Judy Garland on Judy Garland: Interviews and Encounters (6)

by Randy L. Schmidt (Editor)

Judy Garland on Judy Garland is the closest we will come to experiencing and exploring the legend’s planned autobiography. Collecting and presenting the most important Garland interviews and encounters that took place between 1935 and 1969, this work opens with her first radio appearance under contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and concludes with her last known interview, one taped for Radio Denmark just months before her death. What makes this collection unique is that it places Judy in the role of storyteller. She wrote a number of essays for various publications and sat for countless print, radio, and television interviews. These and other autobiographical efforts she made are proof that Judy Garland wanted her story told in her own words. Finally, 45 years after her death, here it is.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Film, Biography Memoir

480 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Randy L. Schmidt is the editor of Yesterday Once More: Memories of the Carpenters and Their Music. He served as creative consultant for several television documentaries on the Carpenters, including those for E! True Hollywood Story, A&Es Biography, and VH1s Behind the Music."

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was young I watched The Wizard of Oz like many other children in America and loved it (apart from those flying monkeys!). I loved the girl named Dorthy and I sang "Over The Rainbow" all around the house all the time. When I was about 10, I was introduced to the TCM channel and watched "Meet Me In St. Louis" and there was Dorthy again! And so my obsession with Judy Garland began.

I think this book is a great window into a person who was so vibrant in public yet suffered so much insecurity privately. I thought the first part of the book, up through the 40s, was basic - and Judy's words sounded totally scripted, which they probably were due to the studio system. It's a great illustration of how much power they had over her. She has nothing but nice things to say about her upbringing, her mother, working at MGM, and her outlook on life. Then we come to the 50s and even more so in the 60s - and now I feel like we're hearing Judy talk about how difficult starting in show business at the age of 2 really is. But I have to say, even through these interviews, you can clearly see Judy naivety through her career and through her romantic relationships. Those last few interviews before her death, she felt so sure Mickey Deans was finally going to be the one to protect her! I too wanted to believe it would work, just like Judy, but she could just never shake her demons. You can't help but root for this woman!

I should get away from the negative though because even though I feel so sad for how things truly were for Judy, what she says over and over, and what we should all really remember about her, is that she was so loved and she was SO talented. As she says " I love my career. I want to say this because I'm always being painted a more tragic figure than I am...With all the troubles, with the stumbling and falling on the way, the rewards are still so great." Her talent jumps off these pages and it's so much fun to read about how she viewed her talent and her love affair with her audience.

Big Judy fans are going to get a lot out of this book. I admit I was getting a bit tired of reading the same "how she got her start" story in the beginning portions of the book, but the book does eventually flesh out the whole Garland. I wish she had gotten an opportunity to write her own autobiography - this book shows it would have been stellar.

It may be hard to divorce the talented Judy from the tragic Judy, but this book pays homage to Judy as a whole, accepting her for all that she was; the woman who worked hard, had her problems, but regardless dazzled us and continues to every time we turn on one of her movies or listen to one of her songs.

RIP Judy Garland

[Gideon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately for me, Judy Garland on Judy Garland is probably far more fascinating if you already know the basic facts of the actress’s life. (I wasn’t very versed in Garland lore.) She’s remembered, of course, for The Wizard of Oz, the songs she performs in that movie, and a handful of lesser (but by no means mediocre) films. The structure of the biography is carefully curated interviews with or writings by Garland, with some limited context by the editor Randy Schmidt. The limited context is the problem. Many major events in Judy’s life, such as her pill abuse, are referred to only in passing in the interviews, and often as something better left as “the past”. Judy’s public thoughts of herself are dug into (I must have read that she went into show business at the age of two fifteen times), but the truth from those surrounding her is not.

I found the interviews that dig deeper into Judy’s ideas of life and existence the most fascinating. She was so clearly not a vapid, innocent actress, an idea of her that’s perpetrated even to this day largely due to the continued popularity of The Wizard of Oz. For example, the writing by Garland where an “anonymous celebrity” meets a soldier and realizes the reasons for fighting the war (Lonely Girl: A Story by Judy Garland). Or This is What I Believe, a fascinating piece where she puts down her philosophy on a few topics such as religion, immortality, and war.

In the context of her whole life, you can tell Judy had an inner turmoil of thoughts. How many times did she tell herself that a man would make her happy? At least four. After each marriage there’s an interview where she describes her current husband as the only time she’s ever truly loved. Almost certainly the last marriage would have ended the same as her others: in private bitterness and a public grimace. Though all, though, radiates Judy’s genuine love of her children, and her craft of film and music. In the end, her legacy is one of innocence and joy.

I’d underline:

There are lonely moments in all lives.
I am an inveterate reader.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really can't rave about this enough, this book has been much needed in the Judy community for YEARS. This is THE WOMAN in her own words. It's marvelous, it's wonderful, it's funny, it's poignant, it's moving, it's fantastic, it's Judy. Randy L. Schmidt couldn't have done her a better service if her tried by compiling together her own words and interviews into this book. Yes, the MGM years in the beginning sound scripted, but that's how things were then. As soon as Judy hits her 20s she's all there, raw and real and open and only becomes even more so as she progresses. I think it's a marvelous book and worthy of any Judy fan's bookshelf.

[Auntie M · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was great learning more about JG, but the interviews didn't seem as authentic and personal as I was hoping.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read a couple Judy Garland biographies before this, and of course I've watched tons of her movies, over and over again. I would agree with another reviewer that although this volume didn't really add much to the sad story of Judy Garland, it was interesting to read interviews and articles that are difficult to find, and to see different anecdotes of what Judy really thought of herself and her past. I would recommend a more thorough biography of her life, like Gerald Clark's "Get Happy," perhaps, to read more about the comic tragedy that was the life of one of America's greatest entertainers.

[Franny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a biography! For those of us who have already memorized the details of Garland’s life, this is an incredible addition to understanding her. The editor does a fantastic job of including context to each article and interview.

I love that the editor doesn’t do the work for the reader in pointing out how Judy’s attitude, demeanor, and psyche shift as the years go on. If you pay attention while reading it’s loud and clear.

Judy was a hilarious and exhaustingly optimistic woman and that shines through out the book.

Sad it’s over!

[Jonas Schwartz-Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a bit repetitive since some of her interviews cover the same territory in the same way. I understand not wanting to alter her thoughts, but a bit of editing would have strengthened the book.

[Sarah Dunmire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the book was well done, but my feelings about it by the end were more like three stars. Not because of how the author collected the interviews and articles, but because I felt like I couldn’t trust Judy at her word. I understand that you have to present yourself and your career and life in the best possible light to the public, but it’s not a great way to learn about someone’s life. As in, this format is not an autobiography. Five husbands—that was more than I remembered, but I read a biography years ago. A lot of interviewers talked about her rough life and past, but all of them seemed to think she was happy now.

Here were my notes and thoughts:
Judy Garland adores Debussy! Also Ravel and Tchaikovsky.
Never had any training or voice lessons. Considered it but then got to the point of fearing it might ruin her voice and natural instincts. So she couldn’t read music either.
Hard to read all the stereotypes and sexism that go into journalist coverage. I’m sure they didn’t ask the make stars of the time about their hair color, weight, and interest in boys. Especially after saying she broke a theater attendance record. Spends this sweet 16 interview describing boys she spends time with.
Scarecrow wore asbestos lined clothes in Wizard of Oz!
Judy had a relationship with Artie Shaw!
Owned a flower shop on Wilshire Boulevard
MGM’s height for Judy was 5’2” but she was 4’11”!!
Her group of friends were the “bunch” or the gang. Great friends with Mickey Rooney.
She got an Oscar for Wizard for Juvenile Actress…I guess it was a special category just for her.
Had her tonsils out as a teenager. Was afraid how her voice would be affected but it actually expanded her range.
Wrote and performed a one act play on radio and wrote poetry
Deanna Durbin seemed to be a comparable actress of the time in age and popularity. Don’t know her now!
MGM studios gave her Benzedrine to keep energy up and weight down. Barbiturates to sleep.
Contradicts herself about herself in her biographical pieces
She said she wrote Dear Mr. Gable, a song she sang for Clark Gable, for which he had a charm bracelet made for her. But then later she says Roger Eden wrote it for her.
She sang on USO tours
First husband, David Rose, musician. Divorced after a few years due to “personality differences”
I liked Adela Rogers St. Johns as a writer and interviewer.
Her earlier interviews had her saying she wanted dramatic roles, not just singing roles. In her twenties, she likes singing roles.
She loved Meet Me in St. Louis
Attempted suicide at 28.
Now she says she had to audition everywhere for her MGM contract? She said they just found her and signed her right away…
Says she has photographic memory, but why did she have to have the lyrics on stage with her in London for a newer song?
Now she says her mom and other people tried to talk her out of getting married at 19 to Dave Rose? She said her mom was in full support and everyone was just waiting for it to happen
Claims she had trouble sleeping since childhood as a reason for taking sleeping pills
In a 1951 radio interview advertising her upcoming Palace shows in New York, the radio host played the Clark Gable song and one from the Hardy series with Mickey Rooney…talk about infanticizing. Can’t you play anything more recent?
Got pregnant with her Palace show manager, Sid Luft, so stopped further touring and got married…
Set a longest running show record at RKO Palace (20 weeks)
Her article How Not to Love a Woman is horrible. Supporting patriarchy.
Judy has just given birth to Joe, and cameramen stormed her hospital room to get her reactions for the 1955 Academy Awards. She didn’t win for A Star is Born; Grace Kelly won for The Country Girl. The camera people got mad and didn’t even say goodnight.
A phone interviewer started by asking ber what she’s wearing. Ugh. And then how she’s wearing her hair!
Separated from Sid Luft in 1960. So that was 4 years on first marriage, 6 years and one child on second, and 8 years and two children on third.
Apparently nicknamed Miss Show Business
Got 5 Grammies for her Carnegie hall live recorded album
In the 60s, now complains about how difficult her childhood was. Thought she was having a grand old time! And she lies about all her suicide attempts as “accidents”
It’s weird that every interviewer seems to think that now she’s happy, now she’s happy. She was ill and unhappy and now she’s happy. okay.
Judy’s live shows had incredibly positive feedback. All the love. Until Australia. They confiscated her medications, she arrived at the concert an hour late, left the stage after insults from audience crying, and didn’t come back. Said there were peep holes in the hotel room that she shoved q tips through.
Fourth husband, actor Mark Herron, only lasted a few months
Judy was 4 hours late to her interview with Barbara Walters
What does she mean she didn’t date as a teen? That’s all she talked about in her teenage interviews.
Fifth husband Mickey Deans
Enjoyed living in London at various points of her adulthood
Died at 47 from overdose of sleeping pills

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’re a Judy-phile, this is the book for you! However, if you’ve never read a biography about the star, I would start there before reading this. It’s a rare opportunity to find such a complete collection of interviews; this is quite the treasure.

[Natalie548 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good to read Judy's own words.

[Shana Franzen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love!

What a wonderful soul, a life cut short, so sad indeed & a outstanding sense of humor! RIP Dorothy\Judy, your memory will live on

[GothicGiggleCiCi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this decently enough. I would love to see a new documentary on Judy focused on her life in her own words, similar to Elizabeth Taylor’s that premiered I think on Max last year.

Favorite quote: “I would have been dead a long time ago if I hadn’t been able to laugh..You suddenly start to giggle in the middle of a tragedy.”

[Timothy Deer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was intrigued by the concept of this book and excited for its publication. Unfortunately, the articles are offered with little to no editorial commentary, which causes them to be of little interest to anyone but the most rabid of Judy Garland fans.

One has to wonder of the validity of the articles authored by the star herself (ghostwriters?) and the facts put forth by the other writers. Interspersed between the longer articles are stand-alone quotes from Judy. Why are the full articles not included for these quotes? At least one quote is actually listed as "Source unknown" - how do we know Judy even said this is it is not recorded somewhere? Why is it worthy of inclusion in a book? Some of the "articles" are merely transcriptions of televised interviews, some (or perhaps all) of which can be viewed on YouTube, further causing this reader to question the inclusion of certain items in the book.

Ever a cursory initial reading of the book caught a typo and a missed period at the end of a sentence, which further emphasizes the need for an editor (or another editor, I supposed, since this is a collection of previously authored works, with almost no new original content by Randy Schmidt).

That said, the book is worth at the very least a partial read, as some of the quotes are solid gold and some of the sources so esoteric that they are not to be found elsewhere.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whether this book is really worth 4 stars depends on your interest in Judy Garland: If you like her, this is a 4-star book at the very least. Failing that interest, then it is more of a 3-star thing, because you might enjoy Judy more than you think. The reason I don't give the book 5 stars is that it is a little too comprehensive for my taste. It reproduces a lot of early studio publicity interviews and fan-magazine writing by Judy that is only of interest to the hard-core fan. I have to admit I only skimmed large parts.

Transcripts from her TV guest appearances (Jack Paar, Dick Cavett) are fun, even if you know they would be more fun to watch than read.

Part of what I find fascinating is that even though she had a lot of hard times in her life, and some bitterness toward those who used her, she seems to have preferred to focus on the good and fun in life. And I find myself saying "good for her" on both counts: She had reason to be angry, and yet her desire to write her own story and have it be a story of success and happiness is admirable.

I got this from the library, and suggest you do the same; only hard-core fans need to own it.

[Raelynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't expecting a whole lot going into this book knowing it wasn't going to read like your usual biography. The title is appropriate because really it IS Judy talking about Judy. I agree with previous reviewers that this is definitely more for the real JG fans. A convenient and easy to read collection of interviews. If you have read other books on Judy and enjoy her, definitely pick this up. If you're a new Garland fan I suggest trying something else but by all means come back for this.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is front-loaded with far too much MGM-controlled press coverage, which doesn't help a book that claims to be as close to we're going to get to a Judy autobiography. And the transcripts of her interviews with Jack Paar are never going to be as good as watching them on YouTube. Worth checking out at your library, but probably not essential buying for Judy fans.

[Heather McC · Rating 4 out of 5]

What makes this book about Garland so fascinating is that it is primarily told in her own words, through interviews, articles written by her, about her, press releases, intimate recordings and so much more. In many ways, Schmidt's work goes deeper than other Garland biographies due to the strong presence of Garland's own words, displaying her ultimate highs and staggering lows.

[Amy K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of chronological interviews. A personal tour through the legendary Judy Garland's life. Such a strong and genuine person, so much heart break. There was a good bit of repetition, but it just proved the factuality of the story. A long read, something to pickup between books and short stints of time. This had been a personal goal to read for a long time.

[Elizabeth Mckernan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love her so much so it was nice to read about her life from her perspective it's such a shame how she died!

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I really enjoyed reading this book.

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love judy

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read. To see the evolution in her public persona as presented by the studio early in her career and in the way she presented herself later in life.