Judy

Wine-n-Chat is participating in the A to Z Challenge, and today is the letter “J”.

I think if you read the title—you know exactly who I’m referring to… ah yes, the beautiful, talented, and gone too soon, Miss Judy Garland.

About 5 years ago, my older daughter had a fascination with Miss Judy Garland.  She watched the Wizard of Oz and she wanted to know more about this darling little lady. She was 8 years old and I thought it would be fun if we could learn a few things about her together…for I knew nothing more about her except of her trip over the rainbow and back.

Turns out—my daughter and I spent hours watching a few other of her movies: Pigskin Parade, Everybody Sing, Andy Hardy Meets Debutante, For Me and My Gal, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Pirate, The Easter Parade, and oh my the list goes on and on and on.   We spent hours digging through the box of VHS tapes, popping popcorn, and watching Miss Judy.  Some of the movies were great and some not so great—but it was the fascination of the little lady with the great big voice that drew us in.

Of course, each time we watched her, my daughter had questions: Was she married? Did she have children? How old was she? What else did she sing?  What other movies was she in?  Then the question that stopped me dead in my tracks, “What is her next movie going to be?”

Yes my daughter was 8, but she had not realized that this lady was no longer here—among the living.  And that is when I decided to figure out exactly what happened to her, because while I knew she was gone, I still had no idea myself.  And what an eye opener that was.  She was so young and yet she seemed so old.  It was a discussion that burst my daughter’s little bubble about Miss Judy Garland, not the circumstances of her life—but rather the fact that she could no longer perform again.

In my opinion, that is the real tragedy, that Miss Judy Garland can never perform again.

Still we enjoyed watching her on YouTube and in the VHS movies where she lives on and we could still enjoy her.  Eventually, my daughter became enamored with another beautiful singer, one that was alive and still performing. However, she left her mother a die hard fan of the late actress and forever haunted by her beautiful voice.

She came and went before my daughter was born, before I was even thought of—and she still gained a couple of fans.  Amazing.

Here are a couple of our favorite videos:

Judy Garland—The Joint is Really Jumping Down at the Carnegie Hall.

 

Judy Garland, Over the Rainbow—She was much older here—dressed as a clown (?)—this one has a lot of emotion.

 

Her last ever appearance on the Johnny Carson show, singing “After the Holidays”.  It is as if she knows she is saying goodbye.  A personal favorite, although the quality isn’t the best.

There are so many more I could share—but then I might reveal my true obsession—LOL.

Do you enjoy watching classic movies or listen to music from long ago?

Who is your favorite actor or actress from the old screen?  Singer??

Cheers,