In a career that spanned more than forty years, Judy Garland performed on stage, screen and television. Garland appeared in 34 feature films. She was nominated for multiple Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards, receiving an Academy Juvenile Award and one Golden Globe. Her film career was interrupted in 1951 after she was cast in a series of films she was unable to complete, but she returned to the screen in 1954 in A Star Is Born and continued to appear in films until 1963.
Although Garland appeared in concert as early as 1943, it was only when her film career stalled that she began regular concert appearances, beginning with a critically acclaimed 1951 concert series at the London Palladium. Garland set a record when she appeared for 19 weeks at the Palace Theatre in New York City, also in 1951, and her 1961 concert Judy at Carnegie Hall is often considered one of the greatest nights in show business history. She continued to tour until just three months prior to her death in 1969.
Garland starred in a series of television specials beginning in 1955, when she appeared in the first episode of Ford Star Jubilee. The success of these specials led CBS to offer Garland a regular series. The Judy Garland Show premiered in 1963. Although the show was critically well-received, it suffered in the Nielsen ratings from being scheduled across from Bonanza, which was then the most popular show on the air. The Judy Garland Show was canceled after one season but Garland and the series were nominated for Emmy Awards.
Filmography Feature films
+ Title Year Role Director Studio Notes Pigskin Parade 1936 Sairy Dodd David Butler 20th Century Fox Broadway Melody of 1938 1937 Betty Clayton Roy Del Ruth Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Thoroughbreds Don't Cry Cricket West Alfred E. Green Everybody Sing Judy Bellaire Edwin L. Marin Love Finds Andy Hardy Betsy Booth George B. Seitz Listen, Darling "Pinkie" Wingate Edwin L. Marin The Wizard of Oz Dorothy Gale Victor Fleming Garland was honored with an Academy Juvenile Award Babes in Arms Patsy Barton Busby Berkeley Andy Hardy Meets Debutante Betsy Booth George B. Seitz Strike Up the Band Mary Holden Busby Berkeley Little Nellie Kelly Nellie Noonan Kelly / Little Nellie Kelly Norman Taurog Ziegfeld Girl Susan Gallagher Robert Z. Leonard Life Begins for Andy Hardy Betsy Booth George B. Seitz Babes on Broadway Penny Morris Busby Berkeley For Me and My Gal Jo Hayden Presenting Lily Mars Lily Mars Norman Taurog Thousands Cheer Herself (guest star) George Sidney Performed "The Joint Is Really Jumpin' Down at Carnegie Hall" Girl Crazy Ginger Gray Norman Taurog Meet Me in St. Louis Esther Smith Vincente Minnelli The Clock Alice Mayberry Ziegfeld Follies The Star "The Great Lady Has An Interview" segment The Harvey Girls Susan Bradley George Sidney Till the Clouds Roll By Marilyn Miller Vincente Minnelli The Pirate Manuela Ava Easter Parade Hannah Brown Charles Walters Words and Music Herself (guest star) Norman Taurog Performed "I Wish I Were in Love Again" and "Johnny One Note" In the Good Old Summertime Veronica Fisher Robert Z. Leonard Summer Stock Jane Falbury Charles Walters A Star Is Born Esther Blodgett / Vicki Lester George Cukor Warner Bros. Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or MusicalNominated—Academy Award for Best ActressNominated—BAFTA Award for Best Foreign ActressNominated—New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress Pepe Herself (voice only) George Sidney Columbia Performed "The Faraway Part of Town" Judgment at Nuremberg Irene Hoffmann-Wallner Stanley Kramer United Artists Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion PictureNominated—Laurel Award for Top Female Supporting Performance Gay Purr-ee Mewsette (voice only) Abe Levitow Warner Bros. A Child Is Waiting Jean Hansen John Cassavetes United Artists I Could Go On Singing Jenny Bowman Ronald Neame
Short subjects + Title Year Role Director Studio Notes The Big Revue Herself (with the Gumm Sisters) Mayfair Pictures A Holiday in Storyland Roy Mack Warner Bros. Lost; includes Garland's first solo number, "Blue Butterfly" Bubbles The Wedding of Jack and Jill Lost La Fiesta de Santa Barbara Louis Lewyn Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Every Sunday Judy Felix E. Feist First role at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Silent Night Herself Performed "Silent Night" with St Luke's Episcopal Church Choristers of Long Beach If I Forget You Performed "If I Forget You" for the Will Rogers Memorial Fund We Must Have Music Susan Gallagher Performed "We Must Have Music" musical number deleted from Ziegfeld Girl
Unfinished films
+ Title Year Role Notes The Barkleys of Broadway Dinah Barkley Garland was taking prescription sleeping medication along with illicitly obtained pills containing morphine. These in combination with migraine headaches led Garland to miss several shooting days in a row. After being advised by Garland's doctor that she would only be able to work in four- to five-day increments with extended rest periods between, MGM executive Arthur Freed suspended Garland on July 18, 1948. She was replaced with Ginger Rogers.Shipman pp. 225-6 Annie Get Your Gun Annie Oakley Garland was nervous at the prospect of playing Annie Oakley—a role strongly identified with Ethel Merman—anxious about appearing in an unglamorous role after breaking from juvenile parts for several years and disturbed by her treatment at the hands of director Busby Berkeley. She began arriving late to the set and would sometimes not show up at all. She was suspended from the picture on May 10, 1949, and replaced with Betty Hutton.Clarke pp. 250-5 Royal Wedding Ellen Bowen Having been called in to replace a pregnant June Allyson, Garland again failed to report to the set on multiple occasions after costume tests and rehearsals with Fred Astaire and director Charles Walters. The studio suspended her contract on June 17, 1950, and replaced her with Jane Powell. Valley of the Dolls Helen Lawson Garland was cast as Helen Lawson in the film version of Jacqueline Susann's bestseller featuring the character of Neely O'Hara, depicted by Patty Duke. Neely was largely based upon Garland herself. As with previous projects, Garland missed days of work, blew repeated takes and delayed production by refusing to leave her dressing room. She was replaced in April 1967 with Susan Hayward.Seaman pp. 292-3, 343 However, Patty Duke tells another story – that the director kept Garland waiting for hours until late in the day, by which time she was either too tired or too nervous to perform.Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Another star of the film, Barbara Parkins, also defended Garland, stating on numerous occasions that "Miss Hayward was a pale imitation of what Garland could have made of the role."
Box office ranking
At the height of her career, Garland was regularly ranked among the top movie stars in the US in the annual poll conducted by Quigley publishing: 1940 – 10th 1941 – 10th 1942 – 19th 1943 – 11th 1944 – 14th 1945 – 9th 1946 – 25th 1950 – 25th
Concerts Garland appeared in concert over 1,100 times. Listed below are some of her key concert performances.
+ Date Location Notes Philadelphia Gave first solo concert at the Robin Hood Dell; Andre Kostelanetz conducted the orchestra. London Garland opened her new show at the London Palladium; the show performed twice nightly with Wednesday and Saturday matinees. Dublin Performed in Ireland at the Theatre Royal, Dublin for 14 sold-out performances where her show was performed for 50,000 people which was unprecedented for the time. Upon arrival in Dublin, she was met by huge crowds to whom she sang from her dressing room window. New York City The legendary Palace Theater opening – the show ran for 19 weeks and broke all box office records. She returned from 11/16/51–2/24/52. Las Vegas, Nevada at the New Frontier Hotel Garland performed a four-week stand for a salary of $55,000 per week, making her the highest-paid entertainer to work in Las Vegas to date. Despite a brief bout of laryngitis, her performances there were so successful that her run was extended an extra week.Frank p. 420–1 New York City Opened at the Metropolitan Opera House, in New York for a 7 night run. Paris Palais de Chaillot, dubbed by French critics "La Piaf Americaine" Paris Concert at the famed Olympia Amsterdam The concert is broadcast live on European radio and is considered to be on a par with the Carnegie Hall performance the following year. New York City The legendary concert at Carnegie Hall. Los Angeles, California Performed the Carnegie Hall concert at the Hollywood Bowl to sold-out audience in spite of heavy rain. Sydney/Melbourne Perhaps Garland's most unsuccessful tour and caused much controversy. The reviews for the two Sydney concerts were positive. However, the Melbourne portion of the tour was a disaster for her. The audience was angry over her late appearance, so much that she was unable to remember lyrics and slurred those that she did remember. She walked off the stage in tears after only 20 minutes and three numbers. It was the first time in her career that she had received negative notices and where she had been heckled and jeered by an audience. Later in Hong Kong she made an unpublicised suicide bid. London Performed at the London Palladium with daughter Liza Minnelli in a one-off event for ITV. The concert was recorded and released as a 2 record album LP set by Capitol Records New York City Returned to the Palace Theatre for a 4-week sold-out run. Boston Largest audience; over 100,000 people attended her free outdoor concert on the Boston Common New York City Appeared at Madison Square Garden's Felt Forum T theater Philadelphia Appeared at JFK Stadium, her last concert in the U.S. Copenhagen, Denmark Garland's final concert, at the Falkoner Centre in Copenhagen
Television Key Garland television appearances include: Date Title Network Notes Ford Star Jubilee CBS The first full-scale color telecast on CBS.Sanders p. 16 Sanders p. 19 Judy Garland Musical Special CBS Slated to be the first of a series of CBS specials under a three-year, $300,000 contract with Garland, this was the only one produced before the relationship between Garland and husband Sid Luft and CBS broke down in a dispute over the planned format of upcoming specials.Sanders p. 24 The Judy Garland Show CBS Featured Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. Nominated for four Emmy Awards. Sanders p. 65 Judy Garland and Her Guests Phil Silvers and Robert Goulet CBS Nominated for an Emmy. – March 29, 1964 The Judy Garland Show CBS Garland's only regular series. Canceled after one season and 26 episodes. Garland and the series were Emmy-nominated. Judy and Liza at the London Palladium ITV Broadcast of the November 1964 appearance with Liza Minnelli. The Merv Griffin Show First run syndication Edwards p. 327 Sunday Night at the London Palladium ITV September 15, 2002 Curb Your Enthusiasm HBO Season 3, Episode 1: Chet’s Shirt; Archive footage
Radio appearances For a list of songs performed on the radio, see: Radio recordings (1935–1961) Date Program Episode1940-10-28 Lux Radio Theatre "Strike Up the Band" 1941-01-26 Silver Theater "Love's New Sweet Song" 1941-11-09 The Screen Guild Theater "Babes in Arms" 1941-11-17 Lux Radio Theatre "Merton of the Movies" 1942-10-12 Lux Radio Theatre "Morning Glory" 1942-12-28 Lux Radio Theatre "A Star Is Born" 1943-03-22 The Screen Guild Theater "For Me and My Gal" 1945-02-15 "Command Performance" Armed Forces Radio Service (AFRS) "Dick Tracy In B-Flat or For Goodness Sakes, Isn't He Ever Going To Marry Tess Trueheart?" 1946-01-28 Lux Radio Theatre "The Clock" 1946-11-21 Suspense "Drive-In" 1946-12-02 Lux Radio Theatre "Meet Me in St. Louis" 1950-12-25 Lux Radio Theatre "The Wizard of Oz" 1953-02-16 Lux Radio Theatre "Lady in the Dark"
See also Judy Garland discography