Judy Garland died on this day in 1969

Garland died in London on June 22, 1969. May we all give a thought to her on this sad day.

 

I was shocked, but not surprised.

 

Such a great singer. I heard an accetate? of her singing at twelve years old on a radio program i listen too. Childlike voice but she sounded fully adult in her singing and inflections. Super cool. Excellent singer.

I remember my mom saying she had a hard time watching her because she just seemed troubled. It came across to her in a way that she felt uncomfortable.

Judy put it all into every note. One of my all time faves. RIP Judy.

 

A truly great artist ... and it wasn't only rock stars who had personal demons.

 

There was a documentary about her (on [US network] PBS?) a couple years ago. One of the saddest things in retrospect (and one of the last things shown) was a clip of her singing "Over the Rainbow" at a concert not long before her death.

I don't remember if it was this clip or another one - but there was also a clip near the end of Judy's life where Liza Minelli (daughter) came up on stage with her.

 

A great singer and actor, but even more importantly, one of the all-time great entertainers!

 

Judy, Judy, Judy.
They broke the mold after she came.

 

No disrepect, but she looks a little like Macca circa "Let It Be" with those fake whiskers!
RIP, Frances.

 

Now that you mention it ...

 

This is still one of the saddest deaths of an entertainer.

 

She was famously vulnerable, yet tough.

 

I really appreciate you taking my comment in the spirit it was intended!
We could use a little more of that around here.

 

Following question is asked in all seriousness -- and not to detract from the thread ----
are these real whiskers, or are they makeup of some kind (like she was being made up to be a cat), or are their presence here somehow an artifact of the old film?
(I cannot play this video on the system I am currently on which is why the third option is listed)

 

Makeup. Doing a routine as a Hobo.

 

The whiskers are charcoal or some kind of black makeup. She originally sang "A Couple of Swells" in Easter Parade (1948) in the same fashion. In the early 1950s, for her stage show, she would first do "A Couple of Swells" made up as such, then segue into "Over the Rainbow." In the video, one is thus seeing how she performed the song on stage in the early 1950s.

 

Forget watching the movie, Judy Garland's screen test for the Valley of the Dolls
is true entertainment.

 

Great, great...and underrated IMO, singer.

Her story reminds me of Syd Barrett of The Pink Floyd. Not the singing part of course, but the life in the limelight and in particular, the effects of a drug "overdose". Whatever it was they took (acid, I assume in Syd's case), there came a time they took too much and seemingly overnight, they changed. You can see it in the eyes (black holes in the sky). They went from bright, engaging people to something that looked lost...wondering, dead eyes. So sad.

Anyway, I love Judy's singing, even after the drugs. One of my favorites:

 

She was an angel

 

Syd Barrets decline had nothing to do with acid, and I assume the same with Ms. Garland. There are deeper psychological issues that affected both of them. Drug use and alcohol just unfortunately sped up the process.

 

I remember I heard the news on my hand held transistor radio, in the bathroom of our Chicago home. I was 10 years old. Meant something because Mom was a big fan, and I had to be the one to tell her.

 

My late Grandma was a huge fan of Judy Garland and she loved everything The Wizard Of Oz. She was also a fan of Mickey Rooney and liked the Andy Hardy movies as well. As a young kid I was introduced to The Wizard Of Oz by my Grandma and I love the movie to this day. I also like some of the Andy Hardy movies. I liked Mickey Rooney when I was a kid in The Black Stallion. Judy was quite a beautiful and talented lady but sadly she burned out. I'm also a fan of her daughter Liza Minnelli in the Arthur movies. She was great in those movies. Unfortunately she's had her troubles as well.

 

I just read the Mickey Deans book on her not too long ago. Really crazy and sad last few years she had.