Judy Garland : Has there been anyone in Hollywood this talented?

I don't think so.

She could have done anything. At all.

Judy was hands down the greatest performer who ever lived.

Sure, there have been other great performers [Al Jolson, Bing Crosby, Rudy Vallee, Maurice Chevalier, Ethel Merman and Sammy Davis Jr], but Judy was UNIQUE in the best possible way. She could do everything better than everyone else. She sang, she danced, she acted, she could play comedy, she did impressions, she was funny.

The only one who could match ANY of that was Sammy Davis Jr. Judy never played an instrument [she played piano in private] and she never starred in a Broadway show, but you can't do everything.

But she came close.

Judy is like water for the thirsty man. She is rich and vibrant. She is as refreshing as sparkling water. As sweet as Molasses Taffy. She is pure embrosia for the senses and just as lovely as a taste of guava juice. She affects people sexually, emotionally and in a matter of different ways in which words do not exist.

Or you could say she is still the best.

“It is for more than mere acting that we cherish this elated little creature, it is for the true star quality - the quality of being.” - Dilys Powell on Judy.

Tennessee Williams on Judy

"What she had was a pure talent. Whatever training she had or used or needed came from performance, from experience, from sharing. The talent poured from her like sweat or blood, and I think of those fluids when I think of her performances--not the fluids which did so much to calm or seduce her when she did not have an audience. I have drowned in those fluids myself. There was no effort with Judy--other than to stay alive and to show up and to keep the standard so high for so long. We live now in a world of proficiency and efficiency and managers of one minute who get a particular job done. No flab; no fuss. I don't like this new world. I like the world of pure talent fully given; lives fully lived; hearts fully open. Try to do whatever it is you do with the passion and commitment and terminal feeling that Judy had. None of us can. The talent was too big, and all of the recipients of this talent far, far too smal 2000 l."

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"We watch men on the tightrope, hold our breaths: Will they make it? Will they survive? We watch performers place their faces in the jaws of lions and our hearts stop. They escape; we exhale. With Judy--in her work and in her life--we--or I--always felt this way: Will she make the note? By God, she did: She hit it and then rode it to the moon. Jesus! Will she get the scene? She will--and she did--transcend the scene. Will she live? Can she go on? No, she couldn't. She slipped away--the ropes and the notes and the wild animals triumphed, in a single moment. But we have her for all eternity, sublime and tremulous, over our heads, risking everything. But she gets the note."

Typical Garland fan-atic; unhealthy obsession in the extreme. Bette Davis fans are over-the-top, but the Garland followers have them beaten.


Have you tried therapy?

2nd your Sammy Davis jr comparison. The name that came to mind when I read the
thread question.

"I could listen to that all night. What she is now is nothing. She is going to be one of the all time greats." - Al Jolson on Judy

"Could there be a better actress than Judy was? She was a real honest to God musical theater performer. Sang like an angel. A great showman. Hell of a dancer and a heart-rending actress!" - Johnny Green

"Judy's fans don't listen - they feel." - Spencer Tracy

What Judy really had was honesty. She was 100% real in everything she did. There was also a natural and vulnerable sex appeal that she had that very few had. Whereas Doris Day was staid, Judy was alive with emotion and she made sure people always knew she was a woman with needs.

The reason Judy remains so beloved is because she was the real deal. She was a part of that great acting tradition that looked so effortless. Sometimes people only observe the acting talents of people like John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson, Michael Redgrave or Alec Guinness without thinking that acting comes in all forms from Judy, James Stewart, Gary Cooper, Spencer Tracy and Humphrey Bogart, etc. There was more honesty in the lot of them then in the others put together.

Tom Drake once said that Judy's eyes were so expressive like a dear. But he felt that a dear only had two expressions [happiness and fear]. He still felt Judy was the greatest talent of them all.

Ginger Rogers

Barry Manilow is influenced by Judy's work. There is the well known "duet" with Judy.

“Her voice, her interpretations, her honest delivery and her musical arrangements were tremendously exciting,” Manilow says by email.

More to read here.

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2014/10/28/barry-manilow-reflects-on-ma gic-of-judy-garland-exclusive-video/

Lorna Luft on JUDY GARLAND: THE CONCERT YEARS being interview by Regis Philbin.

//youtu.be/9yQ0LVageHo

A few singers talk of Judy's infl 111c uence on their careers. Also includes a brief interview with John Fricke.

http://www.edgechicago.com/entertainment/music/news//168037/judy,_judy _and_more_judy_-_a_weekend_tribute_to_garland

George Jessel once told Judy that she was like sex. When it's good it's good, but when it's bad, it's still pretty good.

Philip Seymour Hoffman was a passionate fan of Judy as seen in this article.

https://fivetruestories.wordpress.com/2014/05/24/celebrity-philip-seymour-hoffman/

"Judy Garland is a singer with a capital S. And talk about soul. This woman was soul personified. Judy Garland is a class by herself." - Aretha Franklin

Did you mean deer? LMAO!

"Judy Garland is a singer with a capital S. And talk about soul. This woman was soul personified. Judy Garland is a class by herself." - Aretha Franklin

The dance-and-song man Maurice Hines tells a remarkable story about Judy Garland. For some time, the great dancer John Bubbles had been a part of Garland’s concerts, dancing in front of her while she sang one of her signature songs, ‘Me And My Shadows’. This was beginning to be regarded as touchy by the mid '60s, but even so, it was a traditional part of Garland’s act. However, what nearly stopped Garland from doing this one night was not the gathering forces of political correctness, but rather that Mr. Bubbles had been taken ill. Somehow, somebody came up with the idea to have Garland do the 'Shadow’ routine with the two Hines brothers, Gregory and Maurice, who were, roughly 11 and 13 at the time. Maurice told me that he was amazed with Garland’s professionalism; when you’re accustomed to doing a routine with one tall man, it’s not at all easy to re-learn it with two boys who were roughly the same height she was, especially since Garland had never had any formal training as a dancer. Yet she did it, and pulled it off brilliantly, doing it the first time with The Hines Brothers as if she had always done it that way.

Then, when it came time to take a bow, an amazing thing happened. Standing between the two boys, Garland took the brothers by their hands and bowed. Suddenly, Maurice felt something like a jolt of electricity running through his palm. It was as if he’d accidentally touched an exposed wire that wasn’t properly grounded; a mild surge of electricity ran through his body the instant that Garland’s hand touched his.

When the show was over, Maurice wanted to ask Gregory if he had the same experience, but before he could, Gregory approached his older brother with trepidation and asked him: “Hey, did you feel anything funny when Judy held your hand?” The two Hines Brothers were in accord, they both had felt the same mysterious tingling. There 238 was something downright metaphysical about Judy Garland in performance.
--

Maurice Hines had other things to say about Judy. He relates a few of these in an interview.

Q: You and your brother met some of the biggest stars of the 20th century.

A: When I talk about Judy Garland and I talk about Ella in the show, these are people we knew. We worked with them. We got to know them as human beings. The truly great ones were always very personable to each other – lovely to their fellow performers. I don't see that too much now, which 111c saddens me. I see a lot more competitiveness in the business.

Q: What else has changed?

A: Each one of those people was so distinct. They weren't cloned. There was no other Judy Garland; there was no other Ella. There was no other Sarah Vaughn.

But now the industry looks for clones – lemme find another Michael Jackson. You can't find another Michael Jackson! There was no other Sammy Davis. There was no other Frank Sinatra!

Ray Charles said that, years ago in an interview. He said the problem with the business now is that everyone wants clones, as opposed to nurturing individual artists. And he was so right.
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Q: The crowd feeds you – they fuel you?

A: Exactly. Exactly. They fuel you. Even if you're feeling a little down, by the second number or the third number if they're with you, oh my God, it's unbelievable. You feel euphoric. Judy Garland taught us that.

Once, when we worked with her, she had [her children] Lorna and Joey with her. She was singing "What Now, My Love?" Her voice was a little raspy, and Lorna was so scared – I never will forget this – she was crossing herself that her mother could hit the last high note. And she said, "You know, when my mother is out there, she's euphoric. The audience gives her that."

And all of a sudden, she hit that high note! I couldn't believe it! You could hear it in her voice that she was tired, but she hit that high note, baby! And Lorna just smiled. She said, "That's because she's euphoric." Those are the great performers who we worked with. We learned from them.

Is there any particular reason WHY you post the same thing 3 times on the same day?

Or, do you have some form of Tourette Syndrome?  

Brenda Lee in front of Judy poster.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Brenda-Lee-In-Front-Of-Judy-Garland-Poster-Original-7x9-Photo-J806-/381114665576

Lee was often compared to Judy. When they met, Judy warned Lee, "Don't let them do to you what they did to me." It must have been something that was on her mind for Judy had also expressed the same warning to Barbra Streisand and had also expressed concern about Margaret O'Brien in 1943/44.

Some that I have heard were influenced by Judy,

Donna Summer
Sandra Lawrence
Katie Melua
Linnzi Zaorski
Judy Barnett
Adi Braun
Janelle Monáe
Helmut Lotti

Shirley Bassey is also influenced by Judy.

"I grew up listening to Judy Garland. My brother was a big fan, so he bought Garland records and Billy Eckstine, and we would sing duets. He would be Eckstine and I would be Garland."

Shirley Bassey talks about meeting Judy and her influence on her.

"Whats the best advice anyone has ever given you?"

"This sounds like name-dropping, but then I have met a lot of stars over the many years I've been in showbusiness - I don't know if there are that many since I'm only 29 [laughter]. When I was about 20, in the audience was my idol, Judy Garland and she sent a waiter round to ask me to go and sit with her and have a drink. As I was going to America for the first time the following week, I asked her if I should change my act. She said 'Certainly not - you go with the act I saw. You do that, and you'll be a big success. Don't do what I did, I listened to everybody, and I had lights coming on here, lights coming on there, lights coming on there, and I looked like a damn clown. Don't do that'. So I took her advice, and went to America, and I'm happy to say the act was a big success."

Hilary Kole is a big fan of Judy and discusses her musical tribute to her here,

http://hilarykole.com/hilary-kole-interview-on-her-musical-tribute-to-judy-garland/

Judy was, of course, marvelous. In the motion picture field I feel that Doris Day and Diana Ross were equally talented. (Yeah, I know Diana only made a few movies, but still she had the ability to sing and dance well.

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In the motion picture field I feel that Doris Day and Diana Ross were equally talented.

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To each his own opinion.

Doris was talented and made some wonderful records. I think her voice was under-rated, and she was more famous for her acting. But, I wouldn't put her in Judy's class.

Compared to Judy, Ross is a minor player. Talented (for her style) and successful. But, not in Judy's league at all.

You are getting a strong voice mixed with seamless talent. For example, Shirley Bassey, Ethel Merman, Celine Dion all have earth shattering voices and can enrapture an audience, but are they superlative actresses? Doris Day was simply the best musical actress in the history of American film bar none. (That's my opinion.) It's all opinion. The truth is Judy Garland, Doris Day, Diana Ross, Barbra Stresiand, Bette Midler and so many others were simply sensational.

Disagree. Day is a first-rate singer; Ross is not.

Diana Ross was sold million upon millions of records. She is one of the bestselling female artists of all time. If she can't sing, then the world must be flat. Diana Ross has a voice that is magical. Have you ever heard "Touch Me in the Morning"? or "Good Morning, Heartache"? Look at "Lady Sings the Blues" in the scene where Diana is desperate for a fix of her drug and she is forced to sing "Good Morning, Heartache". Look into her eyes as she sings the song. You see her pain. The song speaks of her life. There is no artifice there. Her performance is witchcraft.

Writer Charles Jackson ['The Lost Weekend'] fell for Judy like a "ton of bricks." He reported to his wife, “I all but fell in love with Judy—strictly as an artist, I mean.” He had met Judy at a dinner party on June 2, 1944.

A few days later he shyly asked his “new love” (as he frankly described her in a note to Alma Pritchard at his agency, Brandt & Brandt) whether she’d accompany him to the “preem” of The White Cliffs of Dover on June 19, and was startled by her ready acceptance. Voldemar Vetluguin—his fatherly Russian minder at MGM—explained that “no man in his right mind” would take Judy Garland to a premiere: “You’ll be mobbed,” he said. “You’re taking your life in your hands.” But Charlie figured it was “all part of the Hollywood experience” and was determined to see it through. In his subsequent letter to Rhoda, he described the atmosphere at Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre that night as being akin to a “Nazi demonstration,” complete with a “battery of search-lights” and rabid, howling fans packed into bleachers along the street:

As the car pulled in to the curb the crowd screamed “There’s Judy!” over and over again. . . . Your heart would have been touched (as mine was) if you could have seen how Judy turned to the crowd and gave a tiny little wave, acknowledging the applause, though all the while, her hand on my arm was trembling and shaking against me. We were stopped, then, every few feet, and photographed; and Judy kept saying “For God’s sake, Charlie, smile!” Each time the flash went off, Judy’s face was turned toward mine, looking up at me in a charming smile, as though I were The Only Man In The World My legs knocked together, but I wouldn’t have missed it for the world: a real experience."

Jackson then wrote a poem for Judy;

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1T1Ux5PrUqA/Uji-w_xT3XI/AAAAAAAACik/4-8lHu0OUok/s1600/JacksonLetter-June10-1944-p1-JudyGarlandPoem.jpg

Jackson's entire letter to wife which includes poem. It happened to be dated June 10.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9HYr9njWCCU/Uji-xm-SP1I/AAAAAAAACi8/eRRWH_Gi_Z0/s1600/JacksonLetter-Jun da0 e10-1944-p1.jpg

Judy's response dated June 5.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uRDLt06SPRs/Uji-yNJk50I/AAAAAAAACi4/yOSuH7gchNg/s1600/JudyGarland-LetterToJackson.jpg

Celebrities discuss Judy's appeal at the premiere of THE END OF THE RAINBOW.

http://greginhollywood.com/stars-attending-end-of-the-rainbow-talk-to-greg-in-hollywood-about-the-legend-of-judy-garland-82882

”Judy Garland is the reason I wanted to become an actress.” - Selena Gomez

“Judy Garland was my idol growing up and I have a framed lobby card of her, Gene Kelly and my grandfather, Keenan Wynn, in For Me and My Gal. My legal last name is Armstrong, but I changed it because I wanted to carry on the [Wynn] name. I feel the force of my family around me, and it’s calming.” - Jessica Wynn

"I had dinner at her home, I was invited to a Christmas party that she gave. I took my husband (the late Peter Daniels) who was a wonderful pianist and she asked me if I would sing for her which I did. She said, ‘If you sing for me, I’ll sing for you.’ And she sang 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow'. I don’t remember what I sang, do you believe that? I was in a fog, I was such a fan. I was so nervous that I was with her, that I was able to sit down next to her." - Lainie Kazan on Judy

Johnny Mercer had an intense love affair with Judy for who knows how many years. They remained friends until her death. The sense of loss was so overwhelming that Mercer wrote at least six songs about their love affair. It was with 'I Remember You' that Mercer commented, "I always had such a crush on Garland I couldn't think straight, so I wrote this song.” Here are the songs that we know of.

'Skylark' [Dinah Shore]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVvIpFhBmqw

'This Time, the Dream's On Me' [Dick Haymes]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYJANaR1y3Y

'That Old Black Magic' [Judy]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKopyAOgIYU

'Come Rain Or Come Shine' [Judy]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOBt5JKYtTk

'I Remember You' [Ella Fitzgerald]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfiuwQgZsZo

'One For My Baby' [Johnny Mercer]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQpTDtlaS24

Linda Eder is another influenced by Judy. She made 'By Myself: The Songs of Judy Garland.'

"Certa 7ec inly Judy Garland was the epitome of performance singing. When she sang a song she was performing that song." - Libby Whittemore

"Could there be a better actress than Judy was? She was a real honest to God musical-theater performer. Sang like an angel. A great showman. Hell of a dancer, and a heart-rending actress. I worked a great, great deal with Judy and never had one minute's trouble with her. We were very good friends. During her worst periods of falling apart, she was never late even to a piano rehearsal in my office. I was witness to trouble with her, but I never experienced any personally." - Johnny Green

Leslie Uggams said that Judy at Carnegie Hall influenced her the most as a performer.

"After meeting her it made me realize that entertaining is what I do it is not who I am. I am just like any other hard working person, trying 5b4 to make it on this earth. She showed me that no one is better than the other person and there is no need to act differently or superior toward anyone. We are all "Stars" just doing different things. If I can make someone forget their troubles for an hour while enjoying our performances than I feel blessed. Ms. Garland made so many people forget their troubles and just get happy while she was on this earth and I am truly thankful that I had the opportunity to meet her and spend some time in her presence." - Lois Reeves

"I grew up watching videos of her concerts and her movies. Every day my mom and I would watch a different Judy Garland VHS. I love how she tells a story when she sings. It was just about her voice and the words she was singing -- no strings attached or silly hair or costumes, just a woman singing her heart out. b68 I feel like that doesn't happen that much anymore." - Ariana Grande

Maura O'Connell said in an early interview that "she wanted to be Judy Garland"

Erin McKcown is influenced by Judy.

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=266&dat=20030815&id=t_UrAAAAIBAJ&sjid=82wFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1578,4396462&hl=en

Rufus Wainwright interview about Judy.

http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2011/05/rufus-wainwright-qa-201105

"As we listen to her voice, with its unbelievable marriage of volume and control, telling the most delicious jokes with arms, legs, head and eyes...As with all true clowns...she seemed to be neither male nor female...she had no glamour, only magic".

"When I'm home, I always try to catch THE JUDY GARLAND SHOW - has she been singing! It's just beautiful the way she's been singing." - Ella Fitzgerald, 1964.

"I've never written a fan letter, but I'd like to write one to Judy Garland for the way her show's improved- now she's bringing theatre to TV." - Mary Martin