, dear girl. She was unquestionably the most talented person with whom I ever worked.
- Bing Crosby
When she breathed the last phrases of 'Over the Rainbow' and cried out its universal, unanswerable query 'Why can't I?' it was as though the bewildered hearts of all the people in the world had moved quietly together and become one, shaking in Judy's throat, and there breaking.
- Clifton Fadiman
It was like mystical electricity; all great performers have that...and when you have it, it gets to the audience. Call it charisma, call it star quality; you don't see it very often, but Judy was electrical. She was dynamite.
- Ann Miller
I have served as a musical director for a number of artists. It would not be demeaning or belittling to them to state that Judy Garland was head and shoulders above them all. She was as warm and generous as she was talented. Her sense of humor was fantastic. In short, it was an honor, a vital experience, and a privilege to make music with her. In all the concerts, TV shows--no matter where or how often--I always felt the goose bumps when she sand.
She was truly one of a kind. God bless her. We miss her.
- Mort Lindsey
It's difficult to think of anyone more multitalented. Because she could move. She could dance. She could sing. She could act. She was larger than life.
She was a star--a real star--and, I think, the most important, talented star I've worked with. I've worked with a lot of actors, and I've done a lot of films. But nobody come close to her.
- Norman Jewison
Judy was a part of every life in America, really....And the important thing to remember now is that she was here, she was adored--and we were lucky enough to have her.
- Marcella Rabwin
Judy Garland is the greatest performer the world has ever known.
- Tony Bennett
I've Got Rhythm
Down With Love
All the Things You Are
Easy to Love
The Trolley Song
They Say It's Wonderful
Little Girl Blue
Get Happy
It's a New World
A Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow
Why Can't I?
On the Sunny Side of the Street
A Cottage For Sale
I've Got You Under My Skin
The happiest of birthdays to you, Judy.