Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Frances Ethel Gumm was born June 10, 1922, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. She began her acting and singing career when she was only three years old, and continued for four and a half decades. She received a special Juvenile Academy Award, won a Golden Globe, as well as some Grammy Awards and a Tony Award. Her rendition of the song “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” was chosen as the #1 song of the century by the American Film Institute. She changed her name somewhere along the way, to the name most of the American public recognizes – Judy Garland. But even though the still-popular children’s movie, The Wizard of Oz, may have shown us the sweet, innocent side of Judy, there was more to her than meets the eye.

Despite her triumphs in Hollywood, Garland had many personal problems during her lifetime. She was insecure about her appearance, due to the fact that many film executives told her she was unattractive and overweight. MGM, the studio she was signed to, gave her drugs to keep her energy level high and her weight level down. Garland became addicted to these drugs for decades. Although she was famous, Garland was not financially stable. She owed hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes (IMDB).

Not only was Garland having trouble financially, she was struggling in her relationships, as well. She divorced four out of the five times she was married. She also tried to commit suicide several times, until she finally died of an accidental drug overdose when she was forty-seven, leaving behind her a legacy from Hollywood’s Golden Age and three children.

In 1997, Garland was awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, but she never lived to accept it. The American Film Institute named her the #8 greatest female star in Hollywood history. Although Garland is gone, she will live on, through her movies, her recordings, and in that song everybody knows the words to. Maybe the fact that her life was so hard made the wishful emotion in her voice during “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” more real for audiences listening to her.

I watched the Wizard of Oz many times as a child. I never would have guessed that the wide-eyed teenage star of this iconic film would have gone through so many troubles during her lifetime. I always thought of Dorothy as happy and innocent. But I guess that’s part of the magic of Hollywood: You see only what they want you to see.