From Dorothy to death
SHE’S ONE
of the most beloved icons in movie history, with The Wizard of Oz one of the most endearing films to emerge from Hollywood. But aside from starring as Dorothy, what else do you know about Judy Garland?
1 Ethel Her real name was Frances Gumm, which she changed as soon as Hollywood beckoned.
2 She started performing aged alongside her two older sisters. The trio was called the Gumm Sisters but changed their name to the Garland Sisters after being mistakenly billed as the Glum Sisters.
3 Wizard Her ruby red slippers from The of Oz (which were insured for US$1 million), were stolen in 2005 from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota (her hometown). They were eventually recovered last year.
4 kiss-and-tell All five of her husbands wrote biographies about her, including her last husband, who spent only a few months married to her.
5 Cabaret Her eldest daughter is star and singer Liza Minnelli; her other daughter is actress and singer Lorna Luft.
6 films Despite appearing in 35 and earning millions during her 45-year career as an actor, singer and vaudevillian, Garland died with just $40,000 in her estate due to years of financial mismanagement and embezzlement by exmanagers.
7 was Garland the first woman to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, in 1961, for her live recording Judy at Carnegie Hall.
8 was On June 22, 1969, Garland found dead in the bathroom of her rented mews house, in London, from an accidental self-overdose of barbiturates.