Judy Garland, perhaps best known for her moving performance as the red-slippered Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz,” would have turned 100 this year. But unfortunately, her life was cut short when she died in 1969 of an accidental barbiturate overdose. She was only 47.
One of Hollywood’s brightest stars and a singularly talented singer, Judy Garland might have seemed to have it all. Yet she was tortured by insecurity, pressure from her stage mother and the studio execs who controlled her career, depression, and a dependency on drugs and alcohol.
Join us as we discuss Judy’s early days as a child star given amphetamines for energy and weight control, her most notable successes as an actress and singer, her 5 marriages, her struggle with addiction and mental health challenges, and so much more. You won’t want to miss this look at the life and legend of the iconic Judy Garland.
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Photo Credits: Top 3 BW Images: The Gumm Sisters, Early Studio Headshot of Judy, a scene from “A Star is Born” – Getty Images/Biography.com Color Image of Judy Singing – Getty Images/Biography.com Wizard of Oz Image – MGM Wizard of Oz Poster & Group Photo – The Wizard of Oz Days Facebook page “Meet Me In St. Louis” Studio Still – MGM BW Image of Judy, Vincente, and Baby Liza Minnelli – The Herald Weekly
(Left) The Calendar image Ashley sent to Mickey, which he signed, and (Right) the 8×10 image he sent back (also signed). Both read, “To Ashley Peace Mickey Rooney” Below: Mickey’s namesake – Rooney the Cat
Ashley is an award-winning Independent Filmmaker from Northern Kentucky. Her first film, “No Lost Cause” is currently internationally distributed and was recently featured on TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network). Her memoir recalling her experience creating a film on a micro budget, “The Why Not Philosophy or How We Learned to Let Go, Trust God and Defeat the Raptors,” was released February 2015 and is available on Amazon.com. Her second feature film, “The Hepburn Girls” was released on Amazon.com and Vimeo.com in the summer of 2016.
Ashley is also a long-time lover of all things theatre and in the spring of 2014, she helped found and became the Vice-President of the theatre company, “The Theatre Downstream.” Their first large scale summer musical, “Beauty and the Beast” was awarded Best Musical (Local), Best Actor in a Musical (Local), Best Actress in a Musical (Local), and Best Set Design by the BroadwayWorld Louisville awards in 2016, and their 2017 production of "Annie" sold over 2,100 tickets, a company record-breaking number!
No matter what the project, Ashley is happiest when she is able to bring talented people and their art together for the consumption and appreciation of the public. While her taste remains vintage, she is grateful for the technology of the modern world and the opportunity to share her thoughts, aspirations, and misadventures.
Her lofty dreams are to create things that people remember and to one day own an alpaca. Above all, she loves God, her family, her friends, her cats, and brownies.
External websites:
“No Lost Cause”- NoLostCausedvd.com
The Theatre Downstream- TheTheatreDownstream.com
“The Why Not Philosophy”- http://www.amazon.com/Why-Not-Philosophy-Learned-Raptors/dp/1508557004/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1455555613&sr=8-1&keywords=ashley+raymer-brown
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