Great Entertainers
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Great Entertainers Judy Garland Judy Garland Judy Garland was a little Mozart of song and dance who led a dazzling and extraordinary life. Though forever remembered as the wistful little Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz going up The Yellow Brick Road and singing ‘Over the Rainbow’, it was her plaintive quality, her humour, her ability to be dramatic and send herself up that made her a unique artist. Tender love songs, torrid torch songs, quiet songs, noisy songs, songs with a swing to them, songs with a sentimental strain to them, she could do them all. She hoofed it with Mickey Rooney, Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire whilst belting out some of Hollywood’s greatest songs. She was a natural. Her abilities came so easily, so naturally, that she came to doubt them. Suffering from stage-fright and emotional problems, she exasperated everyone around her with her ab- sences and lateness, but she needed little rehearsal time and all would be forgiven when she produced a moment of magic. On stage she was a tiny, stocky figure, so where-in lay the magic? Innocent of any artful management, she sang directly to her audience, able to convey the joy and heartrending pathos of human existence: “She sang, not to your ears, but to your tear ducts.” And with her gift for self-mockery and sense of the ridicu- lous, she had an ability to rise above adversity and carry on. Her highly-publicised life of suicide attempts, broken marriages and neurotic battles with weight and sleep seemed to draw affec- tion from her audiences, yet it was her gaiety, passion, and huge, warm dramatic voice that seized her audiences and filled theatres around the world. She never gave an audience short measure. Often compared with Al Jolson, she was known as ‘Little Miss Show Business’ but stand-up comic Alan King generously opined: “I saw Jolson . he would have opened for Judy Garland.” The Career of Judy Garland Judy Garland, whilst not actually born in a trunk, made her first appearance on stage as Francis ‘Baby’ Gumm at two years of age. For the next 11 years she played with her two elder sisters as ‘The Gumm Sisters’ in vaudeville before signing a contract with M-G-M. Her playing of wistful Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz with her loveable friends, the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion, won her a special Oscar and the film skipped into several generations of hearts. Overdosed, overworked and underfed for stardom, she starred in films with Mickey Rooney, Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire before, at the age of 28, her contract was scrapped by M-G-M because of her health problems and unreliability. During the fifties and sixties she forged a new career on the concert stage, appearing at the London Palladium and playing a record-breaking run at New York’s Palace Theater. After starring in the film A Star Is Born, for which she was nominated for an Oscar, she played Carnegie Hall in what was described as the greatest night in show business history. A two- record album of the show sold two million copies and received five Grammy awards. She starred in her own series of TV shows for CBS. Though she knew how to hold an audience, she could not hold a husband. Married five times, she always felt she was a failure in her private life, and in debt during the latter half of her career, she had to sing for her supper, playing theatres, night clubs and giving concert performances. Her career spanned nearly five decades and when she died in 1969 from an accidental overdose of sleeping pills, there were huge demonstrations of public affection. She had worked for nearly 45 of her 47 years, made 32 feature films, received a special Academy Award and nominated for two others. Musical Medleys 54 Medley The Boy Next Door - (Martin & Blane) Come Rain or Come Shine (Mercer & Arlen) Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - (Martin & Blane) How About You - (Freed & Lane) Over the Rainbow - (Harburg & Arlen) 55 Medley On the Sunny Side of the Street - (McHugh & Fields) I'm Always Chasing Rainbows (Carroll & McCathy) Meet Me in St. Louis (Mills & Sterling) You'll Never Walk Alone - (Rodgers & Hammerstein) Chapter One: Sisters The Gumm Sisters Judy Garland came into the world as Francis ‘Baby’ Gumm. Whilst not actually born in a trunk and nourished on a diet of grease paint, her family did have a theatrical background. Both her parents were besotted with show business - Frank Gumm pos- sessed his fair share of southern charm and a baritone voice well-suited to sentimental ballads of the day, and Ethel Milne was a skilled accompanist and arranger with a reasonable voice. They formed a duo act calling themselves ‘Jack and Virginia Lee, Sweet Southern Singers.’ Looking for some security when they married in January 1914, Frank Gumm took over management of a movie theatre called the New Grand at Grand Rapids, Michigan. In the pit, Ethel played piano accompaniment to the movies. Their first daughter, Mary Jane, was born in 1915, and Virginia came along in 1917. Ethel’s third pregnancy in the fall of 1921 was unwelcome - she didn’t want another child. Marc Rabwin, who was a friend of her husband’s and studying medicine at the University of Minnesota, was consulted on termi- nating the pregnancy. He counselled against abortion - it was not only illegal but dangerous. Ethel agreed though Judy laughingly commented many years later: “She did everything to get rid of me by rolling down stairs and jumping off tables.” When a girl came into the world on 10 June 1922, Frank and Ethel were disappointed - they wanted a boy. ‘Frank’ became Frances Ethel. Pearl Sieben: “God made Al Jolson, then he made Judy, and then he broke the mould.” Judy Garland: “Certainly my first sort of large, blurry memory is of music, music all the time, all over the house.” Frances ‘Baby’ Gumm At Christmas 1924, between the showing of Mary Pickford’s tearjerker Thru the Back Door, a two-and-half years-old Frances ‘Baby’ Gumm made her debut on the stage at the New Grand. She joined her elder sisters in singing ‘When My Sugar Walks Down The Street’, finding no difficulty with the lyric, and did a nimble tap-dance. When her two sisters bowed out, ‘Baby’ sang her solo ‘Jingle Bells’, ringing the dinner bell that she held in her hand at every phrase, and not stopping until Frank came on stage to unceremo- niously carry her off. The tearful protest from behind the curtain, “I wanna sing some more!”, was drowned out by thunderous ap- plause. Judy: “The roar of the crowd - that wonderful, wonderful sound - is something I’ve been breathing since I was two years old. I’ll never forget the first time I heard it.” “Let’s Go to the Grand Show!” New Grand 26 December 1924 Thursday and Friday Mary Pickford in one of the prettiest pictures she has ever ap- peared in, entitled: “Thru’ the Back Door.” A two-reel comedy “Motor Mad” completes the program.. Special for Friday Night; The three Gumm children in songs and dances; featuring “Baby Frances”, two years of age. Baby Frances’ song: ‘Jingle Bells’ Quick to pick up a dance or a lyric, Francis soon became a ‘ham’ and it wasn’t long before she made her solo debut performing ‘a descriptive song and dance’. Judy explained years later: “If I had any talent in those days it was inherited. Nobody ever taught me what to do on stage. Like the words of the famous song, I just did ‘what came naturally’.” Both parents wanted to see if the family could make it as vaude- villians and the five Gumms began to perform in nearby towns. Ethel, a small woman, solidly built, was a competent pianist and agreeable singer with a mind of her own. Frank, handsome with an attractive mischievous smile and an easy laugh, had the ability, like Judy, to seduce people into enjoying themselves. Though never betraying any hint of homosexuality, there were stories and rumours that Frank was bisexual. Virginia Gumm: Francis was always a very determined little girl and never had any trouble making her mind up about anything.” Independent: “A hatbox, larger than usual, was carried out on the runway. The lid opened and out came little three-year-old Frances Ethel Gumm, who looked cautiously around and gave a lively performance of the Charleston. This was the hit of the evening and a round of applause greeted the little dancer as she went through her antics like a seasoned ‘Follie’.” The family was thrown into panic when Francis suffered a severe case of acute acidosis and was rushed to Duluth hospital. Her recovery was slow and Frank began to think about a warmer, more gentle climate for his family. Marc Rabwin, now qualified as a doctor and resident physician at Los Angeles General Hospital, wrote to Frank, saying that Los Angeles was an ideal place for him to be - at the centre of the movie industry. He invited Frank and his family over for a vacation to view the lie of the land. Two days before Frances’ fourth birthday, the Gumm family set off by rail for California, playing vaudeville theatres in towns on their way and earning $300 extra in pocket money before their arrival in Los Angeles. Not one to allow truth to spoil a good story, Judy later embroidered their tour: “It was a lousy act .