Judy Garland: A Biography

"I love to work, I love to sing, I love to actÐ'--I get restless when I don'tÐ'....If I had to do it all over again, I would probably make the same choices and the same errors. These are a part of living." These words were once spoken by the timeless vocalist, Judy Garland.

On June 10, 1922, Frances Ethel Gumm was born in Grand Rapids, Minnesota to Frank Gumm and Ethel Meglin. Frank and Ethel were hoping Frances would be a boy, but this wasn't the case. In fact, on the original birth announcement, her name is spelled Francis with an Ð''I', the male version, rather than Frances with an Ð''e'. She was the youngest of her siblings, Mary-Jane, 7 years her major, and Virginia, 2 years her major. Frances was born into a show-business family. Frank was the manager of the local theater. He and Ethel started off as a vaudeville team & both of Frances' older sisters were in preparation to sing duets on stage with Ethel on piano.

On Christmas Eve of 1924, when Frances was only two-and-a-half, it was amateur night at her father's theatre. She went on stage & sang jingle bells until her father was forced to go up and carry her off stage.

By 1927, the Gumm family moved to Lancaster, California. There, they started The Gumm Sisters vaudeville circuit. This new act performed before George Jessel, who was at the top of the bill, at the Oriental Theater in Chicago. On the program, though, it was written as Ð''The Glumm Sisters.' Jessel noticed this and takes credit for creating Frances' stage name Ð''Judy Garland,' as we all know her today. The Gumm Sisters proceeded to change their name to The Garland Sisters.

In 1931, the vaudeville circuit began to collapse and so did Frank's health. Frank and Ethel's relationship was a rocky one. Frank and Ethel were separating & getting back together all the time. Frank had been gay when they married, and turned bisexual once they moved to California. Frank moved out and began using the money earned by his daughters to pay his rent.

Meanwhile, Judy began to break off from her sisters. She was being booked as the Ð''Little Girl with the Great Big Voice.' The Garland Sisters technically broke up when Mary-Jane got married in 1935. Judy went solo with a cabaret act in Lake Tahoe where the local press was describing her as Ð''poignant and unforgettable.'

Judy always loved her father best, and he was now fatally ill of spinal meningitis. Ironically, Judy's career began to skyrocket in the last few days of his life. This occurrence meant that it was up to Judy, still 13 years old, to make a living for her mother and herself. This was when her professional and private life began to go in opposite directions and never came together again.

Judy auditioned with MGM and received a contract of $100 a week. During the first few months she didn't do much though. MGM had no idea what to do with her. They already had many other child stars in the making such as Jackie Cooper, Deanna Durbin, and Mickey Rooney. She became detached from her real family, and they could be replaced by father figure Clark Gable, brother Mickey Rooney, and mother Ida Koverman.

Her first film was called Sunday Afternoon. In this short, Judy represented the world of jazz and Deanna Durbin, her rival, represented the world of opera. When the movie was released, Louis Mayer, the manager, extremely disliked it and didn't understand why two young girls so similar were hired. According to Judy Garland Beyond the Rainbow, he proceeded to order the executives to Ð''fire the fat one.' With Deanna and Judy being almost the exact same weight, they had no idea who he meant, and decided to keep Judy. Her contract was much more secure now that she had no competition at MGM.

Finally in 1936, an offer came through from 20th Century Fox, a rival studio. They wanted her to be in Pigskin Parade, a college comedy. Mayer was very happy with this because he would make profit by Ð''loaning'