Arabella & CO

September 11th, 2001

"As sure as the sun meets the morning,
and rivers go down to the sea,
A new day for mankind is dawning,
Our children shall live proud and free...."
(from "The United Nations March"
by Dimitri Shostakovich) and sung by
Nelson Eddy on the VE Day Hollywood
Victory Program, CBS radio 5/8/1945

We will never Forget!

the little girl with the big voice

Miss Judy Garland

June 10, 1922 June 22, 1969

Judy Garland was only 4'11" tall in her stocking feet but when she opened her mouth to sing the whole world listened. Mickey Rooney called her an American beauty with more bounce to the ounce than anyone he knew and he knew them all. Tyrone Power, idol of women everywhere, fell madly in love with her. The only one who doubted her beauty and talent was..Judy herself. She always wanted to be Lana Turner!

But, before this little lady became Judy Garland, she was Frances Ethel Gumm, youngest of the "Gumm Sisters" who did song and dance routines during intermissions at their father's movie theater in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Father Frank managed the theater and was the resident singer while mother Ethel played the piano and provided sound effects for the silent pictures. Ethel dreamed that someday her daughters (Mary Jane and Virginia) would put the Gumm name on a studio contract. The fact that she was unhappy with her unplanned third pregnancy and attempted unsuccessfully to end it must be one of life's ironies because it was "Baby Gumm" or Babe as she was later called who would become the star in the family.

The Gumm Sisters

In her first public appearance at age 2 1/2, Babe delighted her audience with continuous verses of "Jingle Bells" until she literally had to be carried off the stage still singing and ringing her little silver bell. By the time the "Gumm Sisters" became the "Garland Sisters" ( to stop jokes about their name) the handwriting was on the wall....it was Babe the audiences wanted to see. While all three siblings were still in the act, Babe was soon out front and center with routines all her own. The family, with movies in mind, moved to Lancaster, California and the girls joined the Meglin Kiddies theater group and, in 1929, Frances Ethel Gumm,age 7, made her first movie (with her sisters), a Mayfair Pictures two-reeler called "The Big Revue".

Judy and her mother

But with her success came a life-threatening problem. When Babe was barely 10 years old, she met the "beast" that would stalk her all her life and her mother made the introductions. Ethel Gumm created a regimen of rehearsals, booking agent calls and performances that often tired Babe to a frazzle. With her old excuse " I have to keep my girls going" she resorted to the solution she had always used..pep pills to energize the days, sleeping pills to come down at night. For Babe it was the road to hell.

In September of 1935 Judy(MGM had now changed her name) auditioned for L. B. Mayer and got the contract Ethel Gumm had dreamed of...seven years at $100 a week. Judy also met Roger Edens, her vocal coach and mentor for much of her career. "The Gumm/Garland Sisters"who had participated in five films. were now a thing of the past. A new star was born.

But tragedy struck two months later when Frank Gumm died suddenly of spinal meninghitis. He was the one person Judy leaned on, the one who gave her unconditional love. She never stopped looking for that in the men she met. Ethel grieved for exactly one year then remarried on the anniversary of Frank's death. Judy never forgave her. Nor did she ever accept her stepfather.

By 1936, Judy was spending six days a week at the Culver City studio and her schooling took place in the studio schoolroom. Her classmates included Mickey Rooney, Freddie Bartholemew, Deanna Durbin, and later..oh, yes, Judy Turner who would soon become Lana! It was Lana who possessed Judy's ideal of beauty..not plain, unsexy Frances Gumm. But when the studio tried to redesign her (Mayer called her "my little hunchback") with caps on her teeth and rigid diets Judy rebelled and hid goodies in every nook and cranny on the lot. The studio, in turn, prescribed diet pills, a combo of Benzedrine and phenobarbital, to the already dangerous medication Ethel provided. Again the beast was fortified!

Judy at 14

Judy's first big break at MGM wasn't a movie..it was a birthday party. Roger Edens wrote a specialty number for her to sing at Clark Gable's 36th birthday celebration called "Dear Mr. Gable". It was a sensation and became her first hit record. Then, in 1938, she made a movie that would carve its name in cinema history. It was "The Wizard of Oz". Judy was awarded a special miniature Oscar as best juvenile performer that year. She called it her "Munchkin Award".

In 1940, when the world was just beginning to notice how lovely Judy was becoming, there was another giant blow to her ego. She fell in love with Artie Shaw, the orchestra leader and man-about-town. Artie loved Judy, too, like a kid sister and didn't realize the depth of her emotions. He was already in love with blonde, beautiful....Lana Turner. When the two eloped, Judy was devastated.

Fingerprints and footprints in cement

By 1941, it was obvious to MGM that the pairing of Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland was money in the bank. They drew enormous crowds everywhere they appeared and their movies were tops at the box office. Even today their names seem to go together. The gossip mavens broadly hinted at romance and L.B.Mayer made sure they were seen together as a couple. But, while they were very close friends, romance wasn't on the agenda. They remained close friends, albeit often in absentia, until Judy's death.

On June 3, 1941 just before her 19th birthday, Judy publicly announced her engagement to David Rose ( 31 years old and newly divorced from Martha Raye) and their plans to marry in September. MGM (Mayer) didn't like it and Ethel didn't like it but Judy was adamant. On July 26, Judy called in sick to the set of "Babes on Broadway", and the next day eloped to Las Vegas with David Rose. The studio demanded she return to work immediately and the couple headed back home. But the filming of the movie was delayed countless times over the next three months when Judy called in sick.

The marriage lasted less than a year and a half. When Judy found out she was pregnant she was ecstatic. But the studio protested that she was too young to be a mother and her fans would desert her. Ethel and David also conferred and decided the studio was right. So Judy allowed herself to be overruled , the pregnancy was terminated and the marriage soon followed.

In late October, 1942 while still reeling from the breakup of her marriage to Rose, Judy met handsome Tyrone Power. The attraction was immediate and incendiary. But Ty was married to French actress Annabella and waiting to be called up for duty in the Marines. He agreed to ask for a divorce (she said no) and went off to base camp. Now pregnant again, Judy couldn't wait for an armistice and, when the divorce was not forthcoming, she again terminated the pregnancy. Tyrone Power was heart-broken over the loss of the child and he would admit years afterward that he never stopped loving Judy. Ironically, he would also later get some solace from.... who else? Lana Turner!

Judy and David

Judy and baby Liza

By 1944 it was obvious that the"beast" was on the prowl again and Judy couldn't do without the pills. Her absences totally disrupted the filming of "Meet Me in St. Louis". But even under these dire circumstances, Judy found time to fall in love with her director, Vincente Minnelli. They were often called the "odd couple" in Hollywood circles. Vincente was not handsome, dressed effeminately and wore makeup. But they married with the blessing of both mother and studio in 1945 and, one year later, Judy bore her first child, Liza. The marriage, rocky for most of the time, became a tie- in -name only after Judy's suicide attempt and nervous breakdown. But she went back to the pills and lost successive roles in "Barkleys of Broadway" and "Annie, Get Your Gun". Their separation was announced in March, 1949.

After a 3 month hospitalization, Judy was back at the studio. But during the filming of "Summer Stock" she gained too much weight and the studio again ordered her to lose weight. The beast was recalled. She lost enough weight to do the finale in tight leotards and fedora but the regimen of pills and crash diets created another vicious circle. She was put on suspension again after washing out of "Royal Wedding". It would be her last suspension at MGM. But it was Vincente Minnelli's advice that would steer Judy to greater success first on London's Palladium stage, then New York's fabled Palace to standing ovations. Judy Garland was back in business!

Judy's second marriage to Sid Luft in 1952 also produced a daughter, Lorna,and Judy's first son, Joey. Sid became her manager as well as her husband and took complete control of her career and finances leaving Ethel out of the equation. It was something Judy needed, a strong hand, but most of Hollywood deemed it a lucrative proposition for Sid himself. After Lorna's birth, the beast began tempting her again. In January, 1953 Judy received word that her mother had dropped dead on her way to work at Douglas Aircraft. Even though she hadn't talked to her mother in months, the death brought on another failed suicide attempt.

Judy

It was Sid who picked up the challenge of getting her career back on track with probably the best adult film she would ever do.."A Star is Born". In Cinemascope and longer than most, the picture won her an Oscar nomination. In the hospital with her new son, Judy would learn that Grace Kelly stole it out from under her nose. By 1955, the Lufts were broke and Judy had to find a new place to work. She decided television, nightclubs and concert stages would be her target audience. But 1956 would be the last good year. A lawsuit with CBS brought a ton of unfavorable publicity. The IRS wanted back taxes and even Judy's costumes and jewelry were gone. In 1959 Judy almost died from acute hepatitis and spent 7 weeks in the hospital. Then, in August of 1960 she reappeared on the stage of London's Palladium to record crowds and in April, 1961 she wowed them at Carnegie Hall.. She was back on top again!

Judy would do three more movies in the 60's and come close to death on more than one occasion. In l963 she was in a coma for over 15 hours at a hospital in Hong Kong from an overdose of Tuinals after her beau Mark Herron pushed her in a wheel chair down the street during a typhoon. Her divorce from Sid was final in 1965 and she married Mark six months later. It lasted all of 5 months. In 1969 she married Mickey Deans in England and made three very successful concert appearances in Sweden and Denmark..Mickey was planning a documentary on her life when, sometime in the night between Saturday, June 21 and Sunday morning the 22nd, lovely and talented Judy Garland died of "accidental barbiturate poisoning".
The beast had finally won.

And America had lost one of the most loved entertainers in history.

For more on Judy Garland's films check out Arabella's notes.

The Big Revue (1929)
The Wedding of Jack and Jill (1930)
A Holiday in Storyland (1930)
Bubbles (1930)
Fiesta de Santa Barbara (1935)
Pigskin Parade (1936)
Every Sunday (1936)
Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937)
Thoroughbreds Don't Cry (1937)
Everybody Sing (1938)
Love Finds Andy hardy (1938)
Listen, Darling (1938)
Hollywood Goes to Town (1938)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Babes in Arms (1939)
Andy Hardy Meets Debutante (1940)
Strike Up the Band (1940)
Little Nellie Kelly (1940)
If I Forget You (1940)
Ziegfeld Girl (1941)
Life Begins for Andy Hardy (1941)
Babes on Broadway (1941)
For Me and My Gal (1942)
We Must Have Music (1942)
Thousands Cheer (1943)
Girl Crazy (1943)
Presenting Lily Mars (1943)
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
The Clock (1945)
The Harvey Girls (1946)
Ziegfeld Follies (1946)
Till the Clouds Roll By (1947)
Easter Parade (1948)
The Pirate (1948)
Words and Music (1948)
In the Good Old Summertime (1949)
Moments In Music (1950)
Summer Stock (1950)
A Star Is Born (1954)
Judgement at Nurenberg (1961)
Gay Purr-ee (1962)
A Child Is Waiting (1963)
I Could Go On Singing (1963)

Allen Jenkins played character roles in over 175 pieces of work that included Broadway plays, films and television guest parts and series. Dumb gangsters were his forte but he was equally at home portraying Brooklyn cops, cab drivers, bartenders and even garbage men. He did it all and he did it very well.Who can forget his gutsy gangland babysitter role in "Five Came Back" (1939), the garbage man who helped save the day in "Ball Of Fire"(1941) and the crusty elevator operator in "Pillow Talk"?

He was born Allen McConegal on April 9th, 1900 on Staten Island, New York to show business parents. But his prime interest at the time was to study shipbuilding and marine architecture and even went to work for a time in the shipyards during WWI.

However, a summer job as an assistant stage manager gave him the acting bug and he got a scholarship to the American Academy of Theatrical Arts where his father was an instructor. When he had completed his studies, it was on to the Great White Way and small roles in Broadway plays.

Allen roomed with James Cagney while they were chorus boys together in the Broadway show "Pitter Patter" in 1920. In 1923, he got the part of a Marine and the job of understudy to the lead in the national company of "Rain"and toured with it for 57 weeks. He did both jobs for the great sum of $40 a week! In 1927 Allen and new friend Pat O'Brien went on the road with "Broadway" where he played the part of a gangster and got killed in the first act. That was followed by "The Last Mile" in 1930 as a convicted murderer but Allen took over the lead when Spencer Tracy left to make a movie. Crime was paying off in spades.

In 1932 Allen got his first break as Frankie Wells in "Blessed Event", a Broadway hit starring Roger Pryor. He created the moronic gangster who was more apt to shoot his own foot off and couldn't be trusted with a machine gun. Warner Brothers summoned him to Hollywood in 1932 to re-create the role in the film version and he literally stole the picture. He also married his childhood sweetheart in 1933 but the marriage ended in divorce.

By 1939, he was earning $1750.00 a week at Warner Brothers. He also reunited with many of his old friends including Cagney, O'Brien. Tracy and Frank McHugh and was often included in their little "social club" lovingly dubbed the Irish Mafia.

By 1943 he was back on Broadway for a spell with a role in "Something For the Boys" with Ethel Merman. But, when his career took a dip in the early 50's, he went to work as a tool-and-die maker for $89.50 a week and later sold cars. The lull didn't last long and by 1954 Allen was back on top working in films and television. He became a regular as cab driver Al Murray on "Hey, Jeannie" a CBS situation comedy and did numerous guest roles on "I Love Lucy" and "Bewitched".

Most of Allen Jenkin's savings were lost in bad investments but he was still able to work and live comfortably until his death on July 20, 1974 following complications from surgery. He left behind a wealth of memorable film roles.

Here are some more of them:

The Girl Habit (1931)
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)
Tomorrow at Seven (1933)
The Irish in Us (1935)
Destry Rides Again (1939)

Brother Orchid (1940)
Dive Bomber (1941)
Tortilla Flat (1942)
Stage Door Canteen (1943)
It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)
The Front Page (1974)

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From Kori in Cranberry PA.,

I am a fan of the Stars Wars saga and was wondering what other films Alec Guinness , the Older Obi-wan, was in besides the Original trilogy of Star Wars?

Dear Kori,

Alec Guinness was a legend long before that Best Supporting actor award as Obi-wan. He gave us over 75 performances in film and television and won awards here and in England. In 1958 Alec took home the golden idol for Best Actor in "The Bridge Over The River Kwai" and was nominated for awards in both "The Lavender Hill Mob" (1953) and "Little Dorrit" (1989) . Other films on his resume include: "The Man in the White Suit" (1951), "The Swan" (1956),"Lawrence of Arabia" (1962), "Dr. Zhivago" (1965) and "A Passage to India"(1984). His last performance was for television... the role of James in "Eskimo Day" (1996) Alec Guinness died on August 2nd, 2000 from liver cancer. Enough said?

Arabella

From Lawanda and Tyrone, Flushing, NY

Now with elections here, my fiance and I were wondering about actors-turned-politicians. One we remember is George Murphy and, of course, Ronald Reagan.We know that Fred Thompson became a Senator and Fred Grandy and Sonny Bono were in the House.What other film celebrities gained Congressional seats? What years did Murphy serve?

First of all, you know of course that Ronald Reagan never served in Congress. He made three giant steps..from two terms as president of SAG to two terms as Governor of California to two terms as President of the USA!

George Murphy also served as president of SAG and then gained his seat in the Senate by special election to fill the post of Senator Clair Engle who died in office. He served from 1964 to 1975. George contracted throat cancer during his last term in office and had to have his larynx removed. It left him unable to speak above a whisper. He died in 1992 of leukemia.The actor acted, sang and danced through over 50 films for MGM including "Little Nellie Kelly" (1940) and "For Me and My Gal" (1942) with Judy Garland.

There was also Will Rogers, Jr. who played his humorist father in "The Story of Will Rogers" (1952) and, after making a total of 8 films, won a seat in the House. He even took on powerful Martin Dies. But he resigned in 1944 after one year to drive a tank in WWII. He won the Bronze Star for heroism and the Purple Heart . He died on June 1980 at age 82 from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

And , of course, Helen Gahagan Douglas, the Broadway singer and actress who married Melvyn Douglas. She made only one movie, playing the ice goddess in "She"(1935). Helen won a seat in the House in the late 1940's for two terms. She lost a bid for a Senate seat after her opponent waged what was considered a "very dirty" campaign. He labeled her as a "pinko", soft on comunism. His name was Richard Millhouse Nixon. She died in 1980 from cancer.