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Judy Garland: Life
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Judy Garland was a superstar who, as one critic pointed out, "managed the considerable feat of converting herself into an underdog." Despite all the lows in her life she remained immensely popular and had a waif appeal that was never entirely lost.
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The ABC Mini-series, "Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows," on February 25 and 26, 2001, drew an estimated audience of 20.31 million viewers on opening night. This was the largest television audience for any made-for-TV film since the CBS production "Jesus" in May of 2000.
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Riding high once more, Garland was later reduced to the depths of depression when she lost the Oscar to Grace Kelly. Her subsequent live appearances were wildly inconsistent, and her film performances ranged from excellent (Judgment at Nuremberg [1961]) to appallingly undisciplined (A Child Is Waiting [1963]). Her third marriage on the rocks, Garland nonetheless pulled herself together for an unforgettable 1961 appearance at Carnegie Hall, which led indirectly to her 1963 weekly CBS series, The Judy Garland Show. As with most of the significant moments in Garland's life, much contradictory information has emerged regarding the program and her behavior therein; the end result... was its cancellation after one year, due less to the inconsistent quality of the series (it began poorly, but finished big with several "concert" episodes) as to the competition of NBC's Bonanza.
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Despite her repeated professional triumphs, Garland battled personal problems throughout her life. Insecure about her appearance, her feelings were compounded by film executives who told her she was unattractive and overweight. Plied with drugs to control her weight and increase her productivity, Garland endured a decades-long struggle with addiction. Garland was plagued by financial instability, often owing hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes. Married five times, four of her marriages ended in divorce. She attempted suicide on a number of occasions.
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As her professional life was on the ascendant, Garland began the spiral of self-destruction off-screen that would eventually destroy her. Issues of weight would plague the diminutive star; she allegedly became addicted to diet pills during her stint at Metro. Garland ... embarked on a messy personal life that included five husbands and numerous "affairs". Nevertheless, she had been trained that the show must go on and she persevered as much as possible until she was physically unable.
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