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.