Judy Garland
Ayant passé plus de quarante ans sous le feu des projecteurs, l’enfant star devenue vedette international est considérée comme l’une des plus grandes artistes du XXe siècle. Aussi à l’aise dans des comédies musicales que dans des rôles dramatiques ou encore sur les planches, voici un portrait éclair de l’éblouissante Judy Garland. 1 Stage name
The Hollywood star was born Frances Ethel Gumm on the 10th of June, 1922. Her parents settled in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, to run a movie theatre and put their daughter to work at the tender age of two. She performed with her elder sisters as part of a vaudeville trio known as “The Gumm Sisters”, but when the press mocked their name, they all changed to “Garland”.
to settle s’installer / to run, ran, run diriger, gérer / movie theatre salle de cinéma / to perform ici, jouer / elder aîné / vaudeville music-hall / to mock se moquer de, railler.
2 Addiction
The Wizard of Oz starlet was prescribed barbiturates at a very young age, to keep up with the frantic pace of filming one production after another. By doing so, studio executives set her on a path of drug addiction that lasted throughout her life.
The Wizard of Oz (VF) Le Magicien d’Oz / starlet star montante / to keep, kept, kept up with suivre, tenir (le rythme) / frantic frénétique, fou / pace rythme / executive cadre, responsable / to be set on a path of ici, être poussé vers / throughout (tout) au long de.
3 A cruel industry
Judy Garland was a box office hit in her time, but that didn’t stop her from being considered an ugly duckling. She was sent to audition for “girl–next-door” roles all the while being compared to her contemporaries, silver screen “beauties”
Elizabeth Taylor and Ava Gardner. She was made to follow a strict diet, wear caps on her teeth to improve her smile and prosthetics to change the shape of her nose. She was also mocked for her posture and her height – she was only 4 ft 11 inches tall.
hit succès / in her time ici, pendant sa carrière / ugly duckling vilain petit canard / all the while tout en / silver screen grand écran, cinéma / to be made to être obligé de / diet régime / to wear, wore, worn porter / cap prothèse dentaire (amovible) / to improve améliorer / prosthetics prothèse / shape forme / height taille / ft pied (30,48 cm), 4 feet 11 (inches): 1,50 m.
4 On the rocks
Because of her erratic behaviour and absences from film sets, Garland was suspended on many occasions by MGM over the course of the fifteen years she worked for the studio. In 1950, she left Hollywood and embarked on a tour of Britain and Ireland. She returned to the big screen in 1954 in a remake of the 1937 film A Star Is Born. Despite the film’s success, it was a financial failure.
on the rocks au bord du gouffre / erratic capricieux, excentrique, imprévisible / behaviour comportement / A Star Is Born (VF) Une étoile est née / film set plateau de tournage / MGM MetroGoldwyn-Mayer Inc. / tour visite, voyage / big screen grand écran, cinéma / despite malgré / failure échec.
5 A family affair
Even though she worked all her life and garnered popular and critical acclaim, sadly Garland’s finances were at rock bottom at the time of her passing, the result of an accidental barbiturate overdose, at just 47. She left behind three children, two of whom also became performers: Lorna Luft and Liza Minelli.
affair ici, histoire / to garner ici, (s’)attirer / critical de la part de la critique / acclaim acclamation(s), louanges (de la part de la critique) / sadly malheureusement, hélas / at rock bottom au plus bas / passing disparition, décès / performer artiste.