The Tragic Life of Judy Garland

we sure hope this Hollywood star is happier somewhere over the rainbow [Music] welcome to Ms mojo and today we're outlining the tragic life of Judy Garland but if you knew of all the years hopes and dreams and tears the tragedy of Judy Garland's life began before she was even born her parents were Frank and Ethel Gumm of Grand Rapids Minnesota a couple who had moved to the area and ran a vaudeville theater the couple already had two daughters and we're not expecting another child in fact the pregnancy was not a happy surprise her father called a friend who studied medicine for advice on having the pregnancy terminated abortion was illegal in the United States in the 1920s so their only option would have been a back-alley abortion which came with serious health risks to the mother so Judy Garland was born on June 10th 1922 to parents who didn't want her and her name the one we're familiar with was one she adopted later in life at birth she was known as Frances Ethel Gumm which certainly doesn't have the same ring to it many have wondered why Frank and Ethel Gumm didn't want to have another child and there's been speculation that Frank was at the time having extramarital affairs with men while there's no way to confirm this with certainty either way Garland's home life was an unhappy one from the time she was young in an interview decades later Garland detailed some of the marital conflict in her home when she was a child saying quote as I recall my parents were separating and getting back together all the time it was very hard for me to understand those things and of course I remember clearly the fear I had of those separations while their family life may have been messy there was one positive thing that Frank and Ethel could offer their daughter an introduction to show business they left me out there all alone mama said you're on your own papa shouted this is it kid Singh considering their career path it should come as no surprise that they wanted to involve their daughters in the Performing Arts as well when Judy was just two-and-a-half years old she performed a rendition of jingle bells at a Christmas show she also began performing with her two sisters Mary Jane and Dorothy Virginia under the name the gum sisters though it would be nice to look at this time as the beginning of a love for the stage there was a darker side to these early forays into entertainment garland said years later quote the only time I felt wanted when I was a kid was when I was on stage performing she would sort of stand in the wings when I was a little girl if I didn't feel good if I was sick to my stomach she'd say you get out in the singer I'll wrap you around the bedpost and break you off short so I'd go out and say when she performed with her sisters she was known as BT gum but their family name caused some issues [Music] their act was once printed in a playbill as the glum sisters which definitely doesn't sound like a show anyone wants to see so the family rebranded with all the sisters opting for the more whimsical sounding garland as a surname instead you could say it was then that Judy Garland was truly born after she starred in her most famous role which we'll get to soon Judy Garland stated that her mother was quote the real Wicked Witch of the West well this might seem like an over-the-top statement you'll probably agree when you hear how Judy was treated before she even turned 10 years old Ethel Gumm was reportedly providing her daughter with pills to improve her performances uppers to give her more energy and downers to help her come down from it and sleep in terms of her mother's motivations her husband's health was failing and her daughter's act was the family's primary way to make money and support themselves but this fostered a dependence on drugs and Judy that followed her into adulthood if Ethel's goal was to make her daughter a star she definitely succeeded when she was just 13 Judy was offered a recording contract with metro-goldwyn-mayer [Music] while she wouldn't achieve great success for another couple of years there was one bright light during this time her friendship with Mickey Rooney am I know I'll say little girls can see ahead he was another young up-and-comer working with MGM and the pair starred in several movies together studio execs decided that Garland was overweight and began restricting what she ate reportedly giving her only chicken broth and cottage cheese some from the studio even called her a quote fat little pig with pigtails later on she said quote from the time I was 13 there was a constant struggle between MGM and me whether or not to eat how much to eat what to eat I remember this more vividly than anything else about my childhood it's the nose the nose the problem she was prescribed amphetamines to keep her thin and boost her energy levels during filming and barbiturates to sleep at night while this may sound shocking to modern ears it was actually somewhat commonplace at the time though that certainly doesn't make it any less reprehensible garland has asserted that this was the beginning of her battle with addiction but soon it was time for her big break how do you do how do you do when the studio was looking for a young actress to star in The Wizard of Oz they almost passed over Garland in favor of more well-known performers like Shirley Temple and deanna durbin but of course as we know garland was given the role despite the fact that at 16 she was deemed too old for the part in fact during filming she had to wear restricting corsets in order to give her body a more childlike look when the Wizard of Oz was finally released it catapulted Garland to stardom but by that point her schedule was so busy she didn't even have time to see the film in theaters only viewing it a year after its initial release oh please please sure I've got to see the Wizard as she went into adulthood her struggle with drugs worsened to the point that it caused her to lose roles in major films she was initially cast in both the Barkley's of Broadway and royal wedding where she was set to act alongside Fred Astaire now don't get mad this is business a girl dancer has to be exotic she has to be a peach I suppose I'm a lemon but she was erratic onset often calling in sick and missing days of work because of this behavior she was replaced by other actresses a low point came when her contract with MGM was terminated due to these issues just before we continue be sure to subscribe to our Channel and bring the bell to get notified about our latest videos you have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them if you're on your phone make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications on top of the problems with drug use garland also had a troubled romantic life [Music] [Applause] she was engaged for the first time when she was just 18 years old to a man named David rose who was married at the time he proposed once his divorce was final they married in 1941 and garland became pregnant but her mother and the studio arranged for her to have an abortion her mother took Judy by the hand led her inside to a shabby little office in a few minutes David her mother and MGM were satisfied just a few years later rose and Garland called it quits she ended up being married a total of five times throughout her lifetime and none of the partnerships seemed like simple or happy ones she said that her third and fourth husbands Sidney left and Mark herons struck her Herren claimed it was quote self-defense in 1969 Garland married nightclub manager Micky Dean's garland died just a few months later shortly after turning 47 in an overdose of barbiturates that was deemed to be accidental by the coroner these were the very same drugs that were given to her when she was a teen working on The Wizard of Oz after her death her estate was valued at just $40,000 despite all of the success she achieved in her lifetime luckily her legacy remains and her two daughters Liza Minnelli and Lorna Luft also went on to succeed in show business even after seeing what the industry did to their mother [Music] check out this other recent clip from ms mojo and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos

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Keywords: The Tragic Life of Judy Garland, Judy Garland Tragic Life, Judy Garland Tragedy, Judy Garland History, Judy Garland Career, Judy Garland Biography, Judy Garland Tragic Figure, Judy Garland Real-Life Story, The Sad Story of Judy Garland, Judy Garland Life, Judy Garland Death, Judy Garland Family, Judy Garland Movie, Judy, Judy Garland, The Wizard of Oz, Celebrity, Hollywood, watchmojo, watch mojo, top 10, list, MsMojo, Mojo

Id: 3knnXsJf_Ww

Length: 9min 26sec (566 seconds)

Published: Mon Feb 24 2020