Judy Garland: The Ugly Duckling

Judy Garland came into the world as Frances Ethel Gumm, the youngest child of Frank and Ethel Gumm. Her parents ran a movie theater that featured vaudeville acts.

   Judy shared her family’s flair for song and dance. Her first appearance occurred at the age of two-and-a-half when she joined her two older sisters, Mary Jane aka ‘Suzy’ and Dorothy Virginia ‘Jimmie’ on the stage of their father’s movie theater during a Christmas show to sing a chorus of Jingle Bells. Accompanied by their mother on piano, The Gumm Sisters performed there for the next few years.

  

 The family relocated to California after rumors circulated that Frank had made sexual advances toward male ushers. Once there, Frank purchased and operated another theater in Lancaster, and Ethel, acting as the girls’ manager, began working to get her daughters into motion pictures.

   In 1928, The Gumm Sisters enrolled in a dance school run by a Ethel Meglin, who was also the proprietress of the Meglin Kiddies dance troupe. They appeared with the troupe at its annual Christmas show, and it was through the Meglin Kiddies that they made their film debut, in a 1929 short called The Big Revue. The Gumm Sisters appeared in four more films together and continued touring as an act. They changed over to the surname ‘Garland’ when a critic laughed at the name ‘Gumm’, but only toured as the Garland Sisters for a year before they were split up (Suzy married and moved to Nevada).

   In 1935, Garland was signed to a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, who had no clue what to do with her. At age 13 she was older than the traditional ‘child star’ but too young for adult roles - on top of that, her physical appearance didn’t really appeal to MGM. At 4’11.5 inches, her ‘nice’ or ‘girl next door’ looks didn’t exemplify the more glamorous persona required of leading ladies at that present time, making Judy self-conscious and anxious about her appearance.

 Charles Walter, who directed her in a number of films, is quoted as saying, “Judy went to school at Metro with Ava Gardner, Lana Turner, Elizabeth Taylor - real beauties. Judy was the big money-maker at the time, a big success, but she was an ugly duckling. I think it had a very damaging effect on her emotionally for a long time. I think it lasted forever, really.” And her insecurities were only exacerbated by the attitude of studio chief Louis B. Mayer, who referred to her as his ‘little hunchback’.

 

  

 During her early years at the studio, she was photographed and dressed in plain garments or frilly juvenile gowns/costumes to match the girl next door image that had been created for her. She was also forced to wear removable caps on her teeth and rubberized disks to reshape her nose.

   They were constantly filming and to keep up with the frantic pace, Garland and other young performers were constantly given amphetamines and barbiturates to take before going to bed. The regular dose of these drugs lead to Garland’s addiction, which would be a lifelong struggle and eventually contribute to her demise.

 She later resented her hectic schedule and felt that her youth had been stolen from her by MGM. And despite a successful film and recording career, her life was plagued with self-doubt and she required constant reassurance that she was both talented and attractive.

   

At age 16, she was cast as Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz (1939), which was highly successful and made her into one of MGM’s most bankable stars.

   At age 17 she played her first adult role in Little Nelly Kelly, where she acted out a dual role of both mother and daughter. The role was a challenge for her, as it required the use of an accent, her first adult kiss and the only death scene of her career.

   It was around this time that Garland experienced her first serious adult romances, beginning with her band leader Artie Shaw. She was deeply devoted to him and was devastated when wound up eloping with Lana Turner.

   Garland later began a relationship with a musician, David Rose, who presented her with an engagement ring on her 18th birthday. But they had to wait until his current marriage to singer Martha Raye was finished, and a divorce was finalized. Rose and Garland married, but split soon after.

   At the age of 21, she was given the ‘glamor treatment’ in Presenting Lily Mars. The studio had her hair lightened, styled, and began outfitting her in more ‘grown-up’ gowns. However, no matter how glamorous or beautiful she appeared on screen or in photographs, she remained insecure about her appearance, never escaping the girl next door image that had been created for her.