She only performed "Over The Rainbow" three times during her many television appearances, which spanned 14 years. She performed it on her first TV Special, "Ford Star Jubilee" (1955) episode, "The Judy Garland Special" in 1955, sang it to her children on The Christmas Edition of her weekly "The Judy Garland Show" (1963), and on _"The Mike Douglas Show" in August 1968_.
She performed with her sisters at the 1933-34 World's Fair in Chicago on the infamous midway (where Sally Rand was the main attraction), more specifically in the Old Mexico Club, where they sold out every night. During their third week at the club, it unexpectedly closed due to an expired liquor license. Judy served as the grand marshal in a parade for the Fair's "Children's Day" in early 1934. It was during their last day in Chicago that Frances Gumm changed her name to Judy Garland during a performance at the Oriental Theater, partly at the advice of George Jessel, who was emceeing.
She was a very active member of the Hollywood Democratic Committee and donated her time and money to many liberal causes (such as the Civil Rights Movement) and political candidates (including Franklin D. Roosevelt, Henry Wallace, Adlai Stevenson, John F. Kennedy, and Robert F. Kennedy) for most of her adult life.
She was considered an icon in the gay community in the 1950s and 1960s. Her death and the loss of that emotional icon in 1969 has been thought to be a contributing factor to the feeling of the passing of an era that helped spark the Stonewall Riots that began the modern gay rights advocacy movement.
She was three-quarters Scottish and one-quarter Irish in ancestry.
She was voted the 22nd Greatest Movie Star of all time by Premiere Magazine.
She was voted the 23rd Greatest Movie Star of all time by Entertainment Weekly.
Sister of Mary Jane Gumm and Virginia Gumm.
The day she died, there was a tornado in Kansas.
The famous theme song David Raksin wrote for the film "Laura" (1944) was originally entitled "Judy" in honor of Garland.
The famous theme song David Raksin wrote for the film Laura (1944) was originally entitled "Judy" in honor of her.
The first film she made after marrying Vincente Minnelli was The Harvey Girls (1946).
The month and year Judy Garland was born, 6-22 (June 1922), eerily turned out to be a forecast of the month and day she would die, 6/22 (June 22).
The only witnesses present at her Las Vegas wedding to David Rose in 1941 were her mother and stepfather.
The song "Quiet Please, There's A Lady On Stage" from the stage musical "The Boy From Oz" was written by Peter Allen (Liza Minnelli's former husband) as a tribute to her.
There is surviving footage of Garland performing the lead role of Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun (1950) before she was replaced by Betty Hutton, and this has been included in many documentaries. Undoubtedly, the best is That's Entertainment! III (1994), which for the first time assembled raw unedited footage for two musical numbers and presented them as they would have looked had the film been completed with Garland. Also surviving today are Garland's prerecordings of all songs for the production.
Was a member of The International Order of Job's Daughters.
Was close friends with Lauren Bacall, who had once been her neighbor during the 1950s. Had Judy won the 1955 Best Actress Oscar for A Star Is Born (1954), Lauren would have accepted the Oscar statuette on her behalf.
Was considered for the role of Careen O'Hara in Gone with the Wind (1939), but the role was eventually given to Ann Rutherford, so Judy immediately began working on The Wizard of Oz (1939), a film which was considered for as early as 1937.